Highlights:

  • The software company noted that it was aware that when a web browser consumed too many resources, the system could be slowed down.
  • With disk caching in Edge, Microsoft believes that the larger the cache of the browser, the bigger the chance the browser will fetch it from the disk to load the web page quicker.

The Microsoft Edge browser is now more enhanced and will perform better on Windows, thanks to changes in version 102 of the browser. It will allow it to compress disk caches soon automatically, helping to improve its performance and giving users a noticeable speed boost.

In a technical blog post, Microsoft discussed this and stated that its main objective is to “deliver the best performing browser possible on Windows and other platforms.” The software company also noted that it was aware that when a web browser consumed too many resources, the system could be slowed down. Disk caching comes into the picture here.

For those unaware, web browsers store resources in the cache to speed up the loading of online pages. With disk caching in Edge, Microsoft believes that the larger the cache of the browser, the bigger the chance the browser will fetch it from the disk to load the web page quicker.

The larger the cache gets, the more disc space it will occupy on devices, which can be concerning for devices with smaller solid-state drives or hard drives. The cache will subsequently be controlled by standard browsers based on available space.

Microsoft Edge uses compression technology to modify disc cache and find new ways to reduce disc use. According to Microsoft, the content in the cache is in any way highly compressible. Nonetheless, it fetches the required resources from the disc. Therefore, in Edge 102, Microsoft Edge automatically compresses disc caches on devices that pass eligibility tests.

“This ensures compression of these caches largely improves performance and overall user experience,” explained Microsoft.

This is just one way that Microsoft Edge is optimized for Windows. With the browser being integrated across many areas of the operating system, the Washington-based software company can add features like efficiency mode, which extends battery life by reducing CPU usage on inactive tabs. Microsoft Edge also has sleeping tabs, which can put inactive tabs to sleep to save resources.

Features like this could be just one reason Microsoft Edge is becoming more popular. It recently surpassed Mozilla Firefox as the second most popular web browser. Google Chrome, though, is still at the top with a 69% share.