Chromium-based Microsoft Edge has a new logo. Is it enough to distance it from the horrors of Internet Explorer?
Microsoft Edge is getting a new logo. Having embraced the Chromium engine, Microsoft has decided that it is time to ditch the familiar "e" icon -- which undeniably similar to the Internet Explorer icon -- and opt for a swirly redesign.
Actually, even with the new icon, the "e" has not been completely dropped, rather it has been stylized into a green and blue wave that could still be interpreted as the same letter. Microsoft revealed the icon as an Easter egg after leading fans on a labyrinthine quest, following clues posted online by company employees.
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With the move to the Chromium engine, Microsoft was already taking great strides to move away from Edge's inevitable association with Internet Explorer -- the browser everyone loves to hate. Still in beta, it made sense to give Chromium-based Edge a look of its own before it gets a full release at an as-yet-unknown date in the future.
Microsoft is clearly making much of the use of the Chromium engine as well as the new look, something it demonstrated in the unusual way the new logo was revealed. An elaborate series of clues guided intrepid explorers to a surfing game reminiscent of SkiFree from the early 90s. Once complete, the logo was revealed.
For anyone who couldn't be bothered to engage in the shenanigans, the icon was also shared on Twitter by Microsoft's Vishnu Nath:
How do you like our new #Edge logo?? #comingsoon! pic.twitter.com/EgL6n5xqRI
— Vishnu Nath ???⌨️ (@VishnuNath) November 2, 2019
Opinion about the design has been divided. While many have noted that it is a marked improvement over the old icon, comparisons have also been drawn with Tide pods. Edge's new icon embraces Microsoft's fluent design principles, and brings it in line with the look of Office apps -- and its swirly look also brings to mind the curls of the Firefox icon.
What do you make of it?