Microsoft says Edge is 112% faster than Google's Chrome

Microsoft has started rolling out Windows 10 Build 10240, which is said to be the release to manufacturing (RTM) build, to Windows 10 Insiders.

The company was expected to finalise the Windows 10 build, and bring it to the RTM stage last week, ahead of its official 29 July release.

But The Verge cited people familiar with Microsoft's plan as saying Build 10240 was the final RTM copy, which would be available to OEM partners to preload their new machines.

According to the report, Microsoft was internally signing off the build yesterday and might make an announcement of the final RTM build by the end of this week. However, it further speculated that the company might "choose to ignore the milestone and focus on the launch."

Microsoft had already clarified that Windows 10 operating system would be in the market on 29 July; though not everyone would be able to download the new OS on that date. This would also mean that new machines with Windows 10 would be available for purchase a few weeks from the 29 July release date.

Microsoft's Gabriel Aul, engineering general manager for Operating Systems Group, wrote in a blog post, "Over the past few days we've been preparing our release pipelines and processes, and this build is one step closer to what customers will start to receive on 7/29.

"For example, you'll notice with this build that the desktop watermark is no longer there (you can still do Search > Winver) to see your version number. We're all working super hard here to deliver the best Windows ever, and are preparing everything that needs to be in place for our public release.''

Meanwhile, after years of ridicule, Microsoft claimed its latest browser Microsoft Edge was faster than Chrome and Safari in their own benchmark tests ie benchmarks created by Apple and Google teams.

With the release of the near-final version of Windows 10, Microsoft was adding finishing touches to the launchpad, and getting ready to 'celebrate' what would be its biggest launch ever.

Aul took the opportunity to announce performance findings from the latest Windows 10 build.

He added, ''The Edge team has been continuing to optimise performance since first adding the new browser to Windows 10. In this build, Microsoft Edge is even better and is beating Chrome and Safari on their own JavaScript benchmarks:

• On WebKit Sunspider, Edge is 112% faster than Chrome
• On Google Octane, Edge is 11% faster than Chrome
• On Apple JetStream, Edge is 37% faster than Chrome

"We're really pleased with those performance gains and we hope that you'll enjoy faster browsing with Microsoft Edge along with the many great features we've added over the last several builds.''