On Monday, Microsoft announced that its Edge browser achieved a global First Contentful Paint (FCP) under 300 milliseconds (ms)—a core benchmark that measures how quickly a browser visually loads its user interface (UI). While FCP isn’t a full load time, it enhances perceived speed significantly, slashing UI delays and keeping site visitors on web pages longer.
The latest upgrade builds on momentum from Edge 132, released in February of this year. That update delivered a 40% speed boost across features like Downloads, Drop, History, and InPrivate tabs by adopting WebUI 2.0, a leaner, markup-first architecture. Microsoft minimized JavaScript bundle sizes and reduced initialization overhead, making commonly used tools noticeably faster to open and use. By cutting down on the amount of code required to load UI elements, Edge improved responsiveness where it was most needed: in everyday workflows.
“We set this ambitious performance target because industry research shows that waiting longer than 300 to 400 ms for the initial content can significantly impact user satisfaction,” Microsoft shared in its blog post. “By meeting this critical threshold, we ensure that the most used browser features appear almost instantly, letting you engage with the content sooner.”
Why This is Such a Big Deal
Edge hitting under 300ms is actually a big deal. Most fast websites still need about 1.8 seconds just to show you anything—Edge does it in less than a third of that time. Even the quickest sites online usually take over a second, so Microsoft figured out something the competition hasn’t. You can’t really do perfect side-by-side tests with browsers because they measure things differently, but Edge’s speed here is clearly in a league of its own for getting stuff on your screen quickly.
A big part of this leap forward comes from architectural changes under the hood. Edge’s migration to the new WebUI 2.0 framework, combined with leaner, more optimized JavaScript bundles, has made the interface up to 40% more responsive, speeding up everyday tasks such as navigating Settings and features like Read Aloud, Split Screen, and Workspaces.
“With Microsoft Edge, you get a smooth, enjoyable online experience with minimal delays, faster access to content, and a real sense of instant responsiveness,” the company blogged.
Microsoft also shared that telemetry data shows 9% performance improvements in Speedometer benchmarks with 1.7% faster page navigation, 2% quicker startup, and 5-7% smoother interactions. Following the UI overhaul, Edge has accelerated 13 more features with improvements rolling out to Print Preview, Extensions, and Read Aloud coming soon.
Users can try Microsoft Edge and share feedback about their experience directly from the browser by navigating to Settings and more (…) > Help and feedback > Send feedback.
