Tag: Google

Update: HMD Global/Nokia Missing Android Security Updates

Update 28/04/2018

Recently I was in contact with the HMD Global/Nokia support team and I had two very different experiences. The first support person I was in contact with I explained my situation and wanted to know why my Nokia 8 had not received the Android Oreo 8.1 update and the April 2018 security patch. They were extremely friendly and happy to assist. They tried a number of different methods to force the update and were not sure why some Nokia 8 devices received the update and others did not. I was told to contact the support team again later on in the week if the update had not arrived. My second support contact was no where near as friendly or helpful however.

Unlike the first support person I was in contact with, the second support person was hostile, rude and did not seem interested in helping me at all. As the first support person instructed me I let the second support person know what was happening and that I was told to ask for further assistance if the update had not arrived. This second support engineer did nothing or try to find answers to my problem. Instead all they kept responding with was to “just wait and the updates may come”. This right here is not really reassuring to a customer who just wants a little explanation as to why this is happening and to be so rude and completely unwilling to assist helps no one.

Yesterday I got a little notification on my phone that allowed me to update to Android Oreo 8.1 and also update to the March 2018 security patch (not the April 2018 security patch unfortunately). I will be closely monitoring the situation and if HMD Global/Nokia continue to delay patches to their Android smartphones then I may have to bite the bullet and buy a Pixel phone in 3 years time.

Original

I was really hoping that I would not have to write this post.

When I was looking for a brand new Android mobile phone, one of the requirements that I had was that the mobile phone would be supported by Google and the manufacturer for at least three years (two for the major Android OS and three for the Android security updates). The only manufacturer that I could find that met this requirement was HMD Global/Nokia (not including Google) and why I chose to pick up the Nokia 8. On the Nokia Android home page it clearly states:

Regular security updates and two years of OS upgrades…

If you navigate to the Nokia Smartphone Security Maintenance Release Summary page you can see that HMD Global/Nokia are pushing updates to various Nokia mobile phones (including the Nokia 8). However, not all models are receiving the updates. The security patch release information is done on a Device – Build_number basis it appears. My Nokia 8 has a Build_number ’00WW_4_390_SP02′, which unfortunately does not appear in both the March and April security patches.

When contacting the HMD Global/Nokia support team about this, they could not provide a valid reason why my Nokia 8 was not getting the security patches even though my device (not the build number though) was listed in the security patch release. Looking through the forums shows the same confusion and frustration from other customers. Some sort of answer would be greatly appreciated by HMD Global/Nokia.

Has HMD Global/Nokia gone back on their promise of regular security updates? I would say partially yes. They are updating some devices but leaving other devices based on build numbers it would seem. In saying that however how regular is regular? Is a monthly security patch regular? Is a two month or three month interval regular? Right now I wished that HMD Global/Nokia would have been more specific about the regular security updates. To their credit though, compared to Samsung, LG, HTC, etc. they are trying to ensure their devices are up to date.

Recently I came across an article on The Verge discussion manufacturers lying to customers about the security level on their Android devices. That is even more concerning. I would not want to “update” my mobile phone only to not be properly protected even though it appears that it is protected. Hopefully HMD Global/Nokia is not one of these companies.

Right now I am sitting and waiting for the latest security update for my Nokia 8. But if it never arrives then when it comes to buying a brand new mobile phone it may be time to switch to another manufacturer. Perhaps going back to the Google products (RIP Nexus line) and buy a Pixel mobile phone is the only option. Are Android security patches and OS updates worth the premium price of those Pixel phones? For me the answer is yes. I would happily pay more for a device that is supported and updated timely.

I will update this post if my Nokia 8 receives the April security patch, but will not be updating it after April as a two month gap between security patches is not regular IMO. Am I making too much of a fuss? Or should HMD Global/Nokia and other manufacturers take more responsibility and ensure that customers are protected while using their devices?

Android and Split Screen

Recently I have been noticing that sometimes when I unlock my Nokia 8 which runs Android Oreo, I see that the split screen mode has been enabled/triggered. At first I was extremely confused as the device was supposed to be locked in my pocket, but yet the apps at times (mainly Spotify) would go into split screen mode.

Looking through all the settings I could not find a way to disable this split screen mode. Again I find that odd and slightly confusing because the new picture in picture mode can be turned off. So why did Google not provide a means to disable the split screen mode for the apps?

While doing some more reading I managed to find how potentially I was triggering the split screen mode in my pocket. The app switching button if it is held for a short period of time triggers the split screen mode. The 9to5Google Android N quick-tips: How to activate split-screen multitasking mode outlines the same method that I have detailed above how to trigger the split screen mode, but they list two other methods.

Perhaps Google when they finalise Android P they will offer a way to disable the split screen mode. If someone does know of a way to disable split screen mode then please do let me know because the only pieces of information that I could find on the Internet are articles about how to ensure your app handles split screen mode.

Android Wear Are You?

Is it just me or has every smartwatch that doesn’t run watchOS become vaporwear? I feel like if you want to buy a smartwatch then you will most likely have to settle for the Apple Watch or a smartwatch that really isn’t “supported” by Google. By supported I mean that they are featured on the official Android Wear web page and will be getting continual OS updates from Google.

When the start of the current smartwatch craze occurred I really wanted a smartwatch too. It wasn’t for the style or visual appeal but the convenience of not having to actually have your smartphone in the same room as you to respond to a new message, or even check the time (like a standard watch). Right now I generally carry my smartphone with me and leave it on the table whichever room I am in. Recently I started to get the itch to get a smartwatch but when I saw what was on offer I was a little disappointed. There was nothing on the market that I could find that was easy for me to purchase or supported by Google. Living in Australia has not made getting a smartwatch very easy it would seem.

Going to the official Android Wear website and examining the different Android smartwatches that are available was flat out disappointing. Not only was the selection fairly poor but actually getting a hold of one of the smartwatches through the officially supported stores was near impossible. Starting with the LG Android Wear smartwatches, none appear to be available to purchase in Australia. I continually get routed to the US website and when I change to Australia and check for availability it shows “coming soon”, even though these smartwatches have been out for some time. The three other Android Wear smartwatches (Zenwatch 2, Huawei Watch and Moto 360 2) all are supposed to be available through the Harvey Norman store. But when you click the link to examine the item all you get is a “Page Not Found” page. Google appears to not have abandoned the Android Wear platform entirely either. Android Police appears to have obtained information about Android Wear smartwatches that will be getting Oreo updates and/or already have the latest version of Android (see here). But why are these smartwatches not displayed on the Android Wear webpage?

Microsoft is also out of the smartwatch market as of 2016. They stopped producing more Microsoft Band 2 devices and unfortunately had no plans to release a Microsoft Band 3 according to this article from The Verge. Unlike the traditional smartwatches the Microsoft Band was closer to a fitness band with its emphasis on health and fitness monitoring. With Cortana integration it was super appealing to me as that is my primary AI assistance, even on my Nokia 8 (running Android Oero), Cortana has replaced Google Now/Assistant. Maybe Microsoft will return back to the smartwatch market, but with them also pulling out of the smartphone hardware market I doubt it very much. If (and this is a big if) they release a Surface Phone or Surface Watch then I will most likely be picking them up. I have never had any major issues with any of the Surface products that I have purchased, even the Surface RT. But nothing Microsoft has said, shown, or even hinted at has indicated a new smartwatch from them.

Do I really need a smartwatch? Not really. Would it be a nice to have? Absolutely. I have a couple of really nice standard watches. Some have leather bands, some have metal bands. None are “smart” and none do anything more than show me the time and date. For now this will have to do. I will be taking a look at various online stores to see what I can get here in Australia, but right now the Android Wear future does not look as bright as it once was.

Microsoft Edge and Paid YouTube Content

This evening I decided I wanted to watch some YouTube content on my PC using Microsoft Edge. I have a decent list of purchased movies and TV series through the Google Play Store. After looking over the list of paid content I settled on a movie and I clicked on it ready to watch on my second monitor while I was doing some other stuff on my primary monitor. To my surprise I was greeted by a playback error. To be exact I got the following error message in the video player (I have blacked out some content that I deem not relevant).

YouTube Paid Content Playback Error

The exact message reads, “An error occurred. Please try again later. (Playback ID: MLeXgYpv05LH1Uhq)“.

I decided to click the “Learn More” link which would hopefully provide some informative information as to why I got this error. But in typical Google fashion I have found it was little to no use. I decided to try their troubleshooting steps.

YouTube Paid Content Playback Error Troubleshooting Page

I first closed every tab that I had open except the YouTube tab and tried again. No luck got the same error message, a different Playback ID error code was presented though. The next step was to restart my router, did that and still no luck. I restarted my computer to see if that would help like it said, again the same error message. The second last option was to verify that I was using the latest version of my browser; there was no Windows updates and I am unaware of any other way to update Microsoft Edge (if there is please let me know). The absolute last resort is to use Google Chrome. I’m sorry Google but this isn’t going to happen and really is not a troubleshooting step.

Curiously I decided to try some videos from some of my subscribers and those videos played absolutely fine with no issue on Microsoft Edge. In fact I am watching one of my favourite YouTubers playing XCOM 2: War of the Chosen as I write this. So clearly there appears to be an issue trying to stream paid content through YouTube on Microsoft Edge. I quickly tried my Android phone and using the official YouTube app I had no issue playing the same video (so it was not a licensing issue) and the video plays absolutely fine on my Xbox One X using the YouTube app.

Finally I decide to try Google Chrome. Low and behold the video starts with no issue. I tried again on Microsoft Edge and I get an error message. To me it seems that Google is doing something in back that is restricting content being played on Microsoft Edge or Microsoft has something in Edge that Google does not like, blocking paid content from being played. Perhaps being paid and licensed content I thought maybe there was a setting that was causing issues, but Netflix on Microsoft Edge had no issues playing. Has anyone else had the same issue? If so did you get it resolved or does the problem persist? Generally I have found Google to be near useless when it comes to any support and their response to issues is down right abysmal (the only other company to be close or worse is Valve and Steam Support). Looks like when I am on my PC or laptop I won’t be streaming any paid content from YouTube until this is fixed.

Google Chrome VS Microsoft Edge On My Surface Book 2

Now that I have moved on from my Surface Pro 3 and have been using the new Surface Book 2 since it was released on a daily basis, I thought it would be a good time to do another comparison between the two browsers. If you want to check out my previous comparison of the two browsers on my Surface Pro 3, it can be found here. This time around I put Google Chrome up against Microsoft Edge on my Surface Book 2, and the results surprised me a little. If you want to read about my Surface Book 2 experience then click here.

Normally it is standard practice to install another web browser as soon as you install a version of Windows. Nearly everyone I know uses either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox (no kidding, I maybe know a handful of people who use Microsoft Edge and they all live in my house). No one even bothers to give Microsoft Edge a go and see if it does the job, which is a real shame. Whatever Microsoft has done with the Fall Creators Update and subsequent updates to the Microsoft Edge browser has made it extremely more stable, responsive and well, usable.

Here is just a short list of gripes I had with the Microsoft Edge browser that resulted me in having to install Google Chrome when I was using my Surface Pro 3:

  1. Lack of first, and third party extension support.
  2. Web pages failing to load and render.
  3. Tabs would become unresponsive too often.
  4. Constant crashes after not being able to recover web pages and tabs.

Now as you can see some of these issues are problems that make the browser not usable in one’s day to day browsing, I mean who would really want to properly render and load a web page without it crashing?

Once I setup my Surface Book 2 I did not install Google Chrome, I wanted to give Microsoft Edge a fair go. On paper Microsoft Edge has all the features a user would want and more. Since using Microsoft Edge I have noticed little to no issue with web pages failing to load and render, tabs are very rarely becoming unresponsive if ever and when they do become unresponsive they recover quickly and do not cause the browser to lock up and crash. Come to think of it I have not had Microsoft Edge crash on me once during my time using it on my Surface Book 2, and I have not had to force close it either.

Microsoft Edge has had no negative effects such as causing my Surface Book 2 to generate a large amount of heat or spin up a fan (my Surface Book 2 does not have a fan because I have the 13.5” i5 version), and the battery life has been extremely good. The only thing I wished was better with Microsoft Edge was the support for extensions, and from the extensions that are available most are buggy or do not function as well as their Google Chrome counterpart. With all this positivity I still wanted to see how Google Chrome performs on my Surface Book 2. After installing Chrome and using it for a couple of days, it showed me how far Microsoft has gone in catching up and passing Google when it comes to web browser optimization.

Google Chrome is known to be a resource hog and to Google’s credit it has been improving the resource management of the web browser with each subsequent release. Google Chrome chews up a large amount of your available RAM, unlike Microsoft Edge. But chewing up your available RAM is not the major problem here; I mean really using up available resources is not an issue (it is there to be used for a reason). The absolute worst part about Google Chrome on the Surface Book 2 is the drain on the battery. With Microsoft Edge I can get solid day’s worth of use on my Surface Book 2; Google Chrome on the other hand cannot give the same amount of battery life doing the same browsing. A solid day to me is 8 hours and using Microsoft Edge with other tools running easily passes this. Google Chrome and the same tools running can only last me around 6 hours. To some people 2 hours is not much, but that 2 hours can determine whether you leave your charger at home or now.

The issue where watching YouTube on Google Chrome would spin up my CPU fan of my Surface Pro 3 did not happen on my Surface Book 2. The primary reason for this is because my Surface Book 2 does not have a fan. What did happen though was that my device was a little warmer when watching YouTube on Google Chrome than on Microsoft Edge, it was not too hot to use on my lap but there was a noticeable difference.

Overall I think I’ll be sticking with Microsoft Edge completely now on my devices (on my Android device I have switch to Microsoft Edge and will most likely change my default browser back to Microsoft Edge from Google Chrome on my gaming PC), especially on my Surface Book 2. With the fixes that Microsoft have done to the Edge browser, if you have not given it a chance then try it out; it will surprise you I think at how well it performs compared to Google Chrome, and if you have a device you take on the go with you then it will probably drain less of your battery.

Well done Microsoft in really taking the time in optimizing your default browser, now if people only could shake the bad taste of Internet Explorer out of their mouths, they may give Edge a go.

My New Nokia 8 Smartphone

My time with the Motorola Nexus 6 has unfortunately come to an end. I loved that smartphone and it has served me well since I purchased it. To Google’s credit the smartphone received constant system and security updates; unfortunately October 2017 would be the last month that Google would officially support the device [1]. So it was time to move on to a new and shiny toy.

I didn’t just purchase a new mobile phone because the software would no longer be updated, but the battery that once lasted me a good work day would now only last around 5 hours. So after doing my research and weighing up all my options the one smartphone that had what I wanted and not break the bank was HMD Global’s new flagship smartphone, the Nokia 8. If you would like to see my Android journey so far and what I want in an Android smartphone, check out my post here.

Premium Build and Feel

Much like the original Nokia handsets, the new Nokia 8 is designed and built extremely well. When I took the smartphone out of the box it was heavy (personally I felt that it is heavier than the Nexus 6 even though it is supposed to be 24g lighter), and it easily and comfortably fit in my hand (most likely because of the curved edges/side). The Nokia 8 appears to be a smartphone that is built to last. I appreciate the high quality design and build, kudos HMD Global. If you would like to see how durable the Nokia 8 actually is then take a look at JerryRigEverything’s Nokia 8 Durability Test. Going forward I will always be looking at these types of tests because I want my smartphone to last at least 3 years.

A 3.5mm Headphone Jack

Last year Apple was “courageous” when they removed the 3.5mm headphone jack. Some other mobile phone makers followed suit like HTC. Google this year followed in Apple’s footsteps by releasing two new Pixel smartphones without a 3.5mm headphone jack. To Samsung, LG and HMD Global’s credit they have kept the 3.5 mm headphone jack in most, if not all their smartphones. As someone who does not have wireless headphones and listens to podcasts and music on the way to work and while at work, a 3.5mm headphone jack is vital. Personally I feel it hurts the mobile phone maker’s brand and it turns people off future devices when they remove such fundamental components. Nearly everyone that I talk to say that they will never consider buying a smartphone without a 3.5mm headphone jack. It is just an option that they are taking away from the consumer.

Stock “Pure” Android

I am a massive fan of the Android OS, however manufacturers see the need to add unnecessary apps, skins, launchers and other elements to their smartphones without the consumer’s choice. By having all these extra items over time the phone begins to slow down due to poor support and optimization, and updates to the OS nearly never come or come months later. The Nokia 8 comes with stock Android :D. When I mean stock Android, I really mean stock Android; there are no fancy skins or launchers, there are no extra or unnecessary apps pre-installed. It is how the Android OS is supposed to be experienced IMO. Google’s own productivity suite (Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides) is not installed on your device for example; for me this is great because I use Microsoft’s Office suite instead along with an Office 365 subscription allowing me access to 1TB worth of OneDrive storage. If you are like me and want the bare minimum with the ability to add what you want and with timely OS and security updates from Google, then the Nokia 8 will most likely fit the bill perfectly.

My Experience So Far

From the 3.5mm headphone jack to the micro-SD card slot next to the nano SIM card, the Nokia 8 has everything I need from a hardware perspective. Sure it might not have dual front facing speakers like my Nexus 6 but the bottom speaker it does have is perfectly fine, and it isn’t waterproof but I don’t plan on taking it swimming with me and if it does rain, it is splash proof. There is also no wireless charging either, but I am not going to pay another $300-$400 AUD for wireless charging capabilities.

Instead of a fingerprint sensor on the back like most Android smartphones, there is a fingerprint sensor where the dedicated home button is usually placed. This is the first smartphone I have ever had with a fingerprint sensor and it is responsive and accurate. I don’t take many photos but the front and rear cameras both do the job; it also has a “boothie” mode where it shoots the front and the back cameras simultaneously (doubt I will be using this mode much).

The battery life is incredible on the Nokia 8. My Nexus 6 had a 3220 mAh battery and my Nokia 8 has a 3090 mAh battery, so you would expect the Nexus 6 to have a better battery life. When I purchased my Nexus 6 it would last close to a full 24 hours before needing a recharge, while my Nokia 8 does better getting closer to 36 hours. The display is also bright and the colors are perfectly acceptable. Moving back to a smaller sized screen would seem difficult but I have adjusted fine.

Using the stock Android experience is just as I expect. Fast, and responsive without any hiccups or stuttering. When I switch between apps there is no lag or delay, and I can easily scroll through web pages loading different media with no problem (something my Nexus 6 eventually had trouble doing). The first thing I did when I started my phone up was check for updates and to HMD Global and Google’s credit there were three security patches waiting for me (one for each month up to October).

I cannot find a flaw at the moment with this device, but if I had to really complain about something it would be the slight camera bump. I am getting a case for my smartphone so that should fix that problem. If HMD Global keeps their promise of keeping the Android OS updated [2] and ensure that security patches are rolled out ASAP then this smartphone is going to last me a long time.

Nokia is finally back through HMD Global and giving everyone a run for their money. Other mobile phone manufacturers watch out.

A Microsoft Twist on Google’s Android

Update: Within 6 hours of me posting this Microsoft sent me an email about the availability of the Microsoft Edge browser on Android, in Preview. You can find it here in the Google Play Store. Enjoy your new browser.

I have stated this before but I’ll do it again. I am a HUGE Android fan, I love Android. I like being able to customize my phone (from a stock Android experience) and use the full range of supported first party apps. However, I am a HUGE Microsoft fan as well; even bought the original Surface RT (R.I.P. Windows RT). When I read that the Redmond software king was coming out with a new Android launcher called Microsoft Launcher (seems to be a re-skinned Arrow Launcher from their Microsoft Garage team) and Microsoft Edge I was over the moon. You can read more about the announcement on the Windows Blog here.

I have on and off used the Arrow launcher previously on my Android device, and I use Microsoft Edge on my Surface Pro 3 and Gaming PC (alongside Google Chrome. See here about my experience running Edge and Chrome on my Surface Pro 3). I could not be happier to try out these two new apps from Microsoft on my now nearly no longer security supported Google Nexus 6.

Note: As of writing this blog post the Microsoft Edge browser is currently only on iOS, you can however sign up and get informed when the Microsoft Edge becomes available to use on Android. See here for more information about the Microsoft Edge browser for Android availability. The Microsoft Launcher for Android is in Preview aka Beta and already available.

Several days later my heart sank slightly. The high I was on from the new software announcement did not last. I read that Microsoft is officially not going to be adding new features and build new hardware for Windows 10 Mobile; see here for more info about that news. I was really and truly hoping for a Surface Phone (still am, even after the announcement). Sure I don’t have a Windows 10 Mobile supported OS but it is always good to have competition and the experience I had on the Windows Mobile ecosystem was acceptable with the exception being the lack of first party supported apps. A real shame because the performance and UI to me was superior to that of the all too similar iOS and Android platforms.

With a new launcher in use and a new browser coming to my Android phone all coming from Microsoft I decided to have a look at the apps and services I use on my phone. What I saw was a little shocking at first, I used to primarily only use Google’s services and apps. As time went on my needs and preferences must have changed which in turn led to changes to the apps and services I use. The Google launcher I was using is now a Microsoft launcher, I will no longer be using Google Chrome but use Microsoft Edge (once it becomes available), and I don’t even use Google’s AI assistant, Cortana is my go to AI (she syncs with my Windows 10 PCs so easily it is stupid of me not to use her). The majority of my day to day apps or services are Microsoft now. Recently I even purchased a subscription to Office 365 so having that extra space on OneDrive and having the Office suite on my phone has Google’s suit of “Office” products obsolete.

I have always been dependent on the Google ecosystem (from Chrome to Gmail), but now I feel that I have finally managed to escape Google’s tight grasp. It isn’t that I don’t like their services or apps, it is just that I have found better services and apps. What Microsoft is offering on the Android platform is fantastic and the clear differentiation between the two technology giants is that Microsoft understands that synchronization and integration between mobile and desktop is important, plus getting people to use their services no matter the platform is important. Google’s lack of proper app support on desktop is a major problem for me as doing everything through a browser is not amazing plus the features on their browser supported products pale in comparison to the Microsoft offerings. Google Docs does not come close at all to what I can do in Microsoft Word, even Microsoft Excel completely destroys Google Sheets. What Microsoft offers with Office 365 is light years ahead of what Google offers.

So it appears that even though I am running stock Android (mainly for the performance and security updates), my time with Google’s apps and services appears to be coming to a close with Microsoft’s apps and services easily taking over. Nothing Google showed at Google IO this year has changed my mind and even the hardware they showed in early October has me avoiding their products (no 3.5mm headphone port, really, are you serious). Microsoft may be slowly abandoning their own platform but they are building a strong foundation on both Android and iOS which can in the long run position them extremely well in the mobile space. It is not about having your own platform to gain market share in the mobile space, it is about getting the mobile user to use your services to gain market share which I feel is more important and Microsoft now realises this.

Time will tell now whether I stay on the Microsoft apps and service bandwagon or I jump back on the Google apps and services freight train. What about you guys? Do you mix and match, or are you staying loyal to a single provider?

Google Chrome VS Microsoft Edge On My Surface Pro 3

There have been many tests, and comparisons between Google Chrome and Microsoft’s browser, Edge. Now it is my turn to talk about my experience using both browsers. I am not going to be doing a technical breakdown, but will be doing an experience breakdown, specifically on my Surface Pro 3.

I have been using Google Chrome for an extremely long time and it is still my go to browser at work and on my primary desktop PC at home. When I purchased my Surface Pro 3 and used Google Chrome, my experience using my new device was disappointing. The battery life was extremely poor, I was only able to get three hours out of my device at best and the fan would spin at what would seem full speed whenever I watch online videos making the back right of the device Hell hot. So using Google Chrome on my Surface Pro 3 was a no go it would seem, as it made my mobile device essentially a stationary device.

Luckily Microsoft came prepared with their own browser, Microsoft Edge. I decided to give it a go. At first it was tough to get used to the new browser. I didn’t mind using Bing, it performed just as good if not better than Google for some search results (props to Microsoft there). All the extensions that I used in Google Chrome were not present in Microsoft Edge (at the start Microsoft Edge did not even support extensions, but now it does and it has all the ones I need, so props again for listening to your consumers). But the extension issue I had was not the major problem with Microsoft Edge, loading and viewing web pages was the biggest problem. Not all pages would load correctly, the tab would constantly become unresponsive, UI elements on the page would not behave correctly, etc. Microsoft Edge still has this problem even in 2017 which is extremely frustrating. On the plus side of using Microsoft Edge I would easily get six hours out of my device, the fan would not spin up when watching online videos, and the device would not get hot at all.

So do I use a browser that essentially ruins the mobile experience due to poor battery performance and an insanely loud fan spinning while watching online videos making the device too hot to touch or do I use a browser that keeps the battery charge, has the fan spinning at a reasonable speed, but lacks the ability to perform when it comes to loading and viewing some web pages?

Right now I use both to try and get the best of both worlds. If I need to do some web browsing then I turn to Google Chrome, but if I need to watch any online videos then I always use Microsoft Edge. It may not be the best solution but neither Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge perform as expected on my Surface Pro 3. Maybe Google will work on optimising Google Chrome to ensure that it doesn’t take up all your resources, and reduce your battery to nothing in a short period. Or Microsoft can look into the issue where Microsoft Edge fails to load and display web pages correctly, because really that is the only show stopper for me; and for a web browser it if pretty important to have pages loaded and correctly displayed.

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