Redmond said that the tests showed that the Edge browser is a better choice for portable device owners.

Microsoft took four identical laptops running Windows 10 to see which of the four most popular browsers would be most efficient when it comes to battery life. Chrome ran out of battery after streaming a video for 4 hours and 19 minutes. Firefox managed 5 hours and 9 minutes and Opera managed to hit 6 hours and 18 minutes.

Microsoft's tests found that Edge lasted 7 hours and 22 minutes, which is 70 per cent longer than Chrome.

Writing in its blog post, a SpokesMicrosoft said:

"We designed Microsoft Edge from the ground up to prioritize power efficiency and deliver more battery life, without any special battery saving mode or changes to the default settings. Our testing and data show that you can simply browse longer with Microsoft Edge than with Chrome, Firefox, or Opera on Windows 10 devices."

You can take the figures with a grain of salt. After all, it is Microsoft doing the testing and it would say that it was better. We quite like the Edge browser but we are not going to use it until we can have some access to some sensible add-ons and extensions.