Microsoft Edge has scored a perfect 100% on HTML5 Accessibility’s browser benchmark test on Windows operating system. A report on accessibility support status of HTML5 features across major browsers on html5accessibility site has shown Edge 14 as the only browser to get a perfect score.
What more, Microsoft competitor, Google’s Chrome lies a distant 3rd in the benchmark report, falling behind Mozilla Firefox 47.
Html5accessibility site tests which new HTML5 features are accessibility-supported by major browsers. This includes – if they are keyboard accessible, mapped to the platform accessibility APIs, and if any accessibility-related features are supported.
Where did Chrome and Firefox lose
Tests metrics were classified under 5 broad sections – Sections & Grouping, Text-Level, Graphics and Media, Controls and Properties. Each section was further sub-divided into various testing elements.
While Edge 14 scored a 100% on all criteria, Google Chrome 52 was found to be lacking in following many areas and scored 81%. Some of them are listed below,
- Accessibly supported to Header – Partial
- Accessibly supported to Audio – Partial
- Accessibly supported to Video – Partial
- Accessibly supported to url input – Partial
- Accessibly supported to email input – Partial
- Accessibly supported to placeholder – Partial
Mozilla Firefox 47 fared better than Chrome 52 and scored 89%. Below are the areas where it fared poorly,
- Accessibly supported to mark – Partial
- Accessibly supported to Video – Partial
- Accessibly supported to color input – Partial
- Accessibly supported to meter – No
- Accessibly supported to placeholder – Partial
Safari with 73% score and Internet Explorer 11 with poor 56% completed the list. The fact that Internet Explorer has hardly managed to surpass half-way mark, it shows how much Microsoft has improved with Microsoft Edge on Windows 10.
As part of the Anniversary Update, Microsoft has already announced EdgeHTML 14. This is the third and most significant update to the Microsoft Edge web platform since its launch a year ago. Microsoft says that it has made major improvements and fixed hundreds of bug in EdgeHTML 14. The company claims that the new Edge is easier to navigate with a keyboard and comes with assistive technologies like screen readers.
Added to above, EdgeHTML 14 has better support for PDF files, Narrator support for address bar suggestions and instant answers, and a wide range of improvements to common daily browsing features such as tabs, windows, and favorites.
Surely, this could be a good time to re-capture lost browser market to Chrome for Microsoft.
Visit html5accessibility.com if you want to test the browser’s capabilities for yourself.
