Microsoft not yet distributing Chromium version Edge browser via Windows Update

Microsoft will not distribute the new version of its browser Edge based on Chromium via Windows Update in the coming weeks and months. That will probably happen in a few months. The browser can be installed manually.

In the coming weeks, Microsoft will only replace the current Edge with the new one among some of the users of the Release Preview ring in the Insiders program, the company says. This concerns Edge 79. Only if the feedback is good will Microsoft also replace Edge with other users, but that will be done in phases. That process is likely to take months.

Microsoft is so careful because, in addition to a different engine, Edge also has a changed interface and changed functions, which probably makes many users see it as a different browser. It had been known for some time that Edge based on Chromium would be released this Wednesday. Among other things, lists of favorites are included in the new version, which can be manually installed from Wednesday from the Edge site.

Companies can choose not to install the new Edge at all for the time being or to use both versions side by side. Companies can run into compatibility issues if, for example, certain internal web applications are written specifically for Edge.