Microsoft releases Edge browser versions with Chromium engine for Windows 10

Microsoft has released two official test versions of the Chromium-based Edge browser for Windows 10 for the first time. At the end of last year it became clear that Microsoft will base its Edge browser on Chromium.

Microsoft explains that it concerns a Canary test version that is updated daily and a developer version that is provided with weekly updates. These are now available for download by users with a Windows 10 PC. These are preview versions; beta versions of Edge on Chromium will be available sometime in the future, as will support for macOS and other versions of Windows.

According to Microsoft, these test versions are about the fundamental properties; as a result, there is not yet a large number of features or broad language support available. Those kinds of things will follow at a later time. The company says that with the test versions over the regular Edge, users will see subtle design changes, support for a larger selection of extensions and the ability to customize the logged-in profile.

The Redmond company announced last year that it will base Edge on Chromium and that a macOS version will be released. This switch enables Microsoft to bring the browser to Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and macOS. Also, users would get better web compatibility and developers would have to deal with less fragmentation. At the end of last month, a Chromium-based Edge browser appeared online, although it was an unofficial file that was not released by Microsoft.