X
Business

Microsoft releases first Chromium-based Edge preview for MacOS

Microsoft officially has released the 'Canary' version of its Chromium-based Edge browser for MacOS. Developer and beta previews for MacOS are 'coming soon.'
Written by Mary Jo Foley, Senior Contributing Editor
chromiumedgeformacos.jpg
Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft is making officially available today, May 20, the first preview builds of its Chromium-based Edge for MacOS. The release follows by a month the first officially released Chromium-based Edge Canary and Developer previews for Windows 10.

Microsoft's goal with the new Edge on macOS is to give users a "Mac-like user experience," officials said in a blog post. That means Edge on MacOS will use Apple conventions for fonts, menus, keyboard shortcusts, title casing and more.

At the same time, Microsoft is making some features with the MacOS version exclusive to that platform by targeting specific Mac hardware features like the Touch Bar and video controls.

Microsoft is committing to providing the same preview channels on MacOS as it is doing with the Windows versions of the new Edge. A beta channel, updated every six weeks, is "coming soon." The Dev Channel, updated weekly, also is "coming soon." The Canary Channel preview, which is updated daily, is what Microsoft is releasing today.

In December 2018, Microsoft revealed plans to create a new version of Edge by using Chromium combined with some components currently in Edge, all in the name of providing greater browsing compatibility across the web. At that time, officials said Microsoft planned to make  the new Edge browser available on Windows 7, 8.1, 10 and MacOS.. While Edge will continue to ship with Windows 10, Microsoft finally will be updating it independently of the operating systems on which it runs, meaning it will be updated and patched more frequently than the non-Chromium-based MSHTML version of Edge is currently.

Microsoft has yet to release officially previews of the new Edge browser for Windows 7, but leaked versions were installable on Windows 7 as of March.

All the Chromium-based browsers

Editorial standards