Microsoft has been building a Chromium-powered version of its Edge web browser for quite some time, and now it’s available to the public.
On Wednesday, Microsoft launched its new Chromium Edge web browser, making it available for Windows 10 and macOS. The company is initially leaning towards enterprise customers for the browser, but it’s available for the general public as well today. You can find the download link to try it out right here.
For Windows 10 users, Microsoft will be automatically updating users in the weeks ahead. The company is playing it slow for now, but it plans to have the Chromium Edge browser out for all users by the end of the summer of this year. And, as noted by The Verge, the new browser is rolling out to OEMs, which means computers should have the new Edge browser pre-installed in the near future.
It’s also noted that while an ARM64 version of the Chromium Edge browser is coming at some point in the future, it will not be available today.
There are some caveats to be aware of at launch, though:
While Edge Chromium is available today, it’s also launching without some features you might be familiar with if you’re used to using Chrome. Both history sync and extension sync are missing at launch, but things like favorites, settings, addresses / contact info, and passwords will all sync. Microsoft is planning to have these missing sync features available later this year. The good thing is the rest of Edge is very similar to Chrome and even includes support for Chrome extensions. Where Edge differs is new features like Collections, which allows you to collate images and content from the web, and tracking prevention.
The new Chromium Edge has three separate levels to stop tracking while using the browser. By default, Edge will stop trackers from sites you haven’t visited before. This should keep harmful trackers off your radar, but also make sure that general content and ads aren’t so personal as you browse the internet.
(Think of it as working akin to Ghostery.)
So the wait is over and Chromium Edge is now available for all users. Who’s downloading it?