Microsoft Edge finally lands on Linux in October

Microsoft Edge on Linux
(Image credit: Microsoft / Windows Central)

The revamped version of Microsoft Edge is set to be released on Linux in October, so there really isn’t long to wait now – at least for the initial test version.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed that the preview version of Edge for Linux will be out next month and users will be able to grab the browser either from the Edge Insider website or via the native package installer for their particular Linux distro.

Speaking in his opening keynote at the company's Microsoft Ignite event, Nadella confirmed that Edge would be coming to Linux soon - but provided little extra detail.

How will the browser be implemented on Linux? Exactly the same as it is on Windows and macOS already, so you can expect to benefit from all the same features – except for Windows-specific bells and whistles (like Internet Explorer mode).

We’ve known for some time that Edge has been inbound for Linux, with Microsoft confirming this was the case almost a year ago at the last Ignite conference. So it’s taken some time for the app to finally arrive.

Edging out the competition?

Edge has been given a pretty warm reception on Windows 10, at least by the folks who have adopted the revamped Chromium-based web browser, and there’s no denying it’s a big step forward from the original Windows 10-only version.

It’ll certainly be good for Linux users to make up their own minds about Edge, and it’ll obviously be yet more users for Microsoft – although in that quest, the dangerous territory the software giant has been treading with Windows 10 is pushing rather too hard on plugging the browser on services like OneDrive and even within the operating system itself.

With the preview version soon to arrive, hopefully if there aren’t many snags found, we can expect the release version on Linux shortly thereafter.

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Via Windows Central

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).