The first “stable” release of Microsoft’s Chromium-based Edge browser is now commercially available, Microsoft announced recently.
This new Edge browser (version 79) is based on the open source Chromium Project’s engine, largely fostered by Google, which is also central to Google’s Chrome browser.
Microsoft kicked is now a Chromium Project code contributor. The older EdgeHTML-based Edge browser still exists (Microsoft now calls it “Microsoft Edge legacy”), and it is going to get replaced at some point by the new Chromium-based version.
The new Edge browser is currently available for “all supported versions of Windows and macOS in more than 90 languages” and also is available for use on Android and iOS systems. Capabilities for Microsoft Edge including AAD support, Internet Explorer mode, 4K streaming, Dolby audio, inking in PDF, Microsoft Search in Bing integration, support for Chrome-based extensions, and more.
. When you do make the switch, your favorites, passwords, form fill information and basic settings will carry over to the new Microsoft Edge without you having to do anything. IT administrator, will need to download an offline deployment package to pilot within a corporate environment—the new Microsoft Edge will not automatically deploy for commercial customers. Additionally, none of the Microsoft Edge preview channels will update to the new Microsoft Edge, as they can be used side-by-side for testing and validation.
The new Edge is much faster and web sites load quickly in it, even with multiple tabs, . The new Edge doesn’t slow down the longer you use the browser, especially when you have multiple tabs open. When you leave IE or Chrome running with multiple tabs in use, it becomes so sluggish you need to close the browser down –not with the new Edge.
