It was back in early December 2018 when Microsoft first announced its radical plans to replace its in-house Edge browser with one that's based on Google's open-source Chromium. Today, the new browser is generally available. If you're on Windows 10, you can expect to see it show up on your PC over the next few months if you don't already have it.
Public testing for the browser didn't arrive until April, and it was only for Windows 10, and only for Canary and Dev channels. Support for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, macOS, Windows Server 2008/2012, and Windows Server 2016+ all came later, as did the Beta channel.
Obviously, the biggest improvement in the new Edge is that it's based on Chromium, which means that it will render the web in the same way as the most popular browser in the world, Google Chrome. Of course, Microsoft has stripped out all of the Google and added its own bits. It's also contributed quite a bit to the Chromium Project.
The Windows platform downloads apply to all supported client and server releases of Windows. Learn more about supported Windows releases. Microsoft Edge follows the Modern Lifecycle policy. Learn more about supported Microsoft Edge releases. To download the Microsoft Edge Dev preview channel for Linux, please visit Microsoft Edge.
Since it's based on Chromium, you'll actually now be able to use Chrome extensions. Developers can submit their extensions to Microsoft, or you can choose to install them from Google's Chrome Store.
- Our links in Sharepoint will not open with Edge. We moved our users to Edge and found this problem. Now we have having our users go back the using Internet Explorer.
- I need to set a default browser to be something other than IE 11 on a single server for all users who log on to it. I do not want to set a domain wide group policy as this will affect their domain joined laptops as well. Is there a way I can set Edge Chromium to be the default browsers for all users on this single server?
- This new Microsoft Edge runs on the same Chromium web engine as the Google Chrome browser, offering you best in class web compatibility and performance. The new Chromium based Microsoft Edge is supported on all versions of Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows Server (2016 and above), Windows Server (2008 R2 to 2012 R2), and macOS.
There are some other new features to call out though. Edge Chromium now has a feature called IE Mode, which will open an Internet Explorer page right within a tab in Edge. It's meant for businesses that have legacy needs, so they'll no longer have to use IE. Of course, IE will continue to ship with Windows 10 for the foreseeable future.
Another key new feature is called Collections. This allows you to gather up links, images, text, and anything else from around the web and put them into different groups. There are also new privacy features, and a whole lot more.
Unfortunately, there are a few things that Edge will be missing out of the gate. It won't have native support for ARM64, so if you've got a Windows on ARM PC, you'll have to stick with Edge Canary or Edge Dev for now. Two other things missing will be history syncing and extension syncing. Also, it's not exactly a priority, but the new Edge browser for Xbox One and HoloLens will also be coming later on.
Again, if you're on Windows 10, you're going to see this show up soon through a Windows update, and it will replace the Edge Legacy browser. If you're on any other supported platform, you'll have to go out and get it. The browser is coming today for Windows 7, which is no longer supported, and while it's unclear how long Edge will remain supported on the legacy OS, Google has committed to another 18 months of full Chrome support.
If you want to get the new Edge now, you can download the stable version here. As always, you can download a preview version here.
-->This article describes the supported operating systems that apply to Microsoft Edge.
Note
This article applies to the Microsoft Edge versions 77 and higher for the desktop.
Supported Operating Systems for Microsoft Edge
Note
Product functionality and feature availability may vary on older operating systems. To ensure that Microsoft Edge installs correctly, use the latest version of any operating system specified below. This guidance includes the latest cumulative update, as applicable.
Microsoft Edge follows the Modern Lifecycle Policy and is supported on the following operating systems.
Windows Client
- Windows 7 **
- Windows 8.1
- Windows 10 SAC 1709 and later ***
- Windows 10 Enterprise 2015 LTSC
- Windows 10 Enterprise 2016 LTSC
- Windows 10 Enterprise 2019 LTSC
- Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session
- Windows 10 IoT Enterprise SAC ****
- Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2019 LTSC ****
Windows Server
- Windows Server 2008 R2 **
- Windows Server 2012
- Windows Server 2012 R2
- Windows Server 2016 (LTSC)
- Windows Server 2019 (LTSC)
- Windows Server (SAC)
Edge Chromium Server 2016
Important
** We will continue to support Microsoft Edge on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 until January 15, 2022. These operating systems are out of support and Microsoft recommends you move to a supported operating system such as Windows 10. While Microsoft Edge helps keep you more secure on the web, your PC may still be vulnerable to security risks. In order for IE mode to be supported on these operating systems the devices will need to have the Extended Security Updates for Windows 7. Without the Windows 7 Extended Security updates Internet Explorer functionality will be vulnerable to security risks. Additionally, IE mode functionality may cease to work without the continued servicing through the extended security updates.
*** In the same fashion as above, for Windows 10 SAC releases that are out of support but Microsoft Edge is supported it is recommended to upgrade to a supported Win10 SAC release as soon as possible to remain secure. Microsoft Edge being supported in this state should be considered a temporary bridge to getting to a supported OS state.
**** The Microsoft Edge OPK is available on MOO for IoT OEMs to preinstall and distribute as part of their Windows 10 IoT Enterprise based solution.
macOS
- Sierra (10.12) and later
iOS
Microsoft Edge for iPad® and iPhone® requires iOS 11.0 or later. Microsoft Edge for iPad Pro™ requires iOS 11.0 or later. Microsoft Edge is supported on the two most recent versions of iOS. When a new version of iOS is released, the Microsoft Edge Operating System requirement becomes the then-current two most recent versions: the new version of iOS and the previous version.
Android
Microsoft Edge for Android can be installed on tablets and phones that meet the following criteria: devices running Android KitKat 4.4 or later with an ARM-based processor.
Apple Silicon Macs
Microsoft Edge native support as of Stable version 88 for Apple Silicon Macs.
Ms Edge Chromium Server 2016
Chromebooks
Microsoft Edge does not support Chromebooks.
Recent changes
- 12/17/2020 - Microsoft Edge support on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 extended to January 15, 2022.
- 01/28/2021 - Microsoft Edge support for Apple Silicon Macs.
Download Edge For Windows Server
See also