Chromium powered Edge is also coming to macOS and Windows 7

[AlTech]

Previously, it was reported that Edge on Windows 10 would ditch EdgeHTML and be using Chromium.

 

 

This news topic:

 

ArsTechnica reports that Chromium powered Edge will be also coming to macOS and Windows 7.

 

Quote

Switching to Blink is seen as the easier way to break the Windows 10 dependence, and so not only will Edge's release cycle be decoupled from Windows 10's, Microsoft will also make the new Edge available on Windows 7 and macOS.

The old Edge rendering engine is probably not entirely going away; it will be used for embedded Web views in Windows apps.

 

Ars also states that they believe we won't see the new Edge powered Chromium for several months.

 

Quote

In tandem with this, the company is also having to develop new engineering processes. For its use of Chromium to be successful, Microsoft must be able to very quickly incorporate updates made to the Chromium code, build Edge, and then distribute it through Windows Update. Any delays in this process risks creating security gaps, wherein a flaw is fixed in Chrome/Chromium but still exposed in Edge. Quick integration is straightforward for a pure clone of Chromium, but the more Edge diverges from Chromium, the harder this task becomes. Designing this development process is still a work in progress. It's not yet known if, for example, Microsoft is going to adopt Google's multiple development channels.

And, of course, it's not yet known how well Microsoft and the Chromium project will work together. Microsoft would like things, such as improvements to scrolling performance, to be merged into core Chromium so that the experience even of Chrome users on Windows is improved. But this isn't guaranteed. Blink is itself a fork of the WebKit rendering engine, created because Google and Apple couldn't reconcile their different priorities in the same codebase. Microsoft has significant reasons to want to avoid any major deviation, but it would be a shame if Edge users were forced to give up the things Edge does well just so Microsoft can stay close to Chromium.

The need to create that engineering and development process has another consequence: Microsoft isn't expecting to have any builds of Edge with Blink for several months.

 

It's possible we're going to see the new Edge in Wndows 10 19H1 as well as an optional download for WIndows 7 and Chromium until then.

 

It's likely that we won't see Chromium become the default browser engine in UWP apps due to the existing Microsoft Store Policies preventing it and also it could break compatibility with existing apps and also because Microsoft would need to release the tools to make it work in UWP apps.

 

As for my opinion, I'm surprised and I do think that having the new Chromium powered Edge on macOS and Windows 7 is definitely a good thing although I'm surprised that there was no mention of Linux support considering Chromium and Chrome support Linux.

[DrMacintosh]

Having it on macOS would certainly help in the software integration department, but it’s a far cry from Safari or Chrome. 

[Zando_]

megathonk.png

 

any reason to use it over Safari, which integrates with my iCloud and keeps all my passwords, suggests new secure ones and remembers them for me automatically, syncs all my things across all devices? Or Firefox which also does most of that with a Sync account? 

[HarryNyquist]

2 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

It's likely that we won't see Chromium become the default browser engine in UWP apps due to the existing Microsoft Store Policies preventing it and also it could break compatibility with existing apps and also because Microsoft would need to release the tools to make it work in UWP apps.

I doubt it's policy; microsoft makes the policy after all.

 

Existing compatibility I don't think would be an issue since UWP apps work on the .NET framework and .NET is backward-compatible for the most part. Same with the tools. It's more likely that EdgeHTML has special fiddling around to support UWP and .NET, and Blink doesn't.

 

MS would have to write something like a wrapper around Blink to support UWP apps, something they haven't stated they're doing, but also haven't denied.

[LukeSavenije]

 

nothing more to say

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

11 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

although I'm surprised that there was no mention of Linux support considering Chromium and Chrome support Linux.

linux users always get left behind...

 

*cries* i'm one of them... 

[LukeSavenije]

2 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

linux users always get left behind...

 

*cries* i'm one of them... 

not really. Linux uses like adventures. They'll find their way to run it on it. just wait a while...

[Fnige]

3 hours ago, Zando Bob said:

megathonk.png

 

[ZacoAttaco]

3 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

Having it on macOS would certainly help in the software integration department, but it’s a far cry from Safari or Chrome. 

I mean...the product isn't even out yet so I'll hold judgement until then.

 

I find it interesting that they are supporting Windows 7, but not Windows 8. Both Windows 8 and Windows 7 are in 'Extended Support Period' with their 'Mainstream Support' ending. There are probably more users of 7 than 8 but they must have bigger plans for the browser if they are adding more extensive support than was already existing for Edge or even that their plans have changed. Hmm.

[DrMacintosh]

4 minutes ago, ZacoAttaco said:

I mean...the product isn't even out yet so I'll hold judgement until then.

I don’t mean to sound like a hack, but I don’t need to see the software relased to know that it’s going to be less convenient than Safari. Just like you don’t need to watch a hammer that you’ve dropped hit the floor, to know that it has fallen. 

 

Keychain is my password manager, iCloud syncs my tabs/history/favorites, Safari has handoff between Mac and iOS, and Safari is already installed on all my devices. 

 

Tbh every browser other than Safari is out of consideration for me. The walled garden kinda does that to you. 

[ZacoAttaco]

14 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

I don’t mean to sound like a hack, but I don’t need to see the software relased to know that it’s going to be less convenient than Safari. Just like you don’t need to watch a hammer that you’ve dropped hit the floor, to know that it has fallen.  

  

Keychain is my password manager, iCloud syncs my tabs/history/favorites, Safari has handoff between Mac and iOS, and Safari is already installed on all my devices.  

  

Tbh every browser other than Safari is out of consideration for me. The walled garden kinda does that to you.  

Yeah that's understandable, I think that's a more accurate statement than 'it's a far cry for Safari of Chrome'. You're definitely in that walled garden, for better or worse. If you're pretty sure you'll stick with Apple devices, there is really no harm in being in there ecosystem. If you want another device...that's a different story.

[DrMacintosh]

9 minutes ago, ZacoAttaco said:

Yeah that's understandable, I think that's a more accurate statement than 'it's a far cry for Safari of Chrome'. You're definitely in that walled garden, for better or worse. If you're pretty sure you'll stick with Apple devices, there is really no harm in being in there ecosystem. If you want another device...that's a different story.

My Windows Desktop actually throws a pretty big wrench in my workflow. Thanfully iCloud Drive integrates with FileExplorer. Otherwise I’d really be in pain. 

[Fnige]

3 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

Thanfully iCloud Drive integrates with FileExplorer. Otherwise I’d really be in pain. 

Apple removes support for integration with file explorer

actually...

 

[themctipers]

please make it good so I can have mobile tab syncing and not have to deal with this:

[NeuesTestament]

15 hours ago, LukeSavenije said:

not really. Linux uses like adventures. They'll find their way to run it on it. just wait a while...

The question is why you would want to run Edge 

[LukeSavenije]

Just now, NeuesTestament said:

The question is why you would want to run Edge 

the question is how this time already. but that too.

[JoostinOnline]

The first time I encountered a program called Chromium, it was some very difficult to remove malware. Every time I see an article with Chromium in the title, I get a strong sense of frustration and dislike. I doubt the "new" Edge is going to change that.

[TechyBen]

1 minute ago, JoostinOnline said:

The first time I encountered a program called Chromium, it was some very difficult to remove malware. Every time I see an article with Chromium in the title, I get a strong sense of frustration and dislike. I doubt the "new" Edge is going to change that.

You got a fake program, and blame everyone else. XD

Fake programs are called everything, including "worddoc.exe" and "windows.exe", so would you stop using Windows?

 

[JoostinOnline]

14 minutes ago, TechyBen said:

You got a fake program, and blame everyone else. XD

Fake programs are called everything, including "worddoc.exe" and "windows.exe", so would you stop using Windows?

 

That's not what I said. This was a long time ago, and the word "Chromium" (which wasn't a browser yet) wasn't taken by Google.

 

[Valentyn]

16 hours ago, DrMacintosh said:

Having it on macOS would certainly help in the software integration department, but it’s a far cry from Safari or Chrome. 

There are still government and business sites here in Ireland that won’t even accept or use Edge, over Internet Explorer.

 

It’ll be interesting to see how well MS can handle this. 

[Doobeedoo]

So many Chromium browsers now heh. Also will it retain Edge name. 

[LAwLz]

Seems short sighted to not make embedded web views also use Blink. 

That means they will either have to keep developing EdgeHTML, or UWP will slowly lose compatibility with embedded websites as the standards moves on. 

[Donut417]

Yeah because people are going to jump shit and use Edge even if its powered by Chromium. 

 

I dont like edge Sam I am. I dont like here or there I dont like it any where. I dont like it in a house I dont like it with a mouse. I dont like Edge Sam I am. 

[sYNTHwAVE]

On 12/11/2018 at 8:38 AM, ZacoAttaco said:

I mean...the product isn't even out yet so I'll hold judgement until then.

 

I find it interesting that they are supporting Windows 7, but not Windows 8. Both Windows 8 and Windows 7 are in 'Extended Support Period' with their 'Mainstream Support' ending. There are probably more users of 7 than 8 but they must have bigger plans for the browser if they are adding more extensive support than was already existing for Edge or even that their plans have changed. Hmm.

I think they want to pretend 8 never happened.. and vista *shudders*

[ZacoAttaco]

1 hour ago, sYNTHwAVE said:

I think they want to pretend 8 never happened.. and vista *shudders*

Yeah, Vista was a super short life cycle, I hope there aren't too many machines running it. My grandmother was running it until I updated her to Windows 10 and it actually runs pretty well on her old HP.