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Microsoft Edge for Linux is now available for all users, supporting multiple distributions including Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and openSUSE

Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet :

ZDNet Mary Jo Foley

Context & Ripple Effects

This closes a three-year arc. In December 2018 Microsoft committed to rebuilding Edge on Google's Chromium engine and taking it beyond Windows to macOS and Windows 7/8; by June 2020 it was pushing the Chromium browser to every Windows 10 machine via automatic update. The Linux preview promised in October 2020 is now generally available, with packages for Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and openSUSE.

First-order effects

  • Linux desktop users on the four supported distributions can now install a stable Edge, giving Microsoft a supported browser on every major desktop OS for the first time.
  • Edge's Linux arrival puts it in direct default-browser competition with Chrome and Firefox on a platform where Microsoft previously shipped nothing.

Second-order effects

  • Chromium-based browsers now cover the Linux desktop from two of the largest browser vendors, squeezing engine diversity toward Firefox and raising the cost for distros to maintain independent defaults.
  • Enterprise Linux deployments that standardize on Microsoft's management stack gain a native Edge option, tightening Microsoft's grip on mixed Windows-Linux estates.

Third-order effects

  • The pattern holds that Microsoft's post-Chromium strategy treats the browser as portable infrastructure rather than a Windows lock-in asset — if Edge adoption on Linux grows from this base, browser competition shifts further from engines to services layered on a shared Chromium core.

The trend: Microsoft is completing its cross-platform software push, shipping the last major desktop OS version of a browser rebuilt to live beyond Windows.

Related: Microsoft Edge · Linux · Nominal versus usable openness · Microsoft rebuilds Edge on Chromium

Related Coverage

Discussion

  • @liliputingnews Liliputing on x
    Microsoft Edge browser is now available for Linux in a stable channel version (it was previously dev/beta-only). It's available in .deb and .rpm packages. https://blogs.windows.com/... https://twitter.com/...
  • @kylealden Kyle Pflug on x
    Super excited to release (supported! stable!) Microsoft Edge on Linux today. We're now on all major desktop and mobile platforms. It's been a fun journey from some enthusiastic conspiring in a conference room to today. Hat tip to @TheLarkInn for steering the ship into port! https…
  • @maryjofoley Mary Jo Foley on x
    Edge for Linux is now available, for all you Chredge fans: https://www.zdnet.com/...