Microsoft is planning to launch a preview version of its Edge browser for Linux next month. After officially confirming plans for Edge on Linux earlier this year, Linux users will be able to download a preview of the browser in October.
The Linux version of Microsoft Edge will look and feel almost identical to the Windows and macOS versions. That’s because it’s essentially the same browser. From a features perspective, almost all of Edge’s features will be available, except those that require Windows-specific code such as Internet Explorer mode.
Microsoft announced that Edge for Linux will be available in the Dev preview channel starting in October. Linux users will be able to download the preview from the Microsoft Edge Insider website or from their native Linux package manager. Microsoft will start with the Ubuntu and Debian distributions, with support for Fedora and openSUSE coming afterwards.
Microsoft wants Edge to be “the browser for business.” Bringing Edge to Linux isn’t so much an attempt to grow market share as it is a way to give businesses the option of rolling out a single browser to all their employee’s devices.
We are thrilled with customer interest we’ve received since we first announced our intention to bring Edge to Linux. We’ve heard feedback from business customers that they want one browser solution to deploy to their organization regardless of platform, and we’re excited to bring an offering to those that need a solution for Linux.
said Edge program manager Kyle Pflug.
Microsoft specifically wants to ensure enterprise developers can get Edge for Linux. The primary goal is to reduce testing costs for businesses that want their websites to work on Edge.
Once Microsoft releases the first preview in October, the team plans to ship weekly builds in sync with the Dev channel on Windows and macOS. Microsoft promises developer tools, extensions, test automation, WebDriver, and Puppeteer will all work.
