For example, Microsoft’s streaming gaming service xCloud maybe available on the Edge browser only.Īnother possible benefit is an improved Netflix experience on Linux. With Edge, you can use some Microsoft specific products on Linux. I see a couple of benefits for desktop Linux users. More Bing users is something Microsoft would love to have. If Edge is used by more users, it improves the chances of bringing more users to Bing. The Internet Explorer and Edge use Bing as the default search engine. Microsoft too has a search engine named Bing. Without Chrome, Google would have to rely entirely on the other browsers. On other browsers like Firefox and Safari, Google pays hundreds of millions to be kept as the default web browser. With Chrome, Google is the default search engine. The answer is that Google is a search engine and it wants more people using its search engine and other services so that it can earn revenue from the ad services. But why would a search engine put so much of energy behind a ‘free web browser’? When Google launched its Chrome browser in 2008, no one had thought that it will dominate the market in just a few years. I also think that Edge on Linux has mutual benefits for Microsoft and for Linux users. If Microsoft does anything for Linux, specially desktop Linux, it becomes a news. What’s the big deal with Microsoft Edge coming to Linux? Don’t we have plenty of web browsers available for Linux already? I think it has to do with the ‘Microsoft Linux rivalry’ (if there is such a thing). Chromium is also available as a standalone web browser and some Linux distributions use it at as the default search engine. Google’s Chrome browser is also based on Chromium. Lastly, Microsoft decided to give Edge an overhaul by rebasing it on open source Chromium project. However, it still could not bring the crown home and as of today, it stands at the fourth position in desktop browser usage share.
It was tightly integrated with Microsoft’s digital assistant Cortana and Windows 10. Microsoft tried to gain its lost position by creating Edge, a brand new web browser built with EdgeHTML and Chakra engine. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer once dominated the browser market share, but it lost its dominance in the last decade to Google’s Chrome.
Is Microsoft Edge coming to Linux really a big deal? Of course, it still may not be enough to replace your primary browser like Firefox, but if the need arrives, you may use it. You still do not have the ability to sign in / sync but considering it as a preview build, I must say that it is pretty impressive to start with. Microsoft Edge is currently a developer preview build on Linux but it works fine for the most part.
Now, you just need to install Microsoft Edge using these commands: sudo apt update & sudo apt install microsoft-edge-stable Microsoft Edge on Linux The above-mentioned commands add the necessary repositories. It would be good to remove the downloaded GPG key because it has already been added to the system. sudo sh -c 'echo "deb stable main" > /etc/apt//microsoft-edge-stable.list' Now, add the repository to your sources.list directory. sudo install -o root -g root -m 644 microsoft.gpg /etc/apt// curl | gpg -dearmor > microsoft.gpgĪdd this GPG key to the trusted keys in your system. Here are the commands that you have to follow through the terminal to add the PPA and install Edge.ĭownload the GPG key for the Microsoft repository.
In either case, you can also add the official repository to install Microsoft Edge on Linux. Alternate Method: Install Microsoft Edge beta on Ubuntu based Linux distributions via command line Microsoft adds its repository to the sources.list so that you get updates to Microsoft Edge through system updater. You may set up the browser for your liking and start enjoying Edge on Linux. Uncheck the ‘Help Microsoft’ option to stop them from using ‘optional diagnostic data about you’. On the first run, it asks to accept privacy policy. Once installed, you can launch it from the application menu: Start edge from the menu
Downloaded DEB or RPM file should be opened in the Software Center application Alternatively, you can use a tool like Gdebi for Ubuntu/Debian based distributions.
The file should be opened in the Software Center and you can install it from there.
Just double-click on the downloaded file to install it.
Once the download finishes, you should see the file in your Downloads folder. You’ll have to accept an EULA before downloading the browser You’ll have to accept Microsoft’s terms and conditions before downloading the file. You probably already know which Linux OS you are using and can download the appropriate file.