Microsoft Edge now available for all Linux users

New Microsoft Edge logo on a computer screen

Microsoft's Edge browser for Linux is now available for all users rather than just experimental ones. That makes it available for all major operating systems, bringing it in line with its major competitors Chrome and Firefox.

The company explained the browser has graduated to the stable channel, meaning it's available for mainstream users.

The stable release is available for Linux distributions including Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, and Ubuntu.

"This milestone officially rounds out the full complement of major platforms served by Microsoft Edge through stable channel: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and now Linux," said the company.

Microsoft launched the Linux version of the browser in October 2020, making it initially available in preview builds and aiming it primarily at developers. The preview version didn't include all user features, including omitting the ability to sign in via Microsoft accounts. The company added more features in later versions of the product, introducing sign in and sync support for personal Microsoft accounts in March this year.

Edge for Linux graduated from the Dev channel to the Beta channel in May, signaling it was more stable and introducing more features.

Microsoft Edge originally ran on its own engine, but Microsoft switched to the open source Chromium engine also powering other browsers, including Google's Chrome and the Vivaldi browser. Microsoft removed the legacy version from Windows 10 in April.

Microsoft Edge has seen growth recently, gaining market share from Chrome. In 2020, a report indicated Chrome usage decreased from 69.94% in September to 69.25% a month later while Edge use increased from 8.84% to 10.22%.

Danny Bradbury

Danny Bradbury has been a print journalist specialising in technology since 1989 and a freelance writer since 1994. He has written for national publications on both sides of the Atlantic and has won awards for his investigative cybersecurity journalism work and his arts and culture writing. 

Danny writes about many different technology issues for audiences ranging from consumers through to software developers and CIOs. He also ghostwrites articles for many C-suite business executives in the technology sector and has worked as a presenter for multiple webinars and podcasts.