Microsoft Edge Browser Now Available With Native Support for M1 Macs

[MacRumors]

Microsoft has updated its Edge browser with native support for Apple Silicon, promising optimized performance for Macs with the M1 chip.

The update was announced through the official Edge developers Twitter account, which invited users to download the new version from the Microsoft Edge Canary Channel, a subsection of the Microsoft Edge Insiders website.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1339355828978114560

Microsoft didn't specify what kind of performance improvements users can expect from the M1-optimized version of its browser, but if it's anything like Firefox's supercharged Apple silicon update, loyal Edge users should have something to celebrate.

Earlier this week, Apple shared a list of popular apps optimized for M1 Macs that are available in the Mac App Store, such as Pixelmator Pro, Adobe Lightroom, Affinity Designer, Darkroom, Fantastical, OmniFocus, BBEdit, Instapaper, and Twitter. Apple boasted that apps optimized for the M1 chip deliver "game-changing speed and capabilities."

Last month, Apple released its first Macs with the M1 chip, including a new 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini.

Article Link: Microsoft Edge Browser Now Available With Native Support for M1 Macs

 

[Carlson-online]

did anyone REALLY ask for this

 

[matrix07]

I'm surprised Brave is not ready by now.

 

[Akrapovic]

One of the biggest problems with Windows 10 for ARM was the lack of updates to existing software making it a difficult transition to make (along with poor chip support - the processors that were chosen were not good ones).

One of the biggest worries with moving to the ARM chips was going to be software support. And the turn around from developers has been absolutely fantastic. It's already becoming a non-issue only a month into to the transition.

 

[carlsson]

It's nice that Microsoft supports the M1! (even if I personally don't use any of their software, except Remote Desktop)

 

[nothingtoseehere]

did anyone REALLY ask for this

Yes, I! 👏

 

[Akrapovic]

I'm surprised Brave is not ready by now.

I love Brave, but I'm not surprised at all. Their software updates are slow and ropey. How long was bookmarks sync disabled for, after they found a bug that wiped bookmarks? 6 months?

 

[matrix07]

I love Brave, but I'm not surprised at all. Their software updates are slow and ropey. How long was bookmarks sync disabled for, after they found a bug that wiped bookmarks? 6 months?

Yeah I might go for Edge instead of it.

 

[markcres]

This announcement is like saying I can finally cook monkey brains in my microwave!

 

[MakeAppleAwesomeAgain]

One of the biggest problems with Windows 10 for ARM was the lack of updates to existing software making it a difficult transition to make (along with poor chip support - the processors that were chosen were not good ones).

One of the biggest worries with moving to the ARM chips was going to be software support. And the turn around from developers has been absolutely fantastic. It's already becoming a non-issue only a month into to the transition.

At this point I'm more worried about Intel support in a few years. Can't be long before there are ARM-only apps.

 

[BuffaloTF]

did anyone REALLY ask for this

Did anyone ask for the best browser available to be fully coded for ARM?

I can see your point, probably nobody.

 

[carlsson]

Did anyone ask for the best browser available to be fully coded for ARM?

Why is it the best?

 

[mazz0]

Why are they offering separate download links rather than just a universal binary that the user doesn't even have to think about? Seems unnecessarily confusing.

 

[Populus]

Did anyone ask for the best browser available to be fully coded for ARM?

I am truly interested to know why is it the best browser on the mac platform. Please could you try to sell it to me?

 

[Corsig]

I found it to be a really great browser. Very fast

 

[BuffaloTF]

Why is it the best?

Let's see...

Faster
Uses far less memory with all the same tabs and extensions enabled (around 1/3 the total Chrome uses)
They stripped out all of Google's tracking services, using strictly the rendering engine
To that previous point, there's far more Privacy settings that are very easy to find, like Brave, to give more granular control
Has PlayReady DRM in addition to WideVine, so you can use it for more media sites
Tracking Prevention (like Safari) by default
And for those in an older Enterprise Corpo world... IE mode

 

[jgrove]

I am confused, I assume this is still a development release? rather than a public release?

 

[BuffaloTF]

I am confused, I assume this is still a development release? rather than a public release?

Yes, Canary is before Beta. Like... bringing a canary into a mine. If it dies you know to leave.

 

[locrumo]

Just somebody please mod the W98 to it. All i want for christmas.

 

[2499723]

Subjective opinion incoming: I really like Microsoft Edge (and have been using this Canary release most of the day). Edge features many of the benefits of Google Chrome (website compatibility, etc) without having to use a Google product. This M1 version is very quick indeed and feels snappy. According to Activity Monitor, memory usage is on par with Safari in terms of general browsing (sits around 10% of CPU usage). I haven't tested video playback within each browser, mind, and I'm on a Mac Mini, so I can't speak to any effects on battery life.

 

[MacRS4]

I found it to be a really great browser. Very fast

Completely agree - I've ended up using it on all of my kit instead of Chrome. Fast, smaller memory footprint, doesn't completely ruin my battery like Chrome does, multi-platform to stuff I can't install other things on (like customer sites etc.), and it seems compatible with pretty much everything!

I was surprised to find myself using it so much - now it's my main browser. If you only have one or two Macs, and say an iPad, I could understand staying with Safari. If you've several bits of kit across Windows & Mac, then honestly I find Edge pretty awesome.

 

[locrumo]

It is compatible with any adblock?

 

[MacRS4]

I have adblock running on mine, works fine. EDITed to add, I haven't tried this version on my M1 'pro so I'm not sure if it works on this release. Works fine on the normal Edge browser on MacOS though.

 

[grad]

Why is it the best?

It's not.

 

[bviktor]

It is compatible with any adblock?

On paper it's compatible with _all_ Chrome extensions, since you can install extensions from the Chrome store. But there are also many adblockers in the Edge store, I personally prefer uBlock coz it works on YouTube in-video ads.