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Microsoft Launches First Microsoft Edge Preview Builds for Mac Users

deannnnn said:
Just because we're Apple fans doesn't mean you have to hate Google. I use Chrome first, Safari second because I am forced to use a PC at work and need something cross-platform.
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Not sure I would call myself an Apple fan. I like some Apple products, and I am willing to use others simply because I don’t have to guess if Google is collecting and selling my personal data, they admit that they do.

I suspect that Apple isn’t the white knight that they portray themselves to be as far as security goes, but if they were 1/2 as bad as Google that story would be all over the internet and the press and lots of companies would be spending 24 hours a day, 365 days a year pointing out each and every transgression.

Once again, I wouldn’t be surprised if eventually verified stories are brought to light about Apple mining data. I just don’t think it is as prevalent as Google/Amazon doing it is.
 
When I first heard about this, the first thing that went through my mind was "talk about solving a problem that nobody asked for"....
 
coolfactor said:
I've had this installed for a couple of weeks, but rarely launch it. YET, I'm notified that updates get installed. I never gave it permission to install updates automatically, and there doesn't seem to be any way to turn that off. Typical Microsoft... a wolf in sheep's clothing.
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coolfactor said:
I've had this installed for a couple of weeks, but rarely launch it. YET, I'm notified that updates get installed. I never gave it permission to install updates automatically, and there doesn't seem to be any way to turn that off. Typical Microsoft... a wolf in sheep's clothing.
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I presume you have automatic updating turned off in the app store on the MAC, and it is still doing this, by your complaint?
 
Ken Linger said:
Well, perhaps the only reason for a Mac user to use it would be the syncing with Microsoft for things like bookmarks, passwords, form-data. Chrome already does this (via Google) so it's not anything new. It would be, though, a cross-platform sync for users who have both Macs and PCs and have standardized Windows on using Microsoft's browser.

However, being that this essentially Chrome, the current Mac experience is that it looks and feels like Chrome and can even use Chrome plug-ins. The syncing features aren't yet available.
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The main reason for this is that chromium based browsers offer the best compatibility. But not everyone wants to sell all their data to Google. So this is actually a good thing.
 
I‘ve been using this build for 2 weeks now. A little slow on this announcement
Julie!


MacRumors said:



Microsoft today announced the launch of a preview or canary build of its Microsoft Edge browser designed for the macOS operating system.

Microsoft Edge for macOS can be installed from the Microsoft Edge Insider site on compatible Macs.

microsoftedge.jpg

Microsoft first unveiled plans to bring the Microsoft Edge browser to the Mac at its annual Build developer conference in Seattle, held on May 6. Shortly after, a canary version of the browser appeared on Microsoft's site, but it was not made officially available until today.

According to Microsoft, Edge on the Mac will be quite similar to the Edge experience on Windows, but with "user experience optimizations" to make it "feel at home on a Mac." The overall look and feel of the browser will be tailored to match "what macOS users expect" from Mac apps.

Microsoft says that the initial build available today includes several interface changes to meld the Microsoft design language with the design language of macOS.Exclusive user experiences for macOS are also coming in the future, such as "useful and contextual actions" for the Touch Bar on Touch Bar-compatible Macs. Trackpad gestures will also be supported.

To use the new macOS version of Microsoft Edge, a Mac running macOS 10.12 or later is required.

Article Link: Microsoft Launches First Microsoft Edge Preview Builds for Mac Users
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Bawstun said:
That’s because literally every other browser available on Mac or iOS is better than Safari.

All of them.

Firefox is BLAZINGLY fast on iOS with their new under the hood improvements.

Dolphin Browser

Opera Touch

Opera

Chrome

I mean take your pick. Safari is default installed, featureless-garbage. ‍♂️
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Not everyone shares your feeling on the subject (an opinion is actually fact based). I use safari technology preview, mostly to clear cookies and tracking data whenever I feel like it. It is an excellent experience. I use Chrome from time to time, but meh nothing special. I have used Opera, meh same nothing special. Seriously, it is just a browser, none of them do anything special or are too unique, or they wouldn't be able to render web pages successfully, or run html5.

but....some research, using google: "My overall takeaway is that Safari still appears to be the fastest browser on the Mac, but not by nearly as much as it used to be. Overall, Safari was 6% faster than Chrome across all tests, winning 3 of the 5 tests." https://birchtree.me/blog/summer-2018-browser-speed-test-mac-and-ios-edition

Not to question your feelings on the subject, but clearly you must have a non-emotive decision criteria.
 
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Anyone know if this will let 5k iMac users the option to watch 4k Netflix? I know the only way previously was to boot from Windows and then Edge to watch 4k Netflix

Update, just downloaded, doesn't look like Netflix is 4K, youtube is 4K, like previous post with screenshot, but already had the 4k youtube option with Chrome, hope Netflix has 4K support on 5K iMacs soon without booting from Windows
 
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surfrocket281 said:
Anyone know if this will let 5k iMac users the option to watch 4k Netflix? I know the only way previously was to boot from Windows and then Edge to watch 4k Netflix

Update, just downloaded, doesn't look like Netflix is 4K, youtube is 4K, like previous post with screenshot, but already had the 4k youtube option with Chrome, hope Netflix has 4K support on 5K iMacs soon without booting from Windows
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See post 32 for your answer. ;)
 
MacRumors said:
According to Microsoft, Edge on the Mac will be quite similar to the Edge experience on Windows, but with "user experience optimizations" to make it "feel at home on a Mac." The overall look and feel of the browser will be tailored to match "what macOS users expect" from Mac apps.
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Just from this screenshot, I can see that the close widgets are on the wrong side of the tabs, and that ugly menu in the upper right does not match normal Mac menu style and is pointless anyway since it duplicates options found in the normal menu bar. These are two "foreign" UI elements that are commonly found on "cross-platform" browsers on the Mac. If MS really wants to push Edge as a native-feeling browser, they could start by fixing these two simple things.
 
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EdT said:
Not sure I would call myself an Apple fan. I like some Apple products, and I am willing to use others simply because I don’t have to guess if Google is collecting and selling my personal data, they admit that they do.
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Google tells you they collect data. True. They don't admit they sell your personal data. Not really sure why you think they would, or why you think they do. They don't. Neither does Apple. Apple can tell you better than I can. Read their support document below.

EdT said:
Once again, I wouldn’t be surprised if eventually verified stories are brought to light about Apple mining data. I just don’t think it is as prevalent as Google/Amazon doing it is.
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Why would you need a verified story that Apple data mines? Apple tells you they data mine. They even tell you how they data mine. They even ask you if they can datamine even more with differential privacy. Again, you don't need a story. Apple's Advertising info tells you what you need to know. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205223 Problem is, we've paid far too much attention to Apple's marketing of privacy instead of it's policies surrounding privacy.

On topic. The Edge browser is actually okay. I sort of ignored it for a long time until I used it on my XB1 and got MS Points. The browser didn't suck. I think I'll load it on my old MBA and see how it differs from the Windows version.
 
johannnn said:
I assume they’re spending resource on this for a good reason. Why should I use this instead of Safari or Chrome? Does Microsoft have their own bookmark sync etc? Tight interaction with OneDrive? Are they pushing users to Bing (which is ******)?

I have a Mac in corporate, but I always use Safari first, and then move to Chrome if the site is ****** coded and don’t work properly in Safari. When and why should I launch this browser?
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When your boss give you a Mac and everything else you have starts with the word Surface.
 
The reason to use it is very simple. It’s chromium based without all the google tracking ****. I will much rather use this than Chrome. Usually I start with safari but if it’s not compatible I move to something else and this is a good alternative. It works very well to be in its early stages of development. It may also be useful for those who have and want to use a Microsoft account instead of a google account to sync their stuff. Again, I don’t appreciate google tracking and knowing about everything I do on the internet
 
johannnn said:
I assume they’re spending resource on this for a good reason. Why should I use this instead of Safari or Chrome? Does Microsoft have their own bookmark sync etc? Tight interaction with OneDrive? Are they pushing users to Bing (which is ******)?

I have a Mac in corporate, but I always use Safari first, and then move to Chrome if the site is ****** coded and don’t work properly in Safari. When and why should I launch this browser?
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If you work with multiple PCs, macs and phones Safari is not a good option because of passwords and history mainly. Safari is fine, and is great if you only use Mac and iOS, I personally prefer Firefox because it uses less resources than Chrome, but chrome is the most used browser and Microsoft can reach more users by contributing to the open source code, adding more features, better for business apps, Developer tools, azure integration and the .net platform, eventually Chrome or other chromium based browser could also adopt those features which Is a win for MS and developers anyway. Is not about edge, but contributing to the chromium open source community and adding more features to the engine of Chrome, so you don’t have to switch to edge, you can continue using Chrome and will also have access to what MS contributes. If you don’t like to be heavily tracked but like Chrome foundation, speed and benefits, edge will be the alternative, except the for the ugly icon.
 
moabal said:
Hasn't this been out for a few weeks already? I have it installed.
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cicton said:
I‘ve been using this build for 2 weeks now. A little slow on this announcement
Julie!
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It literally says in the article that its availability has not been officially announced until now:
MacRumors said:
Microsoft first unveiled plans to bring the Microsoft Edge browser to the Mac at its annual Build developer conference in Seattle, held on May 6. Shortly after, a canary version of the browser appeared on Microsoft's site, but it was not made officially available until today.
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(My emphasis)

johannnn said:
I assume they’re spending resource on this for a good reason. Why should I use this instead of Safari or Chrome?
Click to expand...
More choice.

More choice is good.
 
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I have had this installed for over a week, it doesn't appear to have any defining features that make it better than Chrome and it doesn't have some of the features that Chrome does, which is disappointing given that it is based on the Chrome code base.

Chrome is my browser of choice right now, as an English speaker living in Sweden. The ability to translate pages within the browser automatically from Swedish to English is an absolutely killer feature for me and isn't supported by Safari. I hoped that Edge might include translation backed by Bing Translate, because actually Bing's translation from Swedish to English is actually quite good, no such luck however. Hopefully it will come in a future update.
 
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