Microsoft today announced that its Edge web browser is coming to iOS, starting with a beta version for iPhone available today.
Microsoft Edge will primarily appeal to iPhone users that use a Windows PC instead of a Mac thanks to a "Continue on PC" feature that enables users to push a website from the mobile to desktop version of the browser, like Apple's Handoff.
Continue on PC functionality on the desktop side will be part of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, available worldwide October 17.
The mobile version also includes access to favorites, history, a reading list, and e-books, but The Verge said tabs and history of what you browse on your smartphone are not shared to the desktop version of Edge yet.
"Microsoft's Joe Belfiore says the company still has work to do on the desktop version of Edge to support this, but the company is hoping to enable this at some point in the future," said reporter Tom Warren.
The report added that Bing, Google, and Yahoo can be set as the default search engine in Edge for iOS, which has a similar design as the desktop version. The mobile version doesn't have Cortana or built-in ad blocking.
On iOS, Microsoft is using Apple's WebKit engine, as required for all third-party browsers on the platform. From a compatibility perspective, Microsoft said Edge for iOS should match the version of Safari that is currently available for iPhone.
Keep in mind that, like other third-party web browsers, Microsoft Edge cannot be enabled as the default browser on iPhone.
Microsoft Edge for iOS is currently available in English only, but the company said it will add support for other languages as it expands the preview. iPad and Android support will be added in the future as well.
Access to the Microsoft Edge Preview for iOS is reserved for Windows Insiders. The beta can be installed through Apple's TestFlight program.
Microsoft Edge for iOS should be available on the App Store later this year.
Top Rated Comments
The ability to download and install a new browser from Edge
Those two people who use Edge are going to be happy though :)
I know we're going for the easy "likes" here, folks, but please don't embarrass yourselves. ;) Microsoft Edge is to Windows as Apple's Safari is to Mac. If you prefer Firefox, you download it, but many of us are quite content with the default Safari/Edge browsers and their integration with the OS. (And that don't make us sheep, neither!) :p
Don't fall too hard off your high horses.