14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is working at full speed on making Edge browser a better rival to Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, but it’s no secret that adoption of its app is impacted by exclusive availability in Windows 10.
Redmond, however, might be looking into ways to address this problem, and is now exploring the demand for Edge browser on rival mobile platforms, including Android and iOS.
Fahad Al-Riyami, who is a Technology Strategist at Microsoft, is asking users on Twitter to vote if they want to see Microsoft Edge browser on Android and iOS, linking to a post on Microsoft Community forums where this request was originally posted.
The forum post dates back to August 2, 2015, which is only a few days after Windows 10 was officially introduced, but in the meantime, it reached 5 pages of discussions because of users who asked Microsoft to bring Edge browser on Android and iOS.
Microsoft: No plans to bring Edge on non-Windows platforms
Back in 2015, Microsoft clearly said that Edge would remain a Windows 10-exclusive for a while, pointing out that there were no plans to bring the browser to older versions of Windows or Android or iOS.
The company explained that it wanted first to get Edge right on Windows and then explore other possibilities, such as rolling out a mobile version of the browser for Android and iPhone users.
Furthermore, Microsoft also discussed the possibility of bringing browser extensions on Windows 10 Mobile devices, saying that this was indeed part of their Edge expansion plan, admitting however that it could take more time to do it because of the screen size and the battery impact.
Edge is definitely evolving, and the upcoming Creators Update is projected to bring even more browser features, but its future beyond Windows is not yet known. Microsoft seems to be considering bringing Edge on non-Windows operating systems, but for the moment, it’s all just an idea.