14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just announced that its new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser can be installed on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 as part of its testing program.
Previously, the browser was released in preview on Windows 10 and macOS.
While Microsoft Edge comes to Windows 7 and 8.1 with the same look and feel as its Windows 10 sibling, some features are missing, including the dark theme. However, Redmond promises to add this feature “soon.”
Microsoft, however, says it intends to offer the same experience to developers as part of its plan to reduce improve the WWW.
“Delivering the next version of Microsoft Edge to all supported versions of Windows is part of our goal to improve the web browsing experience for our customers on every device, and to empower developers to build great experiences with less fragmentation,” the Microsoft Edge team said in a blog post.
Dark mode not yet available
“Microsoft Edge will have the same always up-to-date platform and the same developer tools on all supported versions of Windows and macOS. This will reduce developer pain on the web, while ensuring all Windows customers have the latest browsing options,” it adds.
Only the Canary build of Microsoft Edge available for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1, but Microsoft says the Dev channel would be released on older Windows very soon as well.
The release of Microsoft Edge on Windows 7 comes at a time when the operating system is already in the last months of support. Windows 7 is projected to be retired in January 2020, and many believe that a new browser on this platform could be reason enough for some users to refuse the upgrade to a newer Windows release.
There are no specifics as to when the stable version of Microsoft Edge should go live, but in the meantime, users can download the Microsoft Edge preview builds from this page.