Internet Explorer has long been described as the best browser to download Google Chrome, and its successor, originally codenamed Project Spartan and then launched as Microsoft Edge, made no difference.

It’s no secret that the legacy version of Microsoft Edge failed to make an impact, so its adoption seriously lagged behind the one of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

By migrating to the Chromium engine, Microsoft Edge is getting a second chance to impress, and by the looks of things, so many people already like what they see.

The Chromium-powered Microsoft Edge is often considered a worthy alternative to Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, so it’s no surprise that a growing number of users want to abandon these two and adopt the new browser as their daily driver.

Microsoft offers several methods to configure Edge as the default browser on Windows 10, including a new option that was recently added to the Canary release.

First of all, it’s the traditional method that involves going to the Settings screen manually to configure the default apps on Windows 10. The path is the following:

Windows 10 > Settings > Apps > Default apps > Web browser

Click the name of the browser that is currently configured as default on your system and then choose Microsoft Edge from the list.

But at the same time, Microsoft is also adding a new option that makes the whole thing much easier. The Canary version of the application has recently been updated with a tool to easily set Edge as the new default. You can find the new option in Microsoft Edge Canary version 82.0.439.0 and newer at the following location:

Microsoft Edge > Settings > Default browser > Make default

However, the existing version of Edge Canary can’t be configured as the default browser on Windows 10, with Microsoft explaining that this release is specifically supposed to be used for testing and nothing more.

“The Canary channel cannot be made your default browser. Canary builds can be unstable – they’re released daily to validate bug fixes and test brand new features.”

However, you can bypass this limitation and set Canary as default using the first method that involves you manually browsing to the default apps screen on Windows 10.

For the time being, the “Make default” option is missing from the stable version of Edge, but there’s no doubt Microsoft will include it in the next update. And of course, it’ll work as expected, as the stable Edge is the recommended version for those not willing to deal with bugs and other issues.

Thanks to the migration to the Chromium engine, Microsoft Edge is now available on macOS as well – a Linux version is also in the works, but this one doesn’t have an ETA just yet, as Microsoft said it was only looking into this idea.

The new make default option in the browser would thus be aimed at all platforms where Microsoft Edge is available, so on macOS and Linux, it should help set it as the default option much faster. Of course, each platform comes with other methods of setting the default apps, but this new addition makes the whole process substantially more convenient going forward.

On Windows 10, the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge replaces the legacy version as the new default automatically – the browser is offered on Windows Update but can also be installed manually using the standalone installers available on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and macOS.


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