Microsoft has quietly released a new Canary version of its Edge browser on the Google Play Store, which Android users can install alongside the regular version of the app. Microsoft Edge Canary for Android was first spotted on Reddit (via Windows Central), and the app description promises daily updates just like on the desktop Canary channel.
Last month, Microsoft announced that its Edge browser would get a common codebase across desktop and mobile, and the release of the Canary channel on Android is an important milestone in this new cross-development effort. Xbox consoles are also getting the new Chromium-based Edge later this year, and but Xbox Insiders can currently test it ahead of its public release.
The version 91.0.858.0 of Microsoft Edge Canary on Android introduces some minor changes including a new menu layout, and users can also enable hidden features via the edge://flags menu. You probably shouldn’t expect full feature parity with the desktop version of Edge for now, but bringing the Edge Insider channels to iOS and Android will still allow the Edge team to innovate faster on mobile.
We don’t know yet when Edge Canary will make its debut on iOS, and the current beta version of Edge available via Apple’s Testflight app hasn’t been updated since April 1. However, it’s not exactly clear how Microsoft will be able to bring the Chromium codebase to the iOS version of Edge, as Apple currently requires all third-party browsers on iOS to use its WebKit engine.
