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Opinion on the Edge stable release

Bronze Contributor

@Elliot Kirk I heard that a stable version of edge is planned to be released in the near future.

Edge is NOT ready! There are several features that are missing and flags that need to be added before its launch. For example:

Flags:

  • Smooth Scrolling
  • Collections, and collections needs to be improved and streamlined for easier use, as well as being more obviously available and not just a box that you don't know what is there for and don't care.
  • Parallel downloading.

Features:

  • Doodle on web-page
  • Set tabs aside (unless it can be effectively substituted by collections, as of right now, it can't)
  • Ask Cortana
  • Ctrl+K duplicates tab
  • Refresh all tabs on right click
  • Scrollable Tabs
  • Tab previews
  • Drop down picture of tab when hovering over it.

Please consider adding these before release. Thanks!

 

12 Replies
Umm who said "planned to be released in the near future." ?
best response confirmed by cjc2112 (Bronze Contributor)
Solution

@cjc2112  I would be cautious about adopting the suggestion that Edge Chromium is nearing release.

 

Microsoft has said not a word about release timing other than to say that the browser will be released "when it is ready".

 

The trade press is heavy with speculation, however, right now. This is a sampling from yesterday, October 22:

 

Is Microsoft Edge Chromium close to a stable release? Download links are live for Windows 10
(OnMSFT 2019-10-22): "Microsoft still has yet to announce the official launch date of the new Microsoft Edge, and it’s entirely possible the download links could be removed later. But seeing as how far the company has gotten with development with new features such as Collections for organizing web pages, it wouldn’t be too surprising for the company to announce something soon."

 

"Stable" version of Chromium-based Edge shows up on Google Search (Neowin 2019-10-22): "However, upon running it for the first time, you'll see a page welcoming you to the Beta channel, so it's apparent the browser isn't quite ready for a general release yet. It's also the same exact version number that's currently available in the Beta channel, so it won't behave any different for now. The fact that it can be found so easily now might hint at a launch sometime soon, though."

 

Microsoft Edge stable download link goes live as the browser nears the launch (Overwatch 2019-10-22): "Now, after almost a year of testing, Microsoft seems to be ready for the official launch of Chromium-based Edge. First spotted by Techdows, searching for ‘Microsoft Edge stable’ on Google now shows the download link of the stable build of Microsoft Edge."

 

Microsoft’s Chromium Edge Stable Build Arrives on Search Results (WinBuzzer 2019-10-22): "Microsoft’s Chromium Edge Stable channel is now showing up in Google Search in Chrome 78, with a link available directly from Microsoft’s website. TechDows suggests this appearance means Microsoft is ready to send out the full release of its Chromium-based browser soon."

 

That's a small sampling. 

 

I don't put much stock in the speculation.

 

Edge Chromium is not ready for prime time yet (see "Top Feedback Summary for October 22" to get a sense of the tip of the iceberg), and given the complexity of deployment**, Microsoft needs to test deployment thoroughly to avoid an "update broke my box" debacle.

 

Deployment will likely be preceded by a "consumer education" campaign, too.  Edge Chromium is sufficiently unlike Edge (Classic) so as to cause disruption for many consumers if a "consumer education" campaign does not precede launch.

 

The build of the leaked "Stable" version is outdated (it is an earlier build than the current Beta), so the launch version will need careful testing, as well.

 

All of this suggests to me that trade press speculation about imminent release is almost certainly wrong.

 

Microsoft cannot afford a botched launch. I hope that Microsoft does this very carefully, and that will take time. At this point, I don't trust anything other than official Microsoft statements.

 

=====================

** Based on a document intended for Enterprise customers but not directly addressing consumer deployment issues, it looks like Edge Chromium will be embedded in Windows 10 at some point during/after initial deployment, replacing Edge (Classic) and uninstallable through normal methods once deployed; accordingly, deployment is likely to be complex and prone to error/failure if not carefully managed.

 

Don't forget that sync and imports isn't completed yet. You can't sync extensions or collections for example and they're still working on importing from other browsers.

 

 

Microsoft is going to bring Edge to Chromium 80: Chromium 80 stable will only release on February 4, 2020.

We have over 100 days to go

Do you have a single fact to back that up?
Yes, just wait and see :)

In case you don't want to wait, you can read the forum post

 

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Discussions/Top-feedback-summary-for-October-22/m-p/927511

 

Meanwhile, you may notice that the top feedback labeled “Option to set a custom photo as the New Tab Page background photo” has changed from “Planned for October” to just “Planned”. This reflects a bit of a delay internally. We are spending more time iterating on the interaction model and visual design of the New Tab Page and we had to temporarily reassign resources. Nonetheless, we are aware that many of you are eagerly awaiting this feature and we intend to get back to it as soon as possible. We hope to get it into an Edge80 build. We’ll update the status when our plan for this one becomes more firm.

 

That sounds like they are aiming for Edge80 to be their first stable build :)

 

Oh and this: https://chromiumdash.appspot.com/schedule

There is also the possibility they'll release it before 80 as well. Stable 79 comes out december 10th and they very well could have a basic release by then.

They can but what would be the point of it? the beta/dev/canary is already available for anyone who want to use it. as OP said there are lots of missing features for a stable release.

 

Let's say they release the stable even right now. who would use a broken browser?

even if they release the stable version, i will still keep using Canary or Dev because I want faster access to new features and don't want to wait months for something new to be available for me (that's why I use Windows insider instead of normal Windows.)

@tomscharbach Thank you for clarifying.

@cjc2112   I wouldn't get too focused on when Microsoft will release Edge Chromium.  The simple fact is that we don't know, and Microsoft isn't saying.

 

I think that it is important to bear in mind that Edge Chromium will be under continual development after initial release, with updates coming every six weeks or so during the life of the product.

 

That's because both Chromium and Google Chrome follow a six-week Canary/Dev/Beta/Stable development cycle, renaming (e.g. 78, 79, 80 and so on) as new Stable versions are released. Microsoft seems to be following that cycle and will probably follow that cycle going forward.

 

As to when Microsoft will initially release, it seems to me that Microsoft is going to release Edge Chromium when (1) Microsoft decides that a Stable version "is ready", (2) deployment strategies have been tested and deemed working acceptably, and (3) Microsoft has a consumer education process in place and deployed.

 

Edge Chromium Stable 80 might be that point, or it might not. Although it is unlikely to be earlier (e.g. 79), it could well be later. All we can do is our job -- use, test, report.

 

Edge beta will soon be upgraded to version 79, Dev and Canary should also very soon be upgraded to version 80 just like Google chrome canary.
Stable version of Edge 80 will be in Feb 2020 and that sounds like a good date to integrate it into Windows 10 as build 2003 (20H1) will come out
1 best response

Accepted Solutions
best response confirmed by cjc2112 (Bronze Contributor)
Solution

@cjc2112  I would be cautious about adopting the suggestion that Edge Chromium is nearing release.

 

Microsoft has said not a word about release timing other than to say that the browser will be released "when it is ready".

 

The trade press is heavy with speculation, however, right now. This is a sampling from yesterday, October 22:

 

Is Microsoft Edge Chromium close to a stable release? Download links are live for Windows 10
(OnMSFT 2019-10-22): "Microsoft still has yet to announce the official launch date of the new Microsoft Edge, and it’s entirely possible the download links could be removed later. But seeing as how far the company has gotten with development with new features such as Collections for organizing web pages, it wouldn’t be too surprising for the company to announce something soon."

 

"Stable" version of Chromium-based Edge shows up on Google Search (Neowin 2019-10-22): "However, upon running it for the first time, you'll see a page welcoming you to the Beta channel, so it's apparent the browser isn't quite ready for a general release yet. It's also the same exact version number that's currently available in the Beta channel, so it won't behave any different for now. The fact that it can be found so easily now might hint at a launch sometime soon, though."

 

Microsoft Edge stable download link goes live as the browser nears the launch (Overwatch 2019-10-22): "Now, after almost a year of testing, Microsoft seems to be ready for the official launch of Chromium-based Edge. First spotted by Techdows, searching for ‘Microsoft Edge stable’ on Google now shows the download link of the stable build of Microsoft Edge."

 

Microsoft’s Chromium Edge Stable Build Arrives on Search Results (WinBuzzer 2019-10-22): "Microsoft’s Chromium Edge Stable channel is now showing up in Google Search in Chrome 78, with a link available directly from Microsoft’s website. TechDows suggests this appearance means Microsoft is ready to send out the full release of its Chromium-based browser soon."

 

That's a small sampling. 

 

I don't put much stock in the speculation.

 

Edge Chromium is not ready for prime time yet (see "Top Feedback Summary for October 22" to get a sense of the tip of the iceberg), and given the complexity of deployment**, Microsoft needs to test deployment thoroughly to avoid an "update broke my box" debacle.

 

Deployment will likely be preceded by a "consumer education" campaign, too.  Edge Chromium is sufficiently unlike Edge (Classic) so as to cause disruption for many consumers if a "consumer education" campaign does not precede launch.

 

The build of the leaked "Stable" version is outdated (it is an earlier build than the current Beta), so the launch version will need careful testing, as well.

 

All of this suggests to me that trade press speculation about imminent release is almost certainly wrong.

 

Microsoft cannot afford a botched launch. I hope that Microsoft does this very carefully, and that will take time. At this point, I don't trust anything other than official Microsoft statements.

 

=====================

** Based on a document intended for Enterprise customers but not directly addressing consumer deployment issues, it looks like Edge Chromium will be embedded in Windows 10 at some point during/after initial deployment, replacing Edge (Classic) and uninstallable through normal methods once deployed; accordingly, deployment is likely to be complex and prone to error/failure if not carefully managed.

 

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