Microsoft Edge with Apple silicon support is now available in the Beta Channel

Macbook Air M1 (Image credit: Daniel Bader / iMore)

What you need to know

Microsoft Edge with Apple silicon support is now available in the Beta Channel.

Those lucky enough to be running one of Apple's M1-powered Macs can now get hold of a version of the Microsoft Edge web browser that's designed for use on Apple silicon. The updated version is now available in the Canary, Dev, and Beta channels.

Microsoft made an Apple silicon version of Edge available to the Dev Channel in December 2020 and the latest release in the Beta Channel suggests that it probably won't be too long before it's in the hands of everyone.

Starting today, you can download your Microsoft Edge Insider channel of choice with native macOS ARM64 support! Head to our Insider website to download Canary, Dev, or Beta to see how it runs, and let us know what you think. 💪 https://t.co/GkOtE8JaCi https://t.co/4XGdzcE31dStarting today, you can download your Microsoft Edge Insider channel of choice with native macOS ARM64 support! Head to our Insider website to download Canary, Dev, or Beta to see how it runs, and let us know what you think. 💪 https://t.co/GkOtE8JaCi https://t.co/4XGdzcE31d— Microsoft Edge Dev (@MSEdgeDev) January 15, 2021 January 15, 2021

While Edge will run perfectly happily via Apple's Rosetta 2 x86 emulation, there's no doubt that a native Apple silicon version of the app will be more performant. Whether that's enough for you to run a beta web browser, however, is very much a decision for you.

Download it now

Microsoft Edge

A worthy browser.

The new Microsoft Edge runs on Chromium, supports popular extensions, and regularly gets new features from Microsoft. The Canary, Dev, and Beta versions of Edge get new features to test and try out regularly as well.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.