Microsoft Corp. today previewed the next major iteration of its Edge browser, which will be based on the same engine as Google LLC’s Chrome.

Microsoft first revealed the effort to rebuild Edge in December, saying the initiative will see the browser decoupled from Windows 10. The company plans to make it available on older versions of the operating system as well as macOS, plus restructure the way that software updates are released.

Two early versions of the new Edge are currently available for download as part of the preview. The first is the Canary build, which changes with every new day and contains the enhancements that Microsoft’s developers have made in the preceding 24 hours. The second edition, the Dev build, is a slightly more stable version that’s updated weekly.

The browser makes no effort to hide the fact that’s it’s using Chromium under the hood. Microsoft has equipped the new version of Edge with several Chrome-inspired interface elements, the most visible of which is the revamped navigation bar.

There’s now a page refresh button on the left side of the address bar where the Home shortcut used to be. To the right, a new profile icon similar to the one in Chrome lets users log into their Microsoft accounts. But the company is still very much keen on preserving Edge’s look and feel, which it plans to accomplish by carrying over key features from the original.

One such capability is the Set Tabs Aside option for saving tabs that may be useful later. Another feature that is set to land in the Chromium-based version is the Edge scribbling tool, which lets users write or draw on a webpage as if it were a printed document.

The browser will also continue to offer capabilities geared to enterprises. The login button next to the address bar will work with Azure Active Directory, Microsoft’s platform for managing employee access to internal services, and Application Guard is set to be included in the browser as well. The latter tool allows Edge to run suspect web pages in an isolated container that prevents malware from infecting the operating system.

At the same time, users will have access to the features that are unique to Chrome, most notably the ability to install extensions from the Chrome Web Store. Over time, Microsoft plans to make those extensions available directly through the Microsoft Store in order to provide a more streamlined experience.

“Along with what’s visible in the browser itself, we’ve also begun to make contributions back to the Chromium open source project,” wrote Joe Belfiore, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for Windows. “These include areas like accessibility, touch, ARM64 and others.”

Photo: Microsoft