Modern web browsing demands speed, security, and powerful integrated tools. Microsoft Edge delivers a fast, Chromium-based experience that is optimized for performance across all major platforms.
This free utility is built upon the open-source Chromium project, ensuring broad compatibility with websites and extensions. It also brings Microsoft’s unique features, such as the integrated Copilot AI and IE Mode for legacy enterprise compatibility, making it a strong alternative to other browsers.
The browser is designed to sync seamlessly across your desktop and mobile devices. Users can download Microsoft Edge for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS to maintain a consistent browsing environment everywhere.
In This Post
Quick Start & Pro Tips
Enabling Strict Tracking Prevention
- Click the three-dot menu (Settings and more) in the upper-right corner.
- Select Settings.
- Navigate to Privacy, search, and services.
- Under Tracking prevention, select the Strict option.
Why: Selecting the Strict level offers the most restrictive blocking of trackers, which significantly enhances user privacy and security, though it may occasionally cause minor display issues on some websites.
Optimizing Performance with Efficiency Mode
- Click the three-dot menu (Settings and more) in the upper-right corner.
- Select Settings.
- Navigate to System and performance.
- Under Optimize Performance, locate and enable Efficiency mode.
Why: Efficiency mode is a key feature for power users on laptops, as it minimizes power usage by reducing background tab activity and some foreground activity, directly extending battery life during long browsing sessions.
Disabling Background App Tasks
- Click the three-dot menu (Settings and more) in the upper-right corner.
- Select Settings.
- Navigate to System and performance.
- Toggle off the setting: Continue running background extensions and apps when Microsoft Edge is closed.
Why: This setting prevents the browser and its associated extensions from consuming system resources like CPU and RAM after the main application window is closed, which is crucial for maintaining overall PC performance.
Download Microsoft Edge
Size – 379.3 MB
Windows
Download Microsoft Edge for Windows – x64
Download Microsoft Edge for Windows – x86
Download Microsoft Edge for Windows – ARM
Mac
Download Microsoft Edge for Mac – x64
Linux
Download Microsoft Edge for Linux – x64
Download Microsoft Edge for Linux – x64
Android
Download Microsoft Edge from Google Play Store
iOS
What’s New in This Version
- Fixed a macOS issue that caused Microsoft Edge to fully saturate one CPU core under certain conditions.
- Enhanced Diagnostic Data Collection for Customer Support, allowing users to export diagnostic information via Alt + Shift + I.
- Update to Microsoft Edge mini menu for Mac, triggered on text selection on websites and PDFs.
- New WebGL software backend for improved rendering in certain environments.
- Fixed various bugs and performance issues.
- Security updates.
For complete changelog, visit the official release notes.
Tech Specs
| Software Name | Microsoft Edge |
|---|---|
| Version | 144.0.3719.128 Stable |
| License | Free |
| File Size | 379.3 MB |
| OS Support | Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows Server, macOS 12+, Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE), Android 10.0+, iOS 18.0+ |
| Language | Multi-language |
| Developer | Microsoft |
| Homepage | https://www.microsoft.com/edge |
| Changelogurl | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-relnote-stable-channel |
| Last Updated | February 2026 |
Key Features
- Copilot AI Integration: The browser includes a built-in Copilot button, providing AI-powered features like page summarization, image creation, and complex question answering directly within the sidebar, enhancing productivity and research capabilities.
- Vertical Tabs and Tab Groups: Users can organize their browsing sessions efficiently by moving tabs to the left side of the screen with Vertical Tabs, which helps manage a large number of open pages without cluttering the top bar, and by grouping related tabs together.
- Internet Explorer Mode (IE Mode): For enterprise users and legacy applications, IE Mode provides compatibility by utilizing the older MSHTML browser engine, which is essential for accessing websites that rely on legacy technologies like ActiveX and BHOs.
- Enhanced Tracking Prevention: The browser offers three levels of privacy control—Basic, Balanced, and Strict—allowing users to block trackers from social media, advertisers, and other third parties to protect online activity and reduce personalization.
- Immersive Reader and Read Aloud: Built-in accessibility tools like Immersive Reader improve reading comprehension by simplifying webpage layouts, while the Read Aloud feature converts text into a listening experience for better focus and multitasking.
- Efficiency Mode and Sleeping Tabs: Performance features like Efficiency Mode and Sleeping Tabs minimize power usage and system resource consumption by automatically putting inactive background tabs to sleep after a set time, which is particularly beneficial for laptop battery life.
FAQ
Is Microsoft Edge free to download and use?
Yes, Microsoft Edge is a proprietary web browser developed by Microsoft that is completely free to download and use across all supported platforms.
What is the minimum operating system required for Microsoft Edge?
For desktop users, the minimum requirement is Windows 10 SAC 1709 or later, or macOS 12 or later. Mobile users need Android 10.0+ or iOS 18.0+.
Can I install Chrome extensions in Microsoft Edge?
Yes. Because Microsoft Edge is built on the Chromium open-source project, it supports extensions from both the official Microsoft Edge Add-ons store and the Chrome Web Store.
Discover more from Software Wave
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.