Two software giants, Microsoft and Google, will pause issuing updates to the Edge and Chrome browsers. The decision was taken due to issues with getting the work done in connection with the ongoing Coronavirus crisis.
The Chrome team won't release Chrome 81, it will remain in the Beta Channel.
Due to adjusted work schedules, we’re pausing upcoming Chrome & Chrome OS releases. Our goal is to ensure they continue to be stable, secure, & reliable for anyone who depends on them. We’ll prioritize updates related to security, which will be included in Chrome 80. Stay tuned.
— Chrome Developers (@ChromiumDev) March 18, 2020
Microsoft Edge, which is following the Chromium engine releases, will also remain with Chromium 80 for its rendering engine.
In light of the current circumstances, the Edge team will pause updating the Stable channel to Edge 81 consistent with the Chromium Project. We are committed to continued security and stability updates to Edge 80. We’ll have more to share on this next week. https://t.co/nWfm87MEK2
— Microsoft Edge Dev (@MSEdgeDev) March 20, 2020
For Edge, its actual versions are as follows:
- Stable Channel: 80.0.361.66
- Beta Channel: 81.0.416.28
- Dev Channel: 82.0.453.0
- Canary Channel: 82.0.458.0
As you can see, Edge Beta is now on Chromium 81, so its release to the stable branch will be delayed. It is not clear whether this pause will affect other browser branches. Microsoft currently manages the Canary branch, supporting its regular cadence.
Support us
Winaero greatly relies on your support. You can help the site keep bringing you interesting and useful content and software by using these options:
@Sergey
Related question: I manually installed Chromium Edge Beta on my PC running Win 10 Home and now I have 2 Edge browsers.
I was led to believe the chromium version would replace the exsisting version but it did not. Is this normal?
if you install its stable version, THEN it will replace the classic Edge app.
The page I downloaded it from only showed 3 options, Beta, Dev, and Canary. Apparently I was on the wrong page.
Thanks.
@Sergey
Hello again!
Now that I’ve got Chromium Edge Stable in I am liking it. (As a replacement for Edge, I use different browsers for different things)
The question: Can I make the new tab page blank?
It can no longer be done in the settings. I usually set it to “about:blank” or a local file “BlankBlackPage.html” that I made.
I will look a bit later.