Microsoft has revealed it will follow in the footsteps of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox (opens in new tab) with a recompiled version of its flagship web browser (opens in new tab) Edge, specifically for Apple’s new M1 chip (opens in new tab).
The new custom Arm-based silicon made its debut in the new MacBook Pro (opens in new tab), MacBook Air (opens in new tab) and Mac mini (opens in new tab), and a range of software providers have rushed to release M1-native builds in a bid to avoid performance degradation.
As confirmed by Microsoft via Twitter (opens in new tab), users can already run Edge on the new range of Macs via Apple’s Rosetta translator service, but native M1 support is also in the works.
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Microsoft Edge for Apple M1 Macs
While services such as Rosetta for macOS and Windows on Arm allow software to run in emulation on Arm-based processors, they also bring about an inevitable drop in performance, because computing resources must be set aside for translation.
The other option for developers hoping to avoid this problem is to recompile their software specifically for Arm-based silicon (such as Apple’s new M1 chip). The move to optimize software is mutually beneficial for both parties, who share an incentive to ensure their respective products run as smoothly as possible.
Google Chrome (opens in new tab) was the first web browser to run natively on M1, but the new version is not without its problems; some users found the browser caused new Apple machines to crash unexpectedly. The firm says it has already identified the cause of the issue and is working to release a fix as soon as possible.
Microsoft, which has already released an M1-specific version of its Office (opens in new tab) suite, will be hoping to avoid similar problems with the release of Microsoft Edge for M1.
Although the firm has yet to confirm when an M1-specific version will be released, the speed with which its rivals have turned around new builds suggests Edge fans won’t have long to wait.
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Via Windows Central (opens in new tab)
