Microsoft has been working on a new version of the Edge browser based on the Chromium open source project for some time, and even the public has been able to test it for the past few months. As such, it"s not really surprising that the company is planning to do away with the old version of the Edge browser, which is currently shipped with Windows 10.
Developer Rafael Rivera, known for his findings and work around Windows 10, such as the mach2 tool, posted on Twitter about his latest findings in build 18936, which was released to Insiders in the Fast ring earlier this week. According to the tweet, the latest build already includes some work towards removing the old version of the browser from Windows 10:
It"s worth noting that, at least for now, Microsoft isn"t planning to remove the old version of Edge from Windows 10 altogether. The feature name indicates that the browser will simply be hidden from the app list if a Win32 version of Edge - as in, the new Chromium-based version - is detected on the system.
Most likely, this is an interim solution until the new browser starts being shipped with the OS, alongside the equivalent version of WebView. Since most apps on the Store still rely on the WebView provided by the current public version of Edge, Microsoft will want to wait some time before removing it completely.
It"s worth noting that enabling the hidden feature doesn"t seem to do anything right now. With Canary, Dev, and Beta channels all installed on our test machines, the current version of Edge is still listed in the Start menu.