Microsoft is trying a fresh nudge to win over mobile browser users. In the latest Canary build of Edge for Android, new image themes are available for your new tab page — but there’s a catch. To apply them, you first have to set Edge as your default browser.
- New image themes are testing in Edge Canary for Android.
- Applying them requires setting Edge as your default browser.
- The requirement is Canary-only and may not reach the stable build.
What’s new in Edge for Android
The Canary channel is Microsoft’s most experimental release track, where features are tested before they reach the stable, general-availability builds. In this build, Edge for Android gained a set of new image themes that change the background of your new tab page. Unlike the usual theme options, which are typically available to anyone, these picture themes are gated behind a setting you may not want to change.
Specifically, to set one of these new image themes as your new tab page background, the browser asks you to make Edge your default browser first. If you don’t, the option stays out of reach.
The requirement was spotted by Leo Varela, who tracks updates and changes across browsers, and shared the finding on X (formerly Twitter) on August 21. He noted that all browsers use similar tactics to motivate users to make them their default, and Edge is simply following suit.
Why this only exists in Canary
It’s worth emphasizing that this default-browser gate appears only in Canary, Microsoft’s bleeding-edge test channel. That means the behavior is not yet locked in, and there’s a real chance it will change — or be dropped entirely — before it reaches the stable Edge you’d install from the Play Store.
Canary builds are intentionally unstable and meant for testers to surface exactly these kinds of decisions early. The presence of the requirement here, rather than in a released build, is the main reason not to treat this as a finished policy. Microsoft hasn’t confirmed whether it plans to ship the themed backgrounds with the requirement attached.
A long history of nudging
Microsoft has spent years trying to convince people to use Edge, and the tactics have ranged from welcome to controversial. Adding genuinely unique features is generally viewed as fair play. Other moves — such as Windows 11 making it harder to switch your default browser on a PC — have drawn criticism from users and advocacy groups.
A recent survey commissioned by the Browser Choice Alliance suggested that switching away from Edge on Windows is too difficult. That finding, though, relates to PC users, who often arrive with Edge already installed. Android is a different battlefield entirely.
On phones, Microsoft isn’t starting from a base of hundreds of millions of pre-installed users. It has to convince people to download Edge for Android in the first place, and then persuade them to set it as their default — a two-step hurdle that few mobile users are eager to clear.
Some Samsung phones even ship with Edge preinstalled, so these picture themes could be aimed at swaying that built-in audience. And Microsoft isn’t alone in the approach: Google and Apple have long pushed Chrome and Safari with their own incentive tactics.
What this means for you
If you already use Edge for Android as your default browser, this changes nothing for you — you’d be able to set the new themes right away. If you stick with another browser, the simplest takeaway is that you don’t need to do anything: just leave your default as-is and the themes will remain unavailable, which costs you nothing.
The only scenario where this bites is if you were already planning to switch Edge to default and were curious about the themes. In that case, you’d need to weigh whether the picture backgrounds are worth committing Edge as your default. Given how niche Edge is on Android, most people who install it deliberately plan to use it, so the requirement may feel redundant to that crowd.
It’s also worth remembering this is a Canary-only behavior. Even if you don’t like the idea of themes being locked behind a default setting, it may never reach you. Keep an eye on the stable release if you want to know whether the gate survives.
How to try it now
If you want to poke at the feature yourself, you’ll need to install the Canary build of Edge for Android from the Play Store, since the themes haven’t reached the stable channel. Once installed, you can set Edge as your default browser through your phone’s system settings, then look for the new image theme option in Edge’s new tab page background settings.
For most readers, though, there’s no action required. The stable Edge for Android is unaffected, and if the default-browser requirement never ships, the themes may simply vanish or appear without any condition. Until Microsoft confirms otherwise, treat this as a work-in-progress test rather than a finished product decision.
Source: Latest from Windows Central
Over to you: Would you set Edge as your default browser just for a couple of new tab themes, or leave it alone?
