Edge for Android is getting new themes with a familiar catch

We’ve all seen the many ways Microsoft has been trying to force users to make Edge their default browser on various platforms. In fact, during the FIFA World Cup, the company had even rolled out new AI-generated themes for football fans to use, but it put a condition in place. You guessed it: make Edge your default browser.

Now, it looks like Microsoft is adapting the same trick with a set of new image-based themes for the browser. As spotted by browser sleuth Leopeva64, the latest Edge Canary build on Android has a few new image-based themes in store.

In total, seven new image themes are available in the latest Canary build for Android. And if you look closely, you’ll notice that they’re all “locked” if you don’t have Edge set as your default browser.

Microsoft has added new image themes in Edge Canary for Android, but to use them as your NTP background, you have to set Edge as your default browser. All browsers use tactics to motivate you to make them your default, and Edge is no exception 🤷 https://t.co/sK1xv7W0RC pic.twitter.com/VVIPywivm2

— Leopeva64 (@Leopeva64) August 21, 2026

The seven new image themes have been a long time coming. Edge has had the same set of themes for a while now, so it’s nice to see the company finally add new options. But what makes this leave a sour taste in my mouth is the default browser condition.

I guess that’s just Microsoft being…well, Microsoft.

We weren’t able to test the new themes on Android just yet, since the latest Canary build available to us on the Play Store is version 153.0.4231.0, but it doesn’t include the new image themes. 

Leopeva64 hasn’t specified any version in the post. So it’s unclear which version of the browser the new themes ship with.

We’ll keep an eye on future Canary builds to see when these new options start rolling out more broadly, or if Microsoft decides to tweak how these perks are unlocked before a stable release.

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