WinUI 3.0 - Why UWP project is asking for MS Edge for Business for WebView2

Question

When I use WebView2 control in a UWP project with WinUI 3.0 and run the app, the webpage inside WebView2 control is not displayed. Instead, the app displays the following message that takes me to Microsoft Edge for Business download page:

a suitable version of Microsoft edge was not detected. Please install the latest beta channel build from here

Question: Why it's asking for Microsoft Edge for Business? I already have the latest version of MS Edge Canary Channel and the latest release version MS Edge installed on my Windows 10 - Pro. I don't want to install too many versions.

MainPage.xaml:

<Page
  x:Class="UWP_WinUI.MainPage"
  xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
  xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
  xmlns:local="using:UWP_WinUI"
  xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
  xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
  mc:Ignorable="d"
  Background="{ThemeResource ApplicationPageBackgroundThemeBrush}">

    <Grid>
        <Grid.RowDefinitions>
            <RowDefinition Height="Auto"/>
            <RowDefinition Height="*"/>
        </Grid.RowDefinitions>
        <Button x:Name="myButton" Click="myButton_Click">Click Me</Button>
        <WebView2 x:Name="wvTest" Grid.Row="1" Source="https://www.bing.com/"/>
    </Grid>
</Page>

Display of the app

The webpage is supposed to display in the WebVeiw2 below the button control. But instead, the message (shown below) is displayed:

Answer 1

When I use WebView2 control in a UWP project with WinUI 3.0 and run the app, the webpage inside WebView2 control is not displayed. Instead, the app displays the following message that takes me to Microsoft Edge for Business download page

You can use Webview2 in below platforms based on Getting Started:

• Win32
• C/C++
• WPF
• WinForms

UWP is not one of them. Because UWP is Windows Store App while all the above platforms are Windows Desktop App. So if you want to use Webview2 in your app, you need to switch the platform that you are using. WPF could be a good choice.

Answer 2

For "WinUI 3.0 Desktop" it is now a supported platform of WebView2, check out this site for details: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/gettingstarted/winui.

If you plan to ship your WinUI 3.0 app is a UWP app there might be some limitations though, frankly I am no sure on that combo.