As we just informed you, a new version of Edge is now available for everyone. And in addition to all the new features that you can try out, there is a big change happening under the hood as well.
That being, a new rollout approach.
The Chromium based web browser actually debuted in stable form in January, and was supposed to be slowly rolled out to a subset of users in the coming weeks.
But that never happened.
Blame it on Microsoft’s own delays, the disruption caused by lockdowns and quarantine due to a little something called coronavirus, or a combination of both, Redmond never quite got around distributing the new Edge.
As the company notes, the company is calling a do-over.
Edge will now be delivered via a measured rollout that will be ramped up over the course of the next few weeks. Starting with Microsoft Edge 83, the software titan is using a progressive rollout for the browser in the stable channel.
While this may be a new way for some of you that use the web browser, it’s a good thing for Redmond. A tried and tested way of going about this, which it already does for Windows.
It basically means that installed of all users getting a stable new version of Edge on day one, the company will make it available gradually to devices across the globe. Each installation of Edge will be assigned an upgrade value, and when that value on your device falls within the range, you will get it.
Nice and simple, eh?
Once the rollout starts, Microsoft can start collecting feedback to determine the reliability of the update, and ensue that everything is working as planned. And if it hits a hiccup along the way, a snag or two, it can suspend the rollout for these computers as it works on a fix.
Window 10 Home and Pro machines that are not being managed by IT will be eligible for the automatic replacement of the old Edge with this new version. Windows 10 Enterprise and Education machines will be immune from this mandated takeover, though.
Users have been able to manually download and install Chromium Edge since the beginning, and will continue to be allowed to do so.
This measured rollout approach means that stable updates for Edge could take up several days.
But it’s a small price to pay for stability.
