14 DAY TRIAL // One of the biggest features projected to land on Windows 10 is extension support for Edge browser, and recent leaks have confirmed that Microsoft is already internally testing it and could allow insiders to do the same very soon in preview builds.
Earlier today, the Redmond-based software giant has rolled out Windows 10 build 11082, which is also the very first Redstone preview build, and although Microsoft hasn’t publicly announced any new features, it turns out there are some gems hiding in there.
One of them is extension support for Edge browser, which has been spotted by Twitter user @h0xod, who has confirmed that there are several registry entries for this feature in build 11082.
For the moment, the extension menu can indeed be activated in this very first Windows 10 Redstone build, but it can’t be used for anything. Extensions aren’t yet working on Windows 10, so although the options to access them are there, the feature isn’t functional.
Sideload extensions and developer mode
But given the fact that a “sideload extension” feature seems to be developed right now, the next Windows 10 Redstone build could make it possible for users to install extensions manually. It’s not yet clear when this feature is expected to arrive.
According to previous reports on extension support for Microsoft Edge, this is projected to be part of the final release of Redstone, so for the moment, insiders will be the only ones allowed to take them for a spin in order to help Microsoft further improve the feature.
Redstone is due in mid-2016, but there were sources claiming that Microsoft could also split the rollout into two different waves, with the first one to arrive in the spring of the next year.
There are a lot of uncertain things for now, that’s for sure, but with this new discovery, there’s no doubt that extensions support is coming on Windows 10, so sooner or later, it should become available for everyone running the new OS.