14 DAY TRIAL // Extension support for Edge browser must be the most awaited feature in Windows 10 Threshold 2, but it turns out that Microsoft actually needs more time to develop this one.
What we reported a few days ago via unofficial channels has become official now, as Microsoft has just confirmed in a mailed statement that the company is still working on extension support, and although everyone expected to get it this fall, this feature won't arrive sooner than 2016.
“We're committed to providing customers with a personalized web experience, which is why bringing extensions to Microsoft Edge continues to be a high priority. We're actively working to develop a secure extension model to make the safest and most reliable browser for our customers, and look forward to sharing more in a future Windows 10 update in 2016,” the statement reads.
Coming with Redstone update
There's a reason everyone was anticipating the release of extension support for this fall. Microsoft is giving the final touches to Threshold 2, the biggest update for Windows 10 since launch, and extension support was supposed to be on the list of changes.
But since it takes more time to develop this feature, Microsoft is now pushing it back nearly half a year, which means that it's more likely to debut with the Redstone update in the summer of 2016.
Details are rather scarce right now, but Redstone is believed to be an upcoming significant update for Windows 10, with some people calling it “the next version of Windows.” So it probably makes sense to keep this breaking browser change for Redstone, although everyone is very eager to give it a try as soon as possible.
Microsoft's extension support should work similarly to the one in Google Chrome, and the company plans to make all add-ons developed for this browser compatible with Edge too. This means that any Chrome extension should work either with small changes to its code or no changes at all on Edge, obviously if Microsoft finds a way to make this possible. This is probably why it takes longer to bring extension support to the market, but when it arrives, expect it to be something really worth trying.