14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft announced Edge/Project Spartan with much fanfare, introducing the new browser as the perfect replacement for Internet Explorer and a new, more powerful rival to Google Chrome and Internet Explorer.
But as we get closer to the official launch of Windows 10 on July 29, more information emerges on Microsoft Edge, as it now seems that it won’t be available on all computers running the new OS.
In a report today, Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley reveals that PCs running Windows 10 Enterprise and enrolled in the Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB) won’t get the new Edge browser, with Internet Explorer 11 to continue to be offered for browsing needs.
Consumers aren’t affected
Fortunately, consumers aren’t at all affected by this decision, and Microsoft’s choice to keep Edge away from enterprise systems with LTSB makes sense, given the fact that these computers are only configured to receive emergency security patches and fixes, without any new features or improvements that might affect their performance.
Basically, enterprise machines enrolled in the LTSB channel should receive only critical security updates for 10 years, without regular updates bringing features and improvements that might have an impact on their performance and reliability.
Even though Edge won’t be available on these systems, Internet Explorer will be, so any user of a machine enrolled in this program will still have an option to browse the web.
Windows 10 is projected to go live on July 29 and will be offered free of charge to Windows 7 and 8.1 users during a free one-year upgrade promo. Enterprise customers, on the other hand, will still have to pay for the upgrade to Windows 10, but Microsoft is yet to release any information on this.
For everyone else, Windows 10 will have the same pricing as Windows 8.1, with the Home version to sell for $119 (€100), whereas the Pro SKU will be available for $199 (€150).