Microsoft Edge 83 introduces progressive rollouts

May 22, 2020 06:55 GMT  ·  By

A new version of Microsoft Edge is now available for download on all supported desktop platforms, and in addition to the new features that everyone can already try out, there’s a big change happening under the hood as well.

Starting with Microsoft Edge 83, the Redmond-based software giant uses a progressive rollout approach for the browser in the stable channel.

While the progressive rollout concept might be new for some, it’s actually easy to understand what it is and why it’s a good thing Microsoft is using it.

First and foremost, progressive rollouts means not all users are getting a new stable version of Microsoft Edge on day one. Instead of pushing the update to everyone, Microsoft is making the new version available gradually to devices across the world.

Once the rollout starts, Microsoft starts collecting feedback to determine the update reliability, and if everything works correctly, the company can advance to the next phase of the release and make the update available for more devices. If it doesn’t and some devices are coming across issues, then the software giant can suspend the rollout to prevent the problems from hitting more computers.

This is a rollout strategy that’s also being used for new Windows 10 feature updates. Devices are getting Windows 10 updates in stages, as Microsoft analyzes telemetry data and determines whether or not specific configurations can hit problems or not.

The progressive rollout system is available on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10, with Microsoft explaining that it’ll bring it to Windows 10 when work on this feature is complete.

The rollout of new Microsoft Edge stable updates could thus take up to several days. However, rollout times will be reduced for security patches, as Microsoft wants devices to be updated as soon as possible, especially if it’s aware of attacks happening in the wild.

Microsoft Edge on Windows 10

Microsoft provides us with a closer look at how everything works in the progressive rollout system.

“Each installation of Microsoft Edge is assigned an upgrade value. When we start rolling out incrementally, you'll see the update when the value on your device falls within the upgrade value range. As the rollout progresses (within a few days), all users will eventually get the update. Browser updates with critical security fixes will have a faster rollout cadence than updates that don't have critical security fixes. This is done to ensure prompt protection from vulnerabilities.”

As far as enterprises are concerned, the progressive rollout would affect the way devices within an organization are updated only if the distribution is managed with Microsoft Intune. In this case, Microsoft says that new Edge stable versions should show up on all devices in just a few days. If the WSUS or Configuration Manager are being used, enterprises are not affected by progressive rollouts.

What’s important to know is that the progressive rollouts are only used for the stable channel of Microsoft Edge, so updates for the Canary, Dev, and Beta builds would continue to be shipped to everyone at the same time just like before.

Microsoft Edge is now the default browser on Windows 10, replacing the legacy version of the app once it is installed. In addition to updates shipped via Windows Update, Microsoft also releases stand-alone installers for new versions that users can manually download and install on their devices.

The preview versions of the browser can be installed alongside the stable Microsoft Edge on a Windows 10 device for testing purposes. However, users who expect a more refined experience with improved stability are recommended to stick with the stable channel going forward.

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