Microsoft’s new Chromium-based Edge browser will also be automatically delivered to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users, in addition to the Windows 10 userbase. The company announced the rollout in a support page last week (via Neowin), explaining that the new browser will be delivered via Windows Update on non-Enterprise devices running run Windows 7 SP1 or later, and Windows 8.1.
If the new Edge will automatically replace the legacy Edge on Windows 10 PCs, Microsoft will proceed differently on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1: Microsoft Edge won’t replace Internet Explorer on these devices, and it also won’t become the default browser. However, Microsoft Edge will be automatically pinned to the taskbar and have a desktop shortcut.
As you may now, the legacy Microsoft Edge was only available on Windows 10, which contributed to its very low market share. Switching to a Chromium base for the new Edge allowed Microsoft to release its browser on older versions of Windows as well as macOS, and a Linux version is also in the works. And even though Windows 7 has been out of support since January, the old OS is still popular and Microsoft said that it will support Edge on that platform through July 15, 2021.
