News

Microsoft Is Preparing To Uninstall The Legacy Version Of Its Edge Browser

Published

6 years ago

February 13, 2021

Microsoft

Support for the old version of Microsoft Edge will end on March 9, 2021, which means no more security updates for the unpopular successor to Internet Explorer. To keep Windows users safe, Microsoft will uninstall the unsupported version of Edge on April 13, 2021 and replace it with the Chromium-based one.

The replacement will be part of the Windows 10 cumulative monthly security update (also referred to as the Update Tuesday release). “When you apply this update to your devices, the out of support Edge Legacy desktop application will be removed, and the new Edge will be installed,” explains Microsoft on its website.

Windows users who have already installed the Chromium version won’t notice any difference because the latest Edge installer automatically removes the legacy version at the end of the installation process.

“The new Edge offers built-in security and our best interoperability with the Microsoft security ecosystem, all while being more secure than Chrome for businesses on Windows 10,” the company adds.

Users who would like to run Edge Legacy and the new Edge as a side-by-side experience can skip the update, but Microsoft advises against it, stating that Windows cumulative monthly security updates provide important updates to the Windows 10 operating system.

The Chromium-based version of Edge was released on January 15, 2020. Since then, the combined market share of the legacy and new versions grew to nearly 8 percent, earning Microsoft the second-biggest chunk of the web browser pie, after Google Chrome (nearly 70 percent).

Also Read: Google Launches Its Dunant Subsea Cable Between The US And Europe

One of the biggest advantages of the Chromium-based version of Edge is its support for Google Chrome extensions alongside Edge-specific extensions hosted by Microsoft. After enabling the “Allow extensions from other stores” switch in Settings, users can go to the Chrome Web Store and download any extension they want.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.