Edge introduces 8-week Extended Stable release cycle for enterprises

Starting with Edge 94, Microsoft will offer a new 8-week “Extended Stable” release cycle option. This new option will be configured by Group Policy and will be treated as a default option. However, it will not affect the regular 4-week “Stable” release cycle. Aiming to deliver new features faster, Microsoft Edge adopted a new 4-week release cycle. Before that, Microsoft Edge followed a 6-week release cycle. The decision to move from a 6-week release cycle to a 4-week release cycle helped Microsoft update Edge more frequently with new features and improvements.

Microsoft Edge 8-week Extended Stable release cycle

However, this strategy may not work well for organizations due to the complexities of testing, deployment, and maintenance. The new 8-week “Extended Stable” release cycle option will be beneficial for organizations looking for a longer timeline.

In its blog post, Microsoft Edge had this to say:

“Starting with Microsoft Edge 94, IT administrators will have the flexibility to select between different release cycle options for Microsoft Edge Stable: the 4-week “Stable” option or the 8-week “Extended Stable” option. This means there isn’t a new browser application to deploy to use the “Extended Stable” release option—organizations can just select the release cycle option that is right for them.”

This new 8-week “Extended Stable” release cycle option will allow Microsoft to deliver cumulative feature updates with Edge Stable Release. It is worth noting that cumulative feature updates are aligned with even-numbered Edge stable releases. Any feature updates from odd-numbered releases will be delivered as part of the subsequent even-numbered release, Microsoft said.

Therefore, organizations opting for the 8-week “Extended Stable” release cycle will receive subsequent feature updates with every alternate stable release. For example, Microsoft Edge 94, Microsoft Edge 96, Microsoft Edge 98, and so on. In the meantime, feature updates will be delivered with new version releases. Critical security patches and fixes will be delivered as and when needed irrespective of the regular release cycle.