Windows 10: Leaked Build Asks Users To Give Microsoft Apps A Chance

Why don't you give Microsoft's built-in apps a try? That's the question a leaked version of Windows 10 is putting to users who try to change the default app selection away from some of Microsoft's offerings. The Verge first noticed the change in a leaked Windows 10 build, version 10568, but there has been no confirmation yet that this feature will definitely make it into a public update for Windows.

When a user tries to switch their default browser, the Settings app will now display a prompt asking if they want to "give Microsoft Edge a shot." The prompt highlights the browser's Cortana integration, webpage annotation functions and built-in reading view for stripping away unnecessary elements in a webpage and providing a simple article view.

The box also appears when users try to switch their photo or music apps, instead asking if they would prefer to try Microsoft's versions. The built-in music app was recently rebranded to Groove Music after the previously-named Xbox Music was found to be confusing to listeners, who thought that meant they needed an Xbox to listen.

While using the default apps may offer better integration with services like Cortana, the move will also tie users closer into the Microsoft ecosystem. Conducting Cortana searches, for example, will go through Bing if Microsoft Edge is set as the default browser. Chrome users have the option of forcing Cortana to use Google through an extension called Chrometana.

Edge doesn't currently have extension support, meaning Edge users are out of luck if they're looking for a similar extension for their browser.