Microsoft announces Windows 8.1 with Bing for low cost devices

Microsoft announces Windows 8.1 with Bing for low cost devices

After purchase, end users will be free to change the search engine to whatever they prefer.

Microsoft announced Friday Windows 8.1 with Bing, a new edition of the Windows operating system for hardware manufacturers to load into low-cost devices.

“With the Windows 8.1 Update, we are enabling our hardware partners to build lower cost devices,” Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc said in a blog post. “As we move forward, many of these lower cost devices will come with a new edition of Windows called Windows 8.1 with Bing.”

The Verge reports that the user experience for 8.1 with Bing should be largely identical to to the standard Windows 8.1 experience. The main difference is on the hardware side, since Windows 8.1 with Bing products must ship with Bing as the default search engine in Internet Explorer. Windows 8.1 already defaults to using Bing, but device manufacturers can change that default if they want. In the Bing edition, they cannot, Ars Technica reports. In exchange for locking in Bing as the default search engine, Microsoft will offer manufacturers lower licensing fees. Just how much lower remains undisclosed for now.

After purchase, end users will be free to change the search engine to whatever they prefer. Some of the devices pre-loaded with Windows 8.1 with Bing, especially tablets, will also come pre-installed with Office or a one-year subscription to Office 365, Microsoft claims.

“The end result is that more people—across consumer and commercial—will have access to an even broader selection of new devices with all the awesomeness that Windows 8.1 provides, and get Office too, all at a really affordable price,” said LeBlanc.

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