Microsoft announced a series of new partnerships with Chinese companies and government divisions, and one of them puts a new wrinkle on its Windows 10 strategy. The company says that Baidu will be the default search engine for the Microsoft Edge web browser, which is exclusive to Windows 10, in China.
Microsoft said:
"Together, we will make it easy for Baidu customers to upgrade to Windows 10 and we will deliver a custom experience for customers in China, providing local browsing and search experiences. Baidu.com will become the default homepage and search for the Microsoft Edge browser in Windows 10. Baidu's new Windows 10 distribution channel, Baidu "Windows 10 Express" will make it easy for Chinese Internet users to download an official Windows 10 experience. Additionally, Baidu will deliver Universal Windows Applications for Search, Video, Cloud and Maps for Windows 10."
Microsoft said that it remains "deeply committed to delivering Bing around the world" but also said it wanted to offer "locally relevant experiences" for Windows 10 users as well, such as the new Baidu agreement in China. Bing will continue to be the default search engine for Windows 10 itself, along with the Chinese version of Cortana. It added that 10 million devices in China have already installed Windows 10 and that it has "seen great feedback" from the select group of Xiaomi Mi 4 smartphone owners who have been testing it with a preview build of Windows 10 Mobile.
Source: Blogging Windows, Microsoft
