After almost 27 years, Microsoft’s IE browser is no more.
According to Microsoft, as of Wednesday, June 15, the browser is no longer compatible with Microsoft products and support is being withdrawn.
The once ubiquitous browser is being put out to pasture in favor of the newer, Chromium-powered Microsoft Edge. For the next few months, if users click on their IE icon, they will be redirected to Microsoft Edge. Users will be able to operate in “IE mode” to access older websites and applications. Eventually this too will disappear and a future Windows Update will remove all IE icons and IE will be totally disabled.
Microsoft Edge will become the default browser on Windows 11.
The death of IE has been in the works for some time. Microsoft initially began moving away from Internet Explorer in 2015 with the release of Windows 10. It officially announced its demise over a year ago and has been talking it up ever since. Today it becomes official.
Internet Explorer was once the most popular web browser, but has been declining steadily for over 20 years. In 2002 it had 95% of the browser market. StatCounter estimates that IE currently has less than half a percent of overall browser market share. Today, IE has become known for slow speed, operating bugs, and security issues.
Microsoft Edge, on the other hand, has recently overtaken Apple’s Safari to become the world’s second most popular desktop browser, according to StatCounter (May, 2022). Google Chrome remains in first place with 66.64% market share.