Microsoft has officially announced the retirement of Internet Explorer next year, after almost 25 years. The outdated web browser has been widely ignored by most users for years, but on June 15th, 2022, it will finally be retiring the Internet Explorer in the favour of Edge. Although Internet Explorer will be supported in the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) of Windows 10 next year, it will be phased out of all consumer versions. While the tech giant hasn’t said anything as of now, it’s probable that IE will be phased out of Windows by June 2022 or shortly afterward.
For most companies, Edge with Internet Explorer mode would be the best choice. Microsoft’s Edge IE mode was introduced a few years ago, allowing companies to use the latest Chromium-based browser to access older legacy websites. Older ActiveX controls and legacy sites are supported by IE mode, which is startling as many firms are still utilizing them. The company has stated that this IE mode will be supported in Edge till at least 2029.
“We are announcing that the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge,” says Sean Lyndersay, a Microsoft Edge program manager. “The Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10.”
Retirement of Internet Explorer
Microsoft has been indicating the retirement of Internet Explorer for a long time, but Internet Explorer is finally being phased out. Last year, Microsoft stopped supporting IE 11 for the Teams web app, and it plans to stop allowing it to access Microsoft 365 services later this year. On August 17th, Internet Explorer 11 will no longer be provided by Microsoft’s online services such as Office 365, OneDrive, Outlook, and others.
Around 2004, the web browser had a market share of over 90%, but it has slowly kept declining after the launch of Google Chrome in 2008. At present, it currently has a market share of less than 1%.
For more than five years, Microsoft has been attempting to discourage people from using Internet Explorer. In 2015, Edge was released, signaling that the Retirement of Internet Explorer brand. Since then, the company has referred to Internet Explorer as a “compatibility solution” rather than a browser and has urged businesses to abandon it in favor of Edge and it’s IE mode.
