After 26 years of existence, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) web browser will be retired on June 15, 2022.
Launched in 1995, it was bundled with Microsoft Windows, which was effective in forcing people to switch from other browsers. The move was so potent that then market leader Netscape bowed out in the early 2000s. At its prime in 2003, IE commanded a 95-percent market share globally.
IE’s dominance was later challenged by Google’s Chrome and Apple’s Safari, a battle that took its toll in recent years. Microsoft began putting its browser egg in another basket — the cross-platform Microsoft Edge in 2015.
According to a Microsoft blog post, not only is Microsoft Edge a faster, more secure and more modern browsing experience than Internet Explorer, but it is also able to address a key concern — compatibility for older, legacy websites and applications. With just over thee-percent market share, Edge still has a long way to go to reach the heights that IE enjoyed.
While IE will no longer be supported from next June, Microsoft gave the assurance that IE-based websites and applications will work with Edge at least until 2029.
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