It looks like Microsoft is giving up on Internet Explorer, but only to compete with Apple Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. The company has officially announced that they will stop supporting all older versions of the browser. Users are being officially forced to update to Internet Explorer 11 or Edge before today.
Microsoft Pushes for Internet Explorer 11 and Microsoft Edge for Security
Older versions of the browser might make users vulnerable to hackers. As such, the corporation has officially decided to stop supporting older versions of the browser. Upgrading to the latest version of the Windows browser will give users a more efficient way to surf the web. They will be safer from bugs and viruses. Otherwise, customers risk being exposed to malware and hackers.
The Company Has Been Trying to Drop the Browser Since March 2015
The final straw came when Microsoft announced it would release an update with the final bug fixes and an ‘End of Life’ notification that will ask users to upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer. In the announcement, the company declared that the latest version of the browser will follow the current component policy. This means that it will follow the support lifecycle of the Windows OS that the device has installed.
The first warnings of ending support for older browsers came in August of 2014. Because users still used outdated versions of Internet Explorer, the company has made this move. Microsoft has also downgraded Internet Explorer to legacy status. This means that as of March 2015, Internet Explorer was only useful for business compatibility.
Do People Even Choose to Use IE Over Chrome, Safari and Firefox?
Microsoft is slowly killing the unpopular browser, but only to encourage the spread of Microsoft Edge. The company has lost a lot of market shares to Chrome and Safari. By making this move, they are one step closer to bringing a new major browser on the market. Currently, the most used browsers are Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox.
By supporting only Internet Explorer 11 and onwards, Microsoft has the chance to get rid of Internet Explorer completely. The next step would be to make the upgrade to Microsoft Edge a mandatory one, and its platforms can come with built-in Edge on all machines.
