Microsoft Corp announced that it will discontinue Internet Explorer, created more than 25 years ago. The tech company has said that Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will retire on June 15, 2022. Internet Explorer was launched on 16 August 1995 and became the dominant browser for over a decade as it was bundled with Microsoft's Windows operating system.
The popularity of Microsoft's Internet Explorer declined after the launch of Google's Chrome in 2008, followed by the launch of Mozilla Firefox in 2002, which also reduced the Explorer's popularity. Meanwhile, Chrome controls 65 percent of the total market.
In a statement, Microsoft said, "We announce that the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge. 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."
Internet Explorer comes preinstalled on all computers and laptops in the world. But Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox updated constantly. At the same time, Chrome has Google Translate, many extensions and many other modes. On the other hand, Explorer lacks these features.
Internet Explorer was once the most used web browser and attained a peak of about 95% usage share by the year 2003. Microsoft Edge replaced Internet Explorer as the default browser on its Windows 10 devices after an official announcement by Microsoft in March 2015. With this, Internet Explorer 11 became the last release. Internet Explorer, however, remained on Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019 primarily for enterprise purposes.
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