14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft hasn’t yet released the highly-anticipated Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser preview, but a leaked version that’s now available for download allows us to get a taste of what’s to come from the software giant in the browser world.
And by the looks of things, what the Redmond-based software giant plans to do is implement support for two different engines in its new browser.
So in addition to Chromium, the upcoming overhaul of Microsoft Edge could also support MSHTML, the engine that powered Internet Explorer, and as noted by Twitter user WalkingCat, the feature could be specifically targeted at enterprises.
While the feature hasn’t yet been confirmed, it makes sense for Microsoft to add support for Internet Explorer in its new browser.
IE mode for enterprises
Enterprises would basically be able to migrate to Microsoft Edge and continue running their IE-optimized apps inside the browser without the need for any other application. The mode will be specifically aimed for legacy apps that haven’t yet been migrated to other engines, so Internet Explorer 11 would no longer be required.
A new flag has already been added in the latest version of Microsoft Edge to “enable IE integration,” so the browser will let users launch dedicated tabs that will run using Internet Explorer’s engine. The flag doesn’t seem to work just yet, but it’ll likely be enabled when the public preview of Microsoft Edge is finalized.
As for an ETA when this is supposed to happen, Microsoft originally said the preview could land in early 2019, which means the release is just around the corner. If this is the case, expect an announcement any day now, especially because the number of leaked builds is increasing.
The final version of the new Edge browser should be announced later this year, and it will also support older Windows versions, as well as macOS.