14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has previously announced that it’s retiring Internet Explorer next year, and now the company has moved fast to already pull the browser from the preview builds of Windows 10.
In other words, while Internet Explorer is projected to go dark next year on all Windows 10 devices, Microsoft has already killed off the browser in Windows 10 preview builds shipped to testers as part of the Windows Insider program.
Microsoft previously recommended users to stick with Microsoft Edge, which also comes with a built-in IE mode, once Internet Explorer is completely retired.
“We are announcing 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,” Microsoft said in its original announcement.
“Microsoft Edge has Internet Explorer mode (“IE mode”) built in, so you can access those legacy Internet Explorer-based websites and applications straight from Microsoft Edge. With Microsoft Edge capable of assuming this responsibility and more, the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10.”
More changes under the hood
The latest Windows 10 preview build also introduces a second important change, as Microsoft has removed the eco mode in Task Manager.
The company says it just wants to refine the experience with this feature and address some issues, which means the eco mode should return at some point in the future once everything is resolved. Other than that, Windows 10 build 21387 is all about bug fixes and other improvements, so overall, it’s not a major release, but one supposed to polish the experience of insiders with the latest releases.