14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just announced that Microsoft Edge Legacy, the original browser that shipped with Windows 10, is getting the ax, as the company is making the full switch to the Chromium sibling already up for grabs on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
The demise of Edge Legacy was originally announced last year, and it happens today as part of the March 2021 Patch Tuesday cycle.
In other words, Edge Legacy is getting its last updates today, and from now on, it’s considered an unsupported browser, meaning no further security patches would be shipped to devices running it.
“Our new modern browser, Microsoft Edge, debuted over a year ago and today can be found on hundreds of millions of devices. Last August, we announced that Microsoft Edge Legacy desktop application support would end on March 9, 2021 as part of this transition to the new Microsoft Edge. Today, Microsoft Edge Legacy desktop application support officially ends, and it will no longer receive future security updates,” Microsoft announced today.
Edge-removal update coming next month
The April 2021 Patch Tuesday cycle will replace Edge Legacy with the Chromium sibling on all Windows 10 devices, with Microsoft to ship a dedicated update in this regard.
“We do not recommend skipping this update. Windows cumulative monthly security updates provide critical updates to the Windows 10 operating system. Your Windows 10 defaults and personalization, such as your default browser or taskbar pins, will be respected (e.g. if you had Microsoft Edge Legacy pinned to the taskbar, this would be replaced with the new Microsoft Edge),” Microsoft explains.
Going forward, Microsoft will continue to focus exclusively on the Chromium-powered Edge, which is already available on older Windows, macOS, and Linux too. The new Edge is running on the same engine as Google Chrome, so it also comes with extra benefits, including full support for extensions built for Google’s browser.