It’s been an honor! The original Windows 10 web browser, now going by as Edge Legacy, is finally getting the ax. Microsoft is all set to officially retire this piece of software next week.
Moving forward, full focus of the company will be on its Chromium replacement.
Also known as Edge.
Of course.
This new iteration of Edge is powered by the same codebase that a bunch of other web browsers run on, including the king of the hill, Google Chrome. This has enabled Microsoft to not only launch the new Edge on Windows, but also bring it to platforms like macOS and Linux.
Perfect time to say goodbye to its predecessor, which currently has a dwindling user base.
Next week, come March 9, Redmond will release the last security update for this old Edge. It will arrive as part of the Patch Tuesday update cycle. Improvements, however, will be reserved for the Chromium variant of Edge.
This is what Microsoft announced:
“To replace this out of support application, we are announcing that the new Microsoft Edge will be available as part of the Windows 10 cumulative monthly security update—otherwise referred to as the Update Tuesday (or “B”) release—on April 13, 2021.
When you apply this update to your devices, the out of support Microsoft Edge Legacy desktop application will be removed and the new Microsoft Edge will be installed. The new Microsoft Edge offers built-in security and our best interoperability with the Microsoft security ecosystem, all while being more secure than Chrome for businesses on Windows 10.”
Apps built for the old web browser should theoretically run even after this date. That is because EdgeHTML, the engine that was bundled with Edge Legacy will continue to be supported going forward for the foreseeable future.
The change will be performed automatically via Windows Update, meaning when you install the new updates released by Microsoft, the legacy version of Edge will automatically be removed.
In other words, if you want to run Edge Legacy starting April, you will no longer be able to do so.
It was a good ride!
