Microsoft is finally ending the consumer version of Internet Explorer. It announced the plan last year, making Internet Explorer 11 its final version.
Internet Explorer debuted on Windows desktop computers in 1995 and, by 2004, had captured 95% of the market. But now, Google Chrome, Apple’s Safari and Mozilla Firefox are dominant.
Users looking to stick with Microsoft are being directed to Microsoft Edge, launched in 2015 alongside Windows 10.
Internet Explorer’s popularity was fueled by the launch of faster browsers such as Chrome and Firefox, as users took on new applications for navigating platforms including Google Search, Facebook and YouTube.
The rise of the smartphone dealt an arguably fatal blow, with Apple’s pre-installed Safari browser and Google Chrome on Android phones helping to move Internet access and usage into the mobile realm.
According to independent web analytics company Statcounter, mobile and tablet internet usage surpassed desktop worldwide for the first time in October 2016.
And earlier that year, StatCounter saw Google Chrome account for more than 60% of desktop Internet users worldwide, with Internet Explorer and Edge’s combined share of the desktop market falling behind Firefox for the first time.