Microsoft is finally retiring 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 cornered 95% of the market.
But now, Google Chrome, Apple’s Safari and Mozilla Firefox are dominant.
Users wanting to stick with Microsoft are being directed to Microsoft Edge, launched in 2015, alongside Windows 10.
Internet Explorer’s popularity was dented by the launch of faster browsers such as Chrome and Firefox, as users seized on new applications to navigate platforms including Google Search, Facebook and YouTube.
The rise of smartphones then arguably delivered the fatal blow, with Apple’s pre-installed Safari browser and Google Chrome on Android phones helping to shift internet access and usage into the mobile realm.
Mobile and tablet internet usage overtook desktop worldwide for the first time in October 2016, according to independent web analytics company StatCounter.
And earlier that year, StatCounter saw Google Chrome account for more than 60% of desktop internet usage worldwide, with Internet Explorer and Edge’s combined share of the desktop market narrowly falling behind that of Firefox for the first time.
Photo: Gerd Altmann via Pixabay