Microsoft Ends Support for Non-Chromium Legacy Edge Browser

Microsoft’s original, non-Chromium Edge browser (aka Edge Legacy) is at the end of the line, and the browser would now stop receiving all the latest features and security updates from hereon. The company had first announced that it would be discontinuing the product back in August and will be removed from the system automatically via the April 2021 Windows 10 update.

Microsoft had instead rolled out the Chromium-based Edge browser in January 2020 that is said to be faster and more feature-packed. The latest development only affects Microsoft Edge Legacy users on the Windows 10 versions as the browser did not rollout for Windows 7 or Windows 8.X. The original version of Microsoft Edge (codenamed Spartan) was unveiled back in 2015.

Microsoft had said that the April 2021 Windows 10 update, scheduled for April 13, 2021, will remove “the out of support Microsoft Edge Legacy desktop application” and replace it with the latest version of Edge browser based on Chromium. The software giant claims that the new Microsoft Edge offers built-in security and interoperability with the Microsoft security ecosystem “all while being more secure than Chrome for businesses on Windows 10.”

It also advises users to not skip the software update next month that removes the browser from the system. “Windows cumulative monthly security updates provide critical updates to the Windows 10 operating system,” Microsoft said in a blog post.

After today, support for Microsoft Edge Legacy officially ends and it will not receive new security updates.

Learn more about transitioning to our supported, modern browser, the new Microsoft Edge ⬇️https://t.co/eadhPl26LZ pic.twitter.com/Ziv2Etr7nk

— Microsoft Edge Dev (@MSEdgeDev) March 9, 2021

Similarly, Microsoft has been updating the new Edge browser with a slew of updates that competes against the highly popular Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari (only for Apple products). The native version of the Edge browser for M1-enabled Apple Macs was also rolled out in December 2020 for a wider reach and faster adoption on other ecosystems. It received a new downloads interface last month. Recently, the company started testing the Chromium-based Edge browser on Xbox consoles.

It essentially means that Xbox testers in the Alpha Skip-Ahead group can now access the new Microsoft web browser on their Xbox One, Xbox Series S, or Xbox Series X consoles. It will also be a convenient feature for those users who want to access websites directly from their console.

March 10, 2021