Microsoft introduced Chromium-based Edge in January 2020 to replace its legacy Edge browser based on the EdgeHTML browser engine. Later in August last year, the Redmond giant announced its plans to discontinue support for legacy Edge from March 9, 2021. The day has now finally passed and Microsoft has pulled the plug on the browser.
Microsoft Discontinues Edge Legacy
Going forward, Edge Legacy users will no longer receive important security updates from Microsoft. If you’ve already moved to another browser, you can safely ignore this. Microsoft will remove the legacy Edge browser from your system through a Windows update in April. To prevent your machine from security risks, it is better to stop using the old Edge browser.
If you’re using Windows 10, you’ve probably seen Microsoft nudging you multiple times to install Chromium Edge by now. In case you missed them all, you can download the new Edge browser from Microsoft’s website. Those looking for an option that isn’t from Microsoft can find one from our article on the best Windows 10 browsers.
While Chromium Edge is arguably better than the now-discontinued Edge, the demise of the old Edge browser also reduces competition in the rendering engine space. However, Microsoft’s decision to embrace the Chromium engine has resulted in wider user adoption for Edge browser.
Ever since the Chromium transformation, Edge’s development team has been busy implementing user-facing features including sleeping tabs, Collections, vertical tabs, kids mode, and more. The company has also brought back features from Edge legacy such as the convenient web capture tool.
Now that Edge legacy is officially dead, can we please stop calling the new Edge ‘Chromium Edge’, ‘Edge Chromium’, or ‘Chredge’?
