Credit: Microsoft
The end of Microsoft’s legacy Edge browser is fast approaching. Microsoft this week provided more details on exactly how it plans to remove the old Windows Edge.
In August 2020, Microsoft officials said they would no longer provide security updates for the legacy Edge desktop browser after March 9, 2021. (Patch Tuesday in March). Today, February 5, Microsoft added some additional information about what will happen next.
Microsoft plans to remove the legacy Edge and replace it with the new Chromium-based Edge when users apply the Windows 10 patch on Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Microsoft officials provided this information in a post about Edge kiosk mode, and I would have missed it completely without Neowin.net disclosing it. The Microsoft blog post advised kiosk mode customers to install the new Microsoft Edge and set up kiosk mode before applying Windows 10 April patches. Those who do not “experience an interruption” in kiosk mode. They noted that some of the kiosk features in Edge Legacy will not be available on the new Edge, but said that the “most” use cases will be available from Edge 90 and the full parity should be there on Edge 91.
Update: Microsoft also published another blog post, published today, February 5, about phasing out the Edge browser. This post notes that if the new Edge is already installed, the April update will not reinstall the new Edge and will only remove the legacy Edge. The Windows 10 versions to which this applies are Windows 10 versions 1803, 1809, 1903, 1909, 2004 and 20H2.
Although Microsoft made the new Edge as part of Windows 10 from Windows 10 version 20H2, the legacy Edge remains (but is hidden) on Windows 10 PCs. On April Patch Tuesday, legacy Edge browsers will finally be removed from the Windows 10.