During a keynote presentation at Build 2014 earlier today, Microsoft unveiled an updated Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) browser for Windows Phone 8.1 (upon release), Windows 8.1, and Windows 7. This updated browser is now available for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users (MSDN).
“Many of us now browse the Web using different devices, switching between laptops, tablets and phones throughout the day. Today’s update to IE11 means that whatever device you pick up, your tabs and favorites will be there for you, right where you left off,” Microsoft stated in an official blog post.
The updated IE11 will now adapt to your browsing experience by detecting your Windows device and input type, enhancing your browsing experience by adjusting the number of tabs on-screen and the size of the fonts and menus. IE11 will also allow you to control when the browser remains on screen or hides away for full-screen browsing. IE11 also comes with Enterprise mode.
“Available for both Windows 8.1 and Windows 7, Enterprise Mode for Internet Explorer 11 provides improved Internet Explorer 8 compatibility for specified sites. Enabling enterprises to safely update to Internet Explorer 11 while maintaining great backwards compatibility for specific sites that were developed for Internet Explorer 8 or below,” the company explained.
IE11 also features new enhancements to the F12 Developer Tools, which is a suite of in-browser developer tools that help developers build, diagnose, and optimize modern Web sites and apps.
IE11 for Windows Phone 8.1, on the other hand, features Reading Mode which helps you optimize the views of stories. The browser also features Voice Commands so you can quickly get to your favorite sites by speaking into your device. “IE11 for Windows Phone also includes InPrivate browsing to keep your browsing private. And to help you better manage your phone’s data usage, the new High Savings Mode can be enabled to reduce data consumption by between 60 and 80 percent through reducing image downloads and by only loading elements of the page relevant to the content you want to view,” Microsoft explained.
The updated Internet Explorer 11 comes with Windows Phone 8.1, and will be available for Windows 8.1 (via Update 1 when it becomes generally available on April 8th) and for Windows 7 (on April 8th). Or you can head over to MSDN right now.
