IE6: not so dead after all
Recently, I wrote about how some leading web applications are starting to end support for IE6. While those of us who aren’t running high-profile web applications might have difficulty doing this just yet, it did seem IE6 was declining to the point where it’s a candidate for graceful degradation.
However, it turns out Microsoft hasn’t had enough of IE6 just yet. They’re bringing a new rendering engine to IE for Windows Mobile, and the basis of it is Internet Explorer 6.
At first sight, seems a rather odd strategy. Microsoft has the new, faster, more standards-compliant IE8 engine available. Much of mobile development these days is focused on the iPhone and Blackberry (both of which use Webkit), and Opera Mini. As Robert Nyman points out, Microsoft and IE have only a minority share in smartphone market. That means IE6 for WinMo is unlikely to be seen as important by mobile developers, even if it’s adopted by the enterprise. Just to make matters worse, they’re mixing in the JScript engine from IE8. How this will play with IE6’s many rendering issues remains to be seen.
However, as CNet suggests, IE6 looks like a defensive strategy for Microsoft, aimed at preventing rise of Opera (and Fennec) on WinMo, and also of the iPhone. IE6 is better than current WinMo browser, although there are still plenty of issues (Ars Technica has some examples). By presenting corporate IT departments with a browser they’re already supporting on the desktop, support costs may be reduced, and it may help prevent alternatives gaining more mindshare and marketshare among WinMo enterprise users.
Using IE6 also speaks of Microsoft’s difficulties persuading businesses to upgrade to IE7. Enterprise users still wedded to IE6 on the desktop will be able to upgrade without breaking their applications. Of course, moving to an IE8 (or even IE7) based rendering engine would also reduce the degree to which these enterprise users are locked-in…
Fortunately for web developers, it looks like IE6 won’t be gaining any marketshare over what IE for WinMo already has. The mobile space is one area where you can assume a high level of standards-compliance. Webkit and Opera dominate, and Mozilla’s is looking to get in on the act with Fennec. Most people who want to support Blackberry and the iPhone won’t be in a hurry to spend the extra time and money needed to get IE6 working.
That means IE6 isn’t going to work as a long-term strategy—as mobile capabilities increase, the pressure to dump IE6 in favour of something more powerful and easier to support is only going to become greater. Even corporate IT shops that appreciate being able to support the same browser on the desktop and mobile will, sooner or later, upgrade on the desktop. At that point, they may well find it easier to upgrade to Opera than continue supporting IE6. Microsoft may just have traded short-term lock-in for longer-term decline.
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