04 April,2014 11:24 AM IST | | Agencies
Unlike previous Internet Explorer (IE) launches, Microsoft will update Windows 7 version at the same time it launches the Windows 8.1 Update
New York: As part of its Windows 8.1 Update, Microsoft announced an update to its Internet Explorer 11 browser.
While the changes on the desktop are mostly about enterprise users, the F12 developer tools and bringing the interface up to par with the overall Windows update, this is the first time IE11 comes to mobile.
Changes here are pretty dramatic for Windows Phone users. IE11 on mobile, for example, now features a distraction-free reading mode, InPrivate browsing and unlimited tabs. To speed things up, the new version will also do pre-loading and pre-rendering.
Just like on the desktop, Windows Phone users will now also be able to pin sites as live tiles. Tabs, too, will now be synced between devices (using your Microsoft account and OneDrive).
The updated JavaScript engine, the company tells me, should be about 20 per cent faster on the SunSpider test than the previous version.
Also new is a "High Savings Mode," which is similar to Google's data-savings proxy and Opera's Turbo mode. This mode will route your data through Microsoft's data centers and the service will compress your images and other page elements. In total, Microsoft says, this can reduce data usage by 60 percent to 80 percent.
