During Microsoft’s Build conference, the IE team had promised the availability of Internet Explorer 11 (IE11), the latest version shipped with Windows 8.1 to be also available for Windows 7. Fast-forward a month on July 25, the team has released a developer preview of Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7.
The preview includes a number of new F12 developer tools. Internet Explorer 11 developer preview for Windows 7 is largely the same as IE 11 for Windows 8.1. That said, it includes many, but not all, of the same features thrown in the Windows 8.1 version. For instance,
- There’s no support for Google’s SPDY protocol in IE11 on Windows 7 as in Windows 8.1.
- Also, support for up to 100 opened tabs for every window isn’t enabled in IE11 on Windows 7.
- The URL bar remains at the top of the browser.
- No support for Enhanced Protected Mode browser security enhancements.
- No support for premium video extensions as in Windows 8.1.
- The UI Responsiveness tab is disabled in the F12 developer tools. Support for the same is likely to be brought to the final version of IE11 for Windows 7.
Microsoft says it has introduced a new JavaScript engine called Chakra that is capable of offering high performance and quicker page load times. As such, it will outperform most used browsers currently, Chrome, Firefox and Opera.
Furthermore, IE 11 will offer new standards support for next generation sites, and the only absence is the Metro-theme. Microsoft has also release Internet Explorer 11 Developer Preview Language Packs for Windows 7 and these too are available for download.
Download links:
- Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 R2
- Internet Explorer 11 Developer Preview Language Packs for Windows 7.
