Microsoft launched the first public version of Internet Explorer 11 as part of the Windows 8.1 preview release in June, and the new version of the browser contains a number of changes and improvements that have been made specifically for users who interact with it via a touchscreen, as touted in a blog post Thursday.
The new version also improves on navigation between webpages compared to IE10, where swiping a finger across the page would take the site to the previous or next page. IE11 suspends and caches the previous page in memory so when a user goes back to that page, it should resume instantaneously. In the cases where some pages cannot be put into memory, IE11 uses pre-render technology to speed up the loading process.
IE11 is also the first browser that natively supports touchscreens for the HTML 5 drag-and-drop specification. The support allows IE11 users to press and hold elements in a website that uses the HTML 5 drag-and-drop code with their finger. It also supports Microsoft"s Pointer Events specifications, which allow for sites to support a number of different pointing devices, including multi-touch, pen and mouse hardware.
Source: Microsoft | Images via Microsoft