IE6 was irrelevant because it stagnated. Microsoft did nothing with it for years, and pulling support was just sometimes necessary for people like Google who wa

IE6 was irrelevant because it stagnated. Microsoft did nothing with it for years, and pulling support was just sometimes necessary for people like Google who wanted to build apps that pushed the web to new capabilities. Firefox in contrast has continued a fairly aggressive level of development, and most importantly supports new standards as they become available (which IE6 in its late life absolutely did not). Apple Maps meanwhile is in beta and specifically states "Support for additional languages, browsers, and platforms will be expanded over time." Google and Apple may hold the lead in browser share right now. So did IE 6 at one point. Like Microsoft in the early aughts, Apple has a financial interest in limiting development of the web as a platform (to protect its app store profits and device lock in) and Google has an interest in steering that development in a pro tracking, advertising direction. Firefox is the biggest browser that (I'd argue) is actually well aligned with a robust web growing organically.