There are reports that Microsoft is developing a new Web browser, codenamed Spartan, which is not going to be Internet Explorer 12, according to ZDnet, but rather a fresh and new light-weight browser.
The report, which cited unnamed sources, said that the new browser will have a similar experience to Microsoft’s rival browsers Google Chrome and Firefox, with an alleged new tab layout and support for browser extensions.
Spartan will continue to use Microsoft’s Chakra JavaScript engine and Microsoft’s Trident rendering engine (not WebKit).
According to research from Adobe, Chrome overtook Internet Explorer as the most popular web browser in the United States.
Mary Jo Foler, who wrote the report for ZDnet, said:
“Microsoft may show off Spartan on January 21 when the company reveals its next set of Windows 10 features. But my sources also aren’t sure if Spartan will be functional enough for inclusion in the Windows 10 January Technical Preview and mobile preview builds that are expected to be available to testers in early 2015.”
She said that her sources have told her that Windows 10 (at least the desktop version) will ship with both Spartan and IE 11.
Even though Explorer is bundled in with almost every PC that is purchased, many users opt to switch to other browsers, such as Chrome or Firefox. Is this Microsoft’s attempt to prevent that?
