Windows 10 May Come With A New Web Browser

Microsoft is working on a new web browser for Windows 10, code-named Spartan, to replace the ageing Internet Explorer. First reported by ZDNet, Microsoft will reportedly ship both web browsers in Windows 10, to test the waters with Spartan. Internet Explorer’s team will be downscale internally, to the point where all workers will move to Spartan development.

Spartan will be a lightweight web browser, capable of working on multiple platforms. Microsoft is looking into an iOS and Android version of the web browser, alongside making it available for all Windows platforms at launch.

Not much is known about the design of Spartan, it will most likely follow the same Metro UI, which Microsoft has been pushing for the best part of three years. It will also feature the same rendering engine as Internet Explorer. Microsoft is preparing a consumer event on January 21 for Windows 10, to introduce some of the new features on the operating system. In a leaked Build 9901, it showed Cortana, the virtual assistant, will be present on the OS update.

Internet Explorer has lost a lot of its dazzle in the past few years, overshadowed by Chrome and Firefox. Microsoft went from 80 percent web browser share to 50 percent, and only has 2 percent on mobile.

Spartan might not be the solution to Microsoft’s web browser problems, but offering a compatible web browser on multiple platforms is better than what Redmond is offering right now.

Cnbeta’s screenshots also reveal Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 10 user interface. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s Windows plans tell The Verge that the company is planning to build light and dark themes with color accents for Windows 10. The look and feel will be similar to that of the existing user interface for Windows Phone, and these leaked screenshots provide an early look at an internal Microsoft concept and the aim for the final UI. They do not represent the final interface as Microsoft will be tweaking it a number of times over the coming months. Some of these user interface changes have started appearing in recent builds of Windows 10, with the new dark taskbar surfacing in a leaked version last month. Microsoft is also tweaking its built-in apps to match the new color schemes, with a new Xbox app that hints at what the company is planning for the final version of Windows 10.