Spartan: Microsoft working on a new Chrome-like browser for Windows 10, is IE on the way out?

Microsoft VPs Joe Belfiore (right) and Terry Myerson(left)

While we had expected Microsoft to bring some big changes to IE in Windows 10, looks like the software giant is all set to introduce a new browser. Citing some anonymous sources, a report by ZDNet suggests that Microsoft is now building an all new browser dubbed Spartan. This means, IE 12 and Spartan could be different.

Spartan will reportedly be based on Microsoft’s Chakra JavaScript engine and Microsoft’s Trident rendering engine, which means it isn’t switching over to WebKit.

Going by the report, Windows 10 for desktop could ship with both IE11 and Spartan. However, Spartan is simply the codename and it isn’t clear what Microsoft would be calling it during release. The report further adds that IE 11 will be there for backward-compatibility and Spartan will be made available for both desktop and mobile versions of Windows 10.

Microsoft is likely to unveil Spartan on January 21 along with the 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. It may not show up in the test builds until some point later, they say,” the report said.

Neowin reveals, “Microsoft has made a rather large decision regarding Trident, the engine that powers the browser, and no, it’s not adopting Webkit. The team behind the engine has forked Trident into two components that will result in a new .DLL when the browser ships. Because of the fork, the modern component of the IE12 should be lightweight compared to what we have now in IE11, at least, that’s the hope because all of the legacy base has been removed.”

The report further adds that it’s because of this fork that rumours of  a new browser are doing rounds.

Several reports suggests that the new browser will look and feel like Chrome and Firefox. It will also support extensions. Lately, IE that is bundled with Windows 10, is facing stiff competition from alternatives like Chrome, Firefox and Apple’s Safari.