14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is working to add a new browser in Windows 10 that would provide adopters of the new operating system with a modern browsing experience, thus making Internet Explorer a thing of the past that can no longer compete with Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.
In a new blog post that discusses the future of Windows 10 and its browsers, Microsoft says it loud and clear: Spartan is the company's future and the software giant will focus entirely on making it a better rival for the other browsers on the market, including Google's very own Chrome.
With Spartan, Microsoft is trying to take browsing to a completely new level, so features that would make it easier to share content and read text would be offered from the get-go.
“Project Spartan is our future: it is the default browser for all Windows 10 customers and will provide unique user experiences including the ability to annotate on web pages, a distraction-free reading experience, and integration of Cortana for finding and doing things online faster,” Microsoft says.
Extension support in the works
One of the features that Microsoft is working on right now is extension support for Spartan, which would basically allow users to improve the browser's default functionality and add new options made possible by third-party developers worldwide.
The same is happening right now with Chrome and Firefox, both of which provide access to a plethora of extensions and, at the same time, offer lots of customization features that allow users to personalize the browser almost entirely.
Microsoft has already confirmed that Spartan will get extensions at some point in the future, but the company hasn't said anything about timing, so it's believed that this feature will be ready when Windows 10 RTM is ready or shortly after that.
Windows 10 is likely to be released to manufacturing in June 2015, so Microsoft still has enough time to make extensions possible in Spartan. A testing version of the browser is expected to debut in the next Technical Preview build of Windows 10.
#AskIE @bdsams @jacobrossi @IE Yes. We're working on a plan for extensions for a future update to Project Spartan.
— IE Dev Chat (@IEDevChat) January 27, 2015