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Reports have emerged on Monday claiming Microsoft could be ready to debut a brand new web browser for the forthcoming Windows 10 operating system.
Zdnet sources say the in-development browser, codenamed Spartan, looks more like Firefox and Chrome, and “is not IE 12.”
According to the report, it’ll be a lightweight browser available for both mobiles and desktop devices running Windows 10. It’ll also support extensions, apparently, just like Google and Mozilla's options.
The sources also say IE 11 will continue to ship with Windows 10 devices, but will only be kept around “for backward-compatibility’s sake” says reporter Mary Jo Foley.
We may get the first look at the new browser on January 21 when Microsoft holds a consumer-focused event to showcase the progress it is making with Windows 10.
Read more: Windows 10 Technical Preview: First impressions
Microsoft's reported move comes as Internet Explorer’s popularity continues to fade, with users turning to third-party solutions like Chrome, Firefox and Safari and much more browsing taking place on mobile devices.
As of June this year, Google’s Chrome was the most popular browser with almost 32 per cent of the market. The various versions of Internet Explorer sat at 31 per cent, according to stats collected by Adobe. As far back as 2008, Microsoft boasted an 80 per cent share of browser traffic, but that figure continues to drop.
Can a platform agnostic, mobile-friendly browser help revive Microsoft’s fortunes? Let us know your thoughts below.
