Microsoft Edge Web Browser (aka Project Spartan)

Microsoft Edge: this is the name for the next-generation Microsoft Browser which will replace the infamous Internet Explorer. Unveiled previously as Project Spartan, the new web browser is designed to address the many criticisms its predecessor suffered from: cluttered, slow, insecure, outdated.

Microsoft Edge has a cleaner design, has a better HTML rendering engine and will support browser extensions (which are conveniently variants of Chrome or Firefox extensions – yay!). We have been told that things may still change before the final release, but this is very close to final.

All of this is not completely unique you may think, but this could contribute greatly in preventing Windows users from installing another browser, which is ground zero to control the web user experience (and getting some critical insight by data-mining).

Edge will also be the rendering engine that will be loaded onto Windows 10 mobile devices, and there’s a good chance that it will also be the one powering apps web components in the future, although I’m not 100% sure about where we stand now.

During the Microsoft Build 2015 demo, we have seen note-taking abilities and Cortana integration. Microsoft wants the web browsing experience to be more active, and it wants people to be “doing” stuff.

From a developer’s perspective, Microsoft has added built-in methods to help its community. For instance, if you go to a website, which happens to have a Windows Store app, the browser may feature this download to ease app discovery. Here’s today’s video at BUILD:

Hubert Nguyen
Categories: General
Tags: build, Build 2015, Microsoft, Microsoft Edge, project spartan