(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/DianaHirsch)
A successor to Internet Explorer is on the horizon, and it has been drumming-up quite a bit of interest over the past few months. ‘Spartan’ is said to debut alongside Windows 10’s consumer-focused event tomorrow, but we’ve heard some intriguing reports as to what to expect from Microsoft’s new web browser…
Google’s Chrome is the most widely-used browser in the world, and as such features thousands of extensions created by developers. In order to help both consumers and developers who want to transition from Chrome to the new browser, Microsoft is said to have made Spartan compatible with Chrome’s extensions.
Adding credence to this theory is Microsoft’s recent interest in Android, even submitting a lockscreen to the OS
Neowin, who first reported the news, has surfaced evidence as to how similar Spartan’s extensions are to Chrome. In their article, they provide the example of WrapMsBrowserExtensionPageAndBackground.js which was posted up on Pastebin by h0x0d and was extracted from a build of Windows 10. Chrome is mentioned in the commenting of said js file.
It follows news that Microsoft is also looking to bolster their Windows Phone apps library through supporting Android applications on their platform. Adding credence to this theory is Microsoft’s recent interest in Android, even submitting a lockscreen to the OS which is unavailable even on Windows Phone.
Microsoft in general has been actively working to become more cross-platform, and has upped its support of open technologies in recent months. This seems to be as a direct result of a new direction the company’s recently-appointed CEO, Satya Nadella, is taking the company.
Other features expected in Spartan are integration with the Cortana virtual assistant, digital inking support, grouped tabs for personal and work, and relevant information delivered through the address bar including tracked flights and packages.
We will be keeping an eye on all developments surrounding Spartan and Windows 10 as a whole during tomorrow’s event and will keep you updated as necessary.
Are you interested in Spartan’s rumoured features? Let us know in the comments.
