Microsoft will launch Windows 10 next year, probably in late summer / early fall. The new iteration of the OS will work on many devices, from smartphones to tablets and PCs, representing a big step forward compared to Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1- that’s why Microsoft decided to name it Windows 10, eluding the Windows 9 moniker altogether.
Currently codenamed Spartan, the browser will still rely on Microsoft’s Chakra JavaScript engine and the Trident rendering engine (used by Internet Explorer 11). Even so, ZDNet’s sources have it that this is definitely not Internet Explorer 12, but a new and “lightweight” browser that will be available on desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones. Spartan could resemble Chrome and Firefox more than Internet Explorer as we know it.
Despite the arrival of the new browser, it’s said that Internet Explorer will still ship with Windows 10 (backward compatibility reasons being quoted), so this is not yet the death of IE – though we assume that it is the beginning of the end.
Microsoft will reveal new details about Windows 10 in January (next month), so maybe we’re going to find out more about Spartan then.
