The Internet Explorer Won’t Be In Windows 10

Microsoft will instead ship a wholly new Web browser with Windows 10, with IE11 riding along as a backwards-compatible alternative.

The new browser is currently under development and has the project codename of “Spartan.” A formal brand name for it has yet to be announced. Microsoft employees mentioned in a Reddit AMA a few months ago that Microsoft had considered potentially discarding the “Internet Explorer” name and brand. That branding turns 20 years old in August 2015 and has two decades’ worth of mental associations and baggage—some of it positive, much of it extremely negative.

Spartan is expected to be lighter and quicker than Internet Explorer 11; it will include proper extension support as well. It’s also supposed to come in desktop and mobile versions for inclusion with both the desktop and mobile versions of Windows 10. It is speculated that Microsoft may give the public a peek at Spartan near the end of January with the next big Windows 10 reveal, but it’s unclear whether or not the browser will make it into the next Windows 10 Technical Preview.