Say hello to Microsoft Edge, the Redmond giant’s new moniker for the Project Spartan flagship browser in the Windows 10 operating system. Sporting a basic and minimalist interface, Edge has support for Microsoft’s own Cortana digital assistant, giving intelligent suggestions whenever needed. It also has a digital annotation function for easy note-taking whether you’re using a pen and touch input or a mouse and pen, and a built-in reading list for easier web viewing.
Edge also has the ability to support browser extensions from both Chrome and Firefox, making it one of the most decorated browsers right before it hits consumer shelves. It’s still unclear on how it would work as of this writing, and we hope Microsoft would shed light on it soon.
The new name isn’t surprising, since Microsoft already mentioned that the new browser runs on an updated fork of Internet Explorer’s rendering engine called EdgeHTML. Edge is slated to be Windows 10’s default browser, as already seen in its early builds.
So, what happens to Internet Explorer? It may not be included in the Redmond Giant’s new operating system for consumers, but rather be part of the software that will be given out to Business and Enterprise customers.