Internet Explorer is often at the butt of jokes no matter how hard Microsoft tries to improve it and Google won’t simply release Chrome for Windows 8 or Windows Phone. This sad state of affairs has left Microsoft with no other choice but to make a new browser from dust for the upcoming Windows 10. No we’re no talking about a new version of Internet Explorer, but rather a new browser built from ground up.
Codenamed Spartan (another codename from the Halo universe), Microsoft plans to release the browser alongside the next version of Internet Explorer on Windows 10. Instead of Webkit, Spartan will use Microsoft’s Chakra JavaScript engine and Microsoft’s Trident rendering engine. The browser will also reportedly look and feel like Chrome and Firefox and will allow extensions. The light weight browser will be released for both mobile and desktop and Internet Explorer 11 will be shipped for backward compatibility purpose.
Microsoft is expected to unveil Windows 10 at an event on January 21st, where it could unveil Spartan (or whatever the company decides to call the final version of the browser).
[Source]