How Windows 10's Project Spartan redefined Microsoft's web game

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In addition to virtual desktops, the digital assistant Cortana, and a reintroduced Start menu, Windows 10 also introduced a brand new browser for desktop users. Originally called Project Spartan, later called Microsoft Edge, this upgrade was necessary due to Internet Explorer's obvious limitations and its inability to meet the evolving needs of the modern web.




Here's how Project Spartan delivered a sleek, modern, and powerful web alternative, went through several hiccups, and became one of the best browsers on all platforms.

Welcome to Project Spartan

Microsoft Edge homepage with Bing wallpaper

Microsoft first shared details of Project Spartan back in January 2015, and after a few months made it available to early users as part of the Windows 10 Technical Preview build for PCs. The software giant has built a new web rendering engine from the ground up to provide Windows 10 users with a safe, reliable and fast web browsing experience.


Additionally, it featured unique add-ons like a built-in Cortana to provide more information when needed, ink features to share a quick web note via email or social media, a distraction-free reading view, and more. At the Build Conference keynote in April 2015, Microsoft officially renamed it Microsoft Edge.

A glaring omission in Microsoft's web efforts

Microsoft Edge on Ubuntu


Although Microsoft Edge scored well in overall smoothness, touch-friendly interface, and speed, it fell short in one crucial area: extensions. Web extensions play an important role in extending the capabilities of your web browser. While the Edge add-on store offered a solid selection of extensions from well-known developers, it couldn't keep up with Chrome and Firefox's extensive libraries.

This was a key factor in many users choosing other browsers over Edge, which presented Microsoft with major challenges in motivating Windows users to seriously consider the browser.

Microsoft Edge in a Chromium avatar

This is why Microsoft Edge is better than Chrome

Source: Mockup.photos


At the beginning of 2020, Edge underwent a major overhaul and moved away from the Microsoft framework in favor of the Chromium platform. This change of heart brought two major benefits to Microsoft. It opened the Chrome Web Store to Edge users and eliminated any compatibility issues due to a different web rendering engine.

By introducing the Chromium framework, Microsoft Edge became a lot like Google Chrome, making it easier for Chrome users to switch to Edge.

From the barebones solution to the feature-rich solution


Since switching to Chromium on Edge, Microsoft hasn't looked back. The company didn't just switch to Chromium and call it a day. It brought useful add-ons like different mode options to increase speed or efficiency, easy access to Microsoft 365 apps, security features like Password Monitor, and simplified privacy settings.

Over the years, Microsoft has been quite aggressive in developing new features of the Edge browser. With a built-in reading mode, a powerful PDF reader with annotation tools, read aloud, and collections, Edge is sure to be feature-rich to meet the needs of power users.


With features like sleeping tabs, vertical tabs, split screen, workspace, and group tabs, Edge undoubtedly has the best tab management among all desktop browsers. Also, unlike Safari, Edge's cross-platform availability is not a problem as it is available on most platforms including Linux.

Microsoft didn't hesitate to integrate its own apps and services such as OneNote, Skype, Microsoft Designer, Outlook and News Feed, making Edge an attractive choice for Microsoft 365 users. And looking at the current market share, Microsoft's efforts seem to have paid off. Microsoft Edge has a solid 13.8% desktop browser market share, surpassing Safari, Firefox and Opera, behind only Google Chrome (which takes 64.5% of the market).


Microsoft Edge in the AI ​​age

Microsoft Copilot in Edge

In the current AI era, Microsoft has taken the lead with Copilot integration into its apps and services, including Edge. Just a click away in Edge, Copilot also offers the ability to rewrite emails and quick drafts on the fly. Recently, the company announced AI-powered tab organization where you can group all your tabs under relevant headings with just one click.

We're still in the early days of AI and we can't wait to see how Microsoft develops it further in future interactions.


The rise of Microsoft Edge

The year is 2024 and Microsoft Edge is no longer a joke like Internet Explorer once was. It's on par with the best from Apple, Google and Mozilla and even surpasses their offerings in certain areas. Although Project Spartan was unsuccessful due to a lack of web extensions, Microsoft quickly responded to this problem by introducing a Chromium rendering engine and providing Windows users with a powerful browser option.

Despite its strengths, Microsoft Edge has some shortcomings. The default setup is confusing and unnecessary add-ons are enabled, potentially pushing users to alternative platforms. You really should adjust certain settings to get the best experience with Microsoft Edge.

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