Can the Edge web-browser by Microsoft run on multiple platforms?

Does the Edge web-browser by Microsoft run on multiple platforms (i.e. Linux, Mac, Windows)? Is Edge cross-platform?

Trevor Boyd Smith

Posted 2015-04-01T13:32:46.257

Reputation: 2 093

Answers

Project Spartan will only support Windows 10.

Internet Explorer 11 will remain unchanged, which is included on non-mobile versions of Windows 10, to provided the required legacy support in an Enterprise environment. Mobile versions of Windows 10 will only have Project Spartan on them. Devices that run non-mobile versions of Windows 10 will have both Internet Explorer 11 and Project Spartan on them.

It should be noted that the linked article in another answer's original revision describes Microsoft's original plan for Project Spartan and Internet Explorer 11. Project Spartan can be thought of as the next version of Internet Explorer without any legacy support. It is very unlikely that Windows 7 or Windows 8.x will receive Project Spartan in any capacity.

The outdated plan has changed. The current plan is described in another article with the following image.

Project Spartan was built for the next generation of the Web, taking the unique opportunity provided by Windows 10 to build a browser with a modern architecture and service model for Windows as a Service. This clean separation of legacy and new will enable us to deliver on that promise. Our testing with Project Spartan has shown that it is on track to be highly compatible with the modern Web, which means the legacy engine isn’t needed for compatibility.

For Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 to be an effective solution for legacy scenarios and enterprise customers, it needs to behave consistently with Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. Hosting our new engine in Internet Explorer 11 has compatibility implications that impact this promise and would have made the browser behave differently on Windows 10.

Source

Ramhound

Posted 2015-04-01T13:32:46.257

Reputation: 28 517

17I like how the right part of the image pretends that IE6 never existed... – Heinzi – 2015-04-02T05:10:21.067

Spartan will run only on Windows 10 (desktop, tablet and smartphones). More information.

jcbermu

Posted 2015-04-01T13:32:46.257

Reputation: 15 868

2While the answer itself is correct it links to an outdated article and thus makes the entire answer unhelpful since it describes does not accurately describe how IE11 and Project Spartan will function on Windows 10. Even if the plan had not changed the relevant information from the article should have been included. – Ramhound – 2015-04-01T14:38:30.963

1Link corrected to a newer version – jcbermu – 2015-04-01T14:50:26.963

No. It is the next generation browser engine from Microsoft. Initially released for Windows 10 desktop/tablet but should also be released for Windows 10 Mobile.

The intent is to eventually remove Internet Explorer with its Trident engine. However, this wont happen for a number of years since Trident supports a lot of backwards compatibility that Spartan doesn't and this is required for Enterprise users.

Julian Knight

Posted 2015-04-01T13:32:46.257

Reputation: 13 389

My understanding is that eventually Spartan will have backwards compatibility for IE specific sites/intranets. – James Mertz – 2015-04-01T14:48:17.077

2@KronoS - Microsoft changed their mind. Spartan will not have any backwards compatibility. They realized that by changing IE11 to support both it would behave differently on previous versions of Windows and Windows 10 was a bad idea. So they are leaving IE11 for that legacy support and making Project Spartan support everything else. – Ramhound – 2015-04-01T15:19:59.853

What does the second paragraph of your answer have to do with the question? – Philipp – 2015-04-01T15:28:58.593

@AthomSfere do not incorrectly edit my answer! Returned to the original. If you want to disagree, please add comments or your own answer. – Julian Knight – 2015-04-01T15:32:26.627

Spartan is no longer a simple fork and the two are now different & going separate ways. Spartan started life as the Edge engine in Trident but is now totally separate. – Julian Knight – 2015-04-01T15:34:41.097

2If I were to hazard a guess. It was educational in nature since the question's author does not appear to understand that Project Spartan is the next version of Internet Explorer ( codenamed Project Spartan ) with a forked version of the Trident Engine. – Ramhound – 2015-04-01T15:42:21.220

The Spartan/ Trident terminology is mixed up as it is. A fork can be a new product (as with Spartan) but most of the rendering engine is the same (as in how markup, JS and style sheets are rendered). IE is essentially EOL after Windows 10 (expected). The Spartan Fork will continue and where the real differences with Spartan lie are in its approach to extensibility. ActiveX and MS specific CSS/HTML tags will be replaced with web standards and extensions. – Austin T French – 2015-04-01T15:47:25.213

@AthomSfere - In your opinion the terminology is wrong. As somebody who has read everything Microsoft, has said on Project Spartan, the terminology used by Julian is correct (in my opinion). – Ramhound – 2015-04-01T15:59:43.473

@Ramhound it isn't incorrect as much as imprecise from a technical perspective. Marketing-wise, I suppose it is dead on... – Austin T French – 2015-04-01T16:09:59.330

Given the wording of the question, I don't believe that the OP would be helped by splitting hairs over what constitutes a fork. What IS important is that the 2 engines have parted company. Trident will be stabilised and eventually disappear, Spartan will be developing. Unless MS change their minds again :) – Julian Knight – 2015-04-01T16:32:54.383

Some time after the original question was asked, Microsoft released a mobile version of Edge for iOS/Android.

It's not the same rendering engine as desktop windows, but your browser settings should sync with your PC.

Carl Walsh

Posted 2015-04-01T13:32:46.257

Reputation: 151