Windows 7 Users Can Get Spartan Only by Upgrading to Windows 10

I've been testing out the Spartan Project web browser with Windows 10 Build 10049 over the last week or so, and I have to say that, even in its early stages, it's shaping up to a fantastic browser. And, funny enough, it has yet to crash on me but the Internet Explorer version that comes in this latest build, crashes constantly. Using Internet Explorer to use the web to upload screen captures to my OneDrive account rarely works, but when it does, it's only after three or four tries. Additionally, if I let a page stay open for too long, Internet Explorer just becomes unresponsive.

Every time I use Project Spartan, the interface makes me think someone snuck into my office and loaded Chrome. It's clean, useable, and fast. But, unlike Chrome, doesn't kick off a memory-gobbling process for every new tab. I'm not a fanatic about Windows 10 like some. I'm a realist when it comes to choosing my operating environment and tend to cast a critical eye first before heaping praise. On its own, Spartan will not convince me to make the jump to Windows 10 when it's ready this summer, but it definitely helps.

So, Spartan is good and Microsoft has a good thing going. But, what about those who choose to sit on Windows 7 for a while? Will Spartan make its way to earlier versions of Windows? A lot of businesses will take a wait-and-see stance with Windows 10. If Spartan is so good, will all supported customers get access?

Possibly not. The IE Dev Chat team answered this question on Twitter yesterday with the following…

There's rumors that Microsoft may make the Spartan web browser a downloadable option for iOS and Android, in addition to making it the default for Windows 10, which includes PCs, phones, and Xbox. If the company can do that, why not supply a version for Windows 7? I take the "no current plans" to mean there's a chance, if customers make an effort to voice opinion.

Would you like to see a Windows 7 version of Spartan?