In Which Microsoft Browser Will WebRTC get Implemented?
Will Microsoft just skip IE altogether and focus on their new Spartan browser when it comes to WebRTC?
Joy of joys. We've been told in the past that Microsoft is going to get "all in" when it comes to WebRTC ORTC. There are talks around Microsoft browser and Skype support. That said, this last piece of news from ZDNet makes me wonder. Yesterday, Mary Jo Foley broke the news on ZDNet that Microsoft is building a new browser:
It turns out that what's actually happening is Microsoft is building a new browser, codenamed Spartan, which is not IE 12So. The next Windows version (10), will have a new browser. Lightweight. More akin to Chrome and Firefox than IE. And not IE. Where will Microsoft end up implementing WebRTC? There are many possibilities - IE6 - IE11 and then there's Spartan. Looking at November statistics for IE's market share split across the various versions, we get this picture:
- Implement and add WebRTC from IE6 and up, and add it to Spartan as well - unrealistic
- Implement and add WebRTC from IE8 and up, and add it to Spartan as well - still unrealistic
- Implement and add WebRTC to IE11 and to Spartan - probably where Microsoft is aiming at the moment
- Implement and add WebRTC to Spartan only - reasonable, but fails to meet Skype's ambitions for web browsers, so I don't think Microsoft will go there
- Implement and add WebRTC to IE11 only - a possibility at this point in time. Adding WebRTC to a brand new browser is harder to chew, especially when internal development around WebRTC has been going on for some time now. Microsoft might just decide to implement WebRTC in IE11, and delay it on Spartan for later in the year
Why is this important?
- Having WebRTC running on IE is the number one complaint of most vendors
- The problem with IE is that it isn't a single version - it doesn't auto update like Chrome or Firefox, so you can look at it as a single product
- With a fragmented IE deployment out there, support for WebRTC in IE is not guaranteed
- Forking IE to yet another new browser means more headaches
- WebRTC on IE is a topic that we will see covered in 2015 and maybe even through 2016
Tsahi Levent-Levi
Independent WebRTC analyst. I help companies ship real-time communications they can actually monitor. 20+ years in the comms space, last 13 focused on WebRTC.
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Is it established that Microsoft is building anew browser? Why do you think they are doing this?
Why don't they add autupdate to IE?
The ZDnet article states the need for a smaller/simpler/leaner code base. I tend to agree.
Another option is one of perception - wanting to get away from IE's current sentiments in the market.
Will Spartan support WebRTC?
Only time will tell. It makes sense that Spartan will be the first version to get WebRTC, but even that is unknown.
Apparently Spartan will one day support WebRTC (1.1?) but not for a while yet.
Looks like it's Temasys or Priologic if you want WebRTC for IE!
The Priologic one is ancient history and doesn't exist anymore (never did besides the PR). The Temasys one is available, as well as a few open source alternatives.