Ever since Microsoft started publicly testing its new Chromium-based Edge browser back in April, the question has been when it will replace the current Spartan Edge browser. As it turns out, it could be sooner rather than later.
Currently available in the Release Preview ring of the Windows Insider Program, Windows 10 build 18362.266 will start hiding Spartan Edge in the Start Menu if you"ve got Chromium Edge installed. Spotted by Windows Latest, we"ve also found that this works with today"s leaked Windows 10 build 18947.
Many suspected that Chromium Edge wouldn"t be able to replace Spartan Edge until a full feature update shipped, and that"s still not wrong. What you"re seeing on build 18362.266 isn"t Chromium Edge replacing Spartan Edge; it"s simply recognizing that Chromium Edge is installed and hiding Spartan Edge in the Start Menu. The old browser is still there, at least for the time being.
It"s unclear when the company plans to remove Edge completely. Windows 10 already ships with two browsers, and the team has made it clear that it does not intend to start shipping three browsers with the OS. Still, Chromium Edge isn"t even available in the Beta channel just yet, so there"s still time to sort that out.