Rendering engine updates in March for the Windows 10 Technical Preview

Based on feedback from Windows Insiders, we are working to release preview builds more often. Today we flighted the first update to Insiders on this accelerated cadence, which includes the latest updates to our new rendering engine. Due to the change in cadence, this build does not yet include the Project Spartan preview, which will be available in the next release.

Today’s build has a number of updates to the new engine, including new features and improvements to existing features. Some of these include:

• Improved ECMAScript 6 compatibility (up to 74% in the Kangax ES6 compatibility test in this preview)
• Expanded support for DOM L3 XPath
• Support for WAI-ARIA Landmark Roles
• Support for CSS Conditional Rules (@Supports)
• Support for the Web Audio API
• Support for CSS Gradient Midpoints (aka color hints)
• Improved FeBlend mode support
• Unprefixed support for the Fullscreen API
• Support for the Touch Events API and related interoperability improvements. Touch Events are enabled when a touchscreen is present, and can be enabled under about:flags.

In addition, you may notice some features partially implemented and available for testing in Internet Explorer under about:flags. These features are under active development and will continue to evolve in future preview builds.

• Support for the HTML5 Date-Related Inputs API. This is off by default and can be enabled in about:flags. Improved accessibility is coming in a future build.
• Partial support for CSS Transitions & Animations on SVG elements
• A toggle for the CSS Filters API is available in about:flags but the feature is not yet implemented in this build.

Watch this space over the next week as we’ll be diving into these in more detail in a series of individual posts. In the meantime, you can try these improvements out in the latest preview by signing up for the Windows Insiders program and joining the “Fast” update ring. To enable the new engine in Internet Explorer on preview builds, navigate to about:flags and select “Enable experimental Web platform features.” We'll also be updating RemoteIE with the new preview soon. Don’t forget to share your feedback via the Internet Explorer Platform Suggestion Box on UserVoice, @IEDevChat on Twitter, and in the comments below.

– Kyle Pflug, Program Manager, Project Spartan

Comments

• Anonymous
  March 18, 2015
  Hopefully we will get all other input types implemented soon :)

• Anonymous
  March 18, 2015
  Nice! Great job team with the new enhancements! Will update my Windows 10 Preview ASAP! Thanks!

• Anonymous
  March 18, 2015
  Keep the updates coming. Like my house, even dirty windows are better than no windows.

• Anonymous
  March 18, 2015
  I had thought that WAI-ARIA landmark roles had already landed. So what does support for them actually mean? Regardless, good jorb!

• Anonymous
  March 18, 2015
  The new rendering engine makes Gmail unusable, using Compatibility Mode under the smiley face will fix the problem.

• Anonymous
  March 18, 2015
  Which build version of internet explorer does this post correspond to? (the version as reported by "About Internet Explorer")

• Anonymous
  March 18, 2015
  When can we have WebRTC?

• Anonymous
  March 20, 2015
  @Kesteve - Thanks for the feedback! If you can, please report a problem using the "Send a frown" option in the smiley face menu. This will get the bug to our triage team to look into. @10601247 - This is Internet Explorer 11 (11.0.10011.0) on Windows 10 build 10041. @Bob - We're hard at work on WebRTC 1.1! More details here: blogs.msdn.com/.../bringing-interoperable-real-time-communications-to-the-web.aspx

• Anonymous
  March 20, 2015
  can we have an update on WebRTC 1.1? will Spartan have it? would love a new post by the team.  

• Anonymous
  March 22, 2015
  Any news please on getting the template element supported, for consistency with Chrome/Firefox/Safari/etc.? I see it's currently marked as 'under consideration', with approaching 3,000 votes. status.modern.ie/templateelement