Unlike competitors like Firefox and Chrome that get version number upgrades pretty much every other Monday, Internet Explorer likes to take things slow and steady.
Microsoft still believes in a long update cycle for its browser.
Internet Explorer 10 packed in several enhancements when it was released last year, and Internet Explorer 11 which is said to be a part of the upcoming Windows 8.1 looks set to do the same.
The newest leaked build of Windows 8.1 that made its way to the web a few hours ago includes several new improvements in Internet Explorer 11. Screenshots show some of them are specifically aimed at developers.
The developer tools available in this new version of Internet Explorer sport a brand new look that is more in line with the user interface of Visual Studio, and pack in a number of modern design elements that are a staple of Microsoft’s product range.
A simple press of the F12 key launches the developer and debugging tools, just like before.
And just like in the previous versions of the web browser, this particular tool helps developers to not only check out the source code of web pages, but also test performances of their websites.
This new refresh makes it the first time Microsoft has brought along some major changes to this tool, since the launch of Internet Explorer 8 all those years back.
And the timing of this could not have been better — the software titan is gearing up to launch a public preview of Windows 8.1 along with Internet Explorer 11 at the BUILD developer conference set to take place late next month in San Francisco.
