Microsoft today announced new details on new features in improvements that are coming to its Edge web browser in Windows 10 Creators Update. Here’s an overview of what you can expect.
Better Tab Management in Microsoft Edge
Edge is going to pick up a lot of new tab management features to make navigating the web easier. According to the article by Microsoft Edge general manager Drew DeBruyne, the new management features are “designed specifically to address major points of anxiety for users – the chaos and clutter of the web and the fear of losing tabs.”
He also says “Our research tells us that Windows users spend more than 50% of their time on the web, but are often derailed by the arduous task of having to sift through countless search results, sites, and the sheer volume of unfamiliar content online.”
So, starting with Windows Insider build 15002 here are tab management features for Edge coming to Creators Update:
Tab preview bar: It’s easy to lose track of what’s in your tabs, especially when you have many tabs from the same site, with similar titles and icons. Tab preview bar allows you to easily glance at a visual preview of every tab you have open without leaving your page.
Set these tabs aside: We often hear that it’s a headache to keep all your tabs organized, and to pick up where you left off. Sometimes you just need to set everything aside and start from a clean slate. We’ve added two new buttons next to your tabs in Microsoft Edge to help you quickly manage all your tabs without losing your flow.
More Edge Improvements Coming
The company is also announcing other new and expanded features that will improve the browsing experience.
3D capabilities will be improving over time as Edge will support WebVR so users can experience virtual reality via the web using VR devices such as Samsung Gear VR or Microsoft’s HoloLens. This will also work with other Windows Mixed Reality hardware yet to come.
eBook support is already being tested in the most recent builds of Windows 10 Creators Update. This will give you the ability to purchase eBooks from the Windows Store and read them in Edge – including ePub format. It will also integrate with Cortana and have eBooks read to you via text to speech.
Online shopping will become easier with newly added support for the Payment Request API. This provides integration with Microsoft Wallet and other payment methods you have configured. DeBruyne explains: “On participating websites, users will have the option to checkout quickly using their payment information stored securely in Microsoft Wallet so they don’t have to navigate through traditional checkout flows and repeatedly enter the same payment and shipping address information.”
More extension support will continue to improve while Microsoft continues to work closely with partners to increase the quality and number of extensions for Edge that are available in the Windows Store.
Other core improvements will enhance security, performance, and browsing efficiency. With Microsoft treating Windows 10 as a service, it lets the company implement new and improved features to Edge and all aspects of the operating system in a simpler way.
Check out the following video Microsoft put together that shows several of these new features of Edge in action:
For continuing news, tips, and step-by-step guides about the new Windows 10 browser check out our archive of Microsoft Edge articles.
Do you use Microsoft Edge in Windows 10? What are your thoughts on these new features and improvements that are coming in this next major upgrade expected to be rolled out in April?
13 Comments
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John Henderson
I understand Microsoft’s inclination not to help competitors but until you add the Norton Identity addon OR add something as good to Windows Defender, I will not be able to use Edge. I tried but it needs the addon.
Dirgster
I use Norton Security also and feel the same way John Henderson describes his issue with Edge.
John Henderson
Dirgster, maybe the 2 of us can force the issue….LOL
Dirgster
I’ve even contacted Norton about the issue, and they say it’s up to MS to put out an extension for Norton’s product. Perhaps MS wants you to stay with Windows Defender rather than using a competition’s program.
John Henderson
What is your experience with Defender? I have little experience with it but don’t know for sure that it isn’t up to the level of Norton. EDGE also offers a Identity safe feature of it’s own but likely not as secure.
Robin Window
Hi john,
Well i know every review of Defender seems to get slagged off and rating it bottom of the pile but i have been using it for about 3yrs now in Win8.1 and then Win 10 and in all honesty i have not had any problems at all and i must admit i do often visit some dodgy sites lol.
I do also run the free version of Malwarebytes which i run every few weeks but it is very rare that finds any nasties and those it does are never anything serious.
Years ago i always ran Kaspersky but the later versions i found to be quite heavy on resources so took the chance and used Defender since from Win 8.1 onwards and have had no complaints.
Dirgster
I don’t use Defender because it cannot be enabled in Windows 10 if you run another anti-virus program like Norton.
John Henderson
Oh well, so be it. Thanks for your responses.
Dirgster
Have you tried the search engine Duckduckgo.com? (It’s not a joke!) The search engine is pretty neat and will let you use Norton’s toolbar and its features.
Robin Window
Surely you know it is bad practice to use two antivirus programs at the same time and could leave you worse off as they would probably conflict anyway.
That’s why Microsoft is not stupid and won’t allow you to run Defender with any other virus program.
Robin Window
Don’t know about the above so called improvements but what they urgently need is a decent method of being able to arrange all your Favourites as the current method is crap.
John Henderson
Is Defender just Virus protection or is it more?
Brian Burgess
It’s more it protects against malware, viruses, spyware, worms…etc.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-defender