14 DAY TRIAL // It's not a secret that Microsoft's working on some pretty huge improvements to Edge browser, including support for extensions, but the company's also preparing something that might sound a little less exciting but that also plays a key role in the future of the app.
Redmond's currently working on several accessibility updates for Microsoft Edge and most will be introduced in the coming months, the development team has revealed today in a blog post.
For example, better keyboarding and narrator support in major UI elements will be added soon to Microsoft Edge. These elements include address bar, settings, favorites, history, and downloads.
At the same time, Microsoft's also working on enhanced Flash accessibility and ARIA and HTML mapping to UIA, but also on support for semantically tagged PDFs for paragraphs, links, and images.
“Edge is not where it needs to be”
Microsoft has admitted in its blog post that Edge isn't quite the advanced browser that it was supposed to be, at least when it comes to accessibility features, but has promised to work more in the future to improve this side of the browser.
“We recognize Microsoft Edge isn’t where it needs to be to provide a fully accessible browsing experience. Building a new browser required new user experience work in all levels of the product, including accessibility,” the blog post reads.
“Windows Insiders and others in the accessibility community have provided valuable feedback which we’re using to prioritize improvements to the accessibility of the browser’s controls and the web itself in Microsoft Edge that will be available in the coming months.”
The first update for Edge browser, which could also bring support for extensions, is projected to be rolled out sometime in the next two months, so expect many more improvements to be introduced for the new Windows 10 browser by the end of the year. Since it's a universal app, Edge is also offered on Windows 10 Mobile as the default browser.