Great news: the default Windows 10 browser will be able to mute tabs in the upcoming Redstone 4 update

Nov 9, 2017 06:46 GMT  ·  By

Despite its big ambitions to become a key player in the browser market, Microsoft has been improving Edge at a rather slow pace using an approach that raised questions as to whether it’s worth waiting for new features or switch to a third-party app.

Microsoft rolls out new features for the default Windows 10 browser whenever a new version of the operating system is shipped, as it was the case of the Anniversary Update, the Creators Update, or the Fall Creators Update. And the same strategy will be maintained for the next releases as well, including the upcoming Redstone 4 update due in the spring.

Living proof that this strategy isn’t working is a feature that Microsoft announced with much fanfare in Windows 10 build 17035 that’s rolling out today to Windows insiders.

Muting tabs in Edge browser

In Redstone 4, Microsoft Edge users will be able to quickly mute tabs should they want to no longer listen to audio playing in the background, a feature that Microsoft says it provides “a new experience.”

“Mute-a-Tab! This build introduces a new experience for muting a tab playing audio. The audio icon that displays when a tab is playing media is now clickable and will mute the audio streams that tab is playing when clicked. The tabs audio will unmute when clicked again. This feature is also available from the context menu via the right click action on the tab,” the release notes for the new build read.

But options to mute tabs have been available in rival browsers for more than 2 years. Google Chrome received such capabilities with version 46 in October 2015, but extensions to enable tab audio muting have been in the store for much longer.

At one point, rumor had it that Microsoft could start shipping Edge updates through the Windows Store as part of an approach that would allow more frequent updates, but for the time being, the company still doesn’t see a reason to change anything, despite its browser clearly being way behind all of its rivals.

Options to mute tabs in the latest version of Google Chrome
Options to mute tabs in the latest version of Google Chrome

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Tab muting in Microsoft Edge
Options to mute tabs in the latest version of Google Chrome
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