14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has released new tab context menus in the Canary version of its Chromium-based Microsoft Edge, with a simplified approach now being used.
Basically, because it’s based on Chromium, Microsoft often aligns with the changes that are made to the engine, and consequently, to the other browsers using the same platform.
Not a long time ago, Google itself simplified the context menus in Google Chrome, and with this update, Microsoft Edge brings its browser in line with the one of its rival.
Google working on similar changes in Chrome
As noted on reddit by user Leopeva64-2, the context menu changes are detailed in a commit published in late August.
“Update tab and frame context menus to match most recent UX specs. This removes four entries from the tab context menu; changes the text on several others to stop saying "tab(s)" explicitly; adds one entry to the frame context menu; and changes the bookmark-related menu entry strings from "page" to "tab" for consistency. Most of the file changes here are due to renaming enums/APIs to match the string changes,” the commit reads.
As you can see in the screenshots here, the new context menus overall are more refined, require less space on the screen, and should be more straightforward, as some redundant options have been removed.
Remember that these changes are currently part of Microsoft Edge Canary, which is the testing build of the browser, but they should make their way to the Dev build in the coming updates. The Canary build receives updates every day, while the Dev sibling is updated weekly, so such changes might be promoted to the Dev channel next week.
A more detailed look at the context menu refinements that Google is making in Google Chrome is available here.