14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft Edge has recently managed to become the second most-used desktop browser in the world after surpassing Mozilla Firefox thanks to a massive growth in the latest few months.
Needless to say, this is also the result of Microsoft Edge being offered as the recommended choice on Windows 10, the world’s number one desktop operating system, but at the same time, it’s very clear that the migration to the Chromium engine is also paying off in the long term.
At this point, Microsoft Edge already comes with a feature package that’s similar to the one of Google Chrome, so some of those who previously used Google’s browser are now making the switch to Microsoft’s application.
But the good news going forward is that Microsoft is also working on a series of new features in the coming months, and today we’re going to have a look at what’s to come for the new default Windows 10 browser. First and foremost, Microsoft says it’s now planning to “Bring the Ask Cortana feature” that was originally available in Microsoft Edge legacy to the new Chromium browser. At first, this feature was marked as “in discussion,” so it’s now labeled as planned, which means it should make its debut in the browser at some point in the future.
Certainly, it’ll take some time before this happens, but it’s still good news that it’s coming to all users on Windows 10, especially given Cortana is bundled with the OS. It goes without saying this feature will be exclusive to the Windows 10 version of the browser, as Microsoft’s digital assistant is not available on macOS and Linux (which will soon get Microsoft Edge too).
Then, Microsoft is working on a highlighter tool for PDF files, which is projected to go live at some point in July. Edge is also one very advanced PDF viewer and editor, so the company is fully committed to improving these capabilities with additional features in the coming months.
This summer should also bring navigation in PDF files using the table of contents, something that’s already available in fully-featured PDF apps, as well as sync of browsing history between devices.
Other planed features include text notes for PDF files, more top sites on the New Tab Page, and multiple options to sort favorites in the browser.
Microsoft says it’s also working on improving certain features that didn’t work exactly as users expected them to work in the first place, such as the mouse cursor, which sometimes disappears.
“We’ve recently implemented improvements that we feel cover a lot of the issues users have reported seeing, however we encourage you to submit feedback via the browser if you still notice issues with your mouse cursor disappearing. It’s important to note that your mouse cursor should disappear if you are watching a video or if you are using a trackpad,” Microsoft says.
Microsoft Edge is clearly evolving on all platforms, and the good thing is that Microsoft is very committed on improving the existing features, while also adding new ones on Windows, Mac, and soon Linux too.
If you want to test all the new features before everybody else, the easiest way to do this is to install one of the preview builds that are available for Microsoft Edge. The Canary build, for example, receives updates every day, but at the same time, it’s also the version that could sometime prove to be rather unstable. The Dev channel, on the other hand, is updated on a weekly basis, while the beta build is refreshed every six weeks with new features and improvements.