14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is working 24/7 to get the new Microsoft Edge right, and this isn’t actually a surprise. Edge is the company’s big bet in the browser market, and it needs this app to work, especially because it’s available on non-Windows platforms too.
Edge is the first Microsoft browser after Internet Explorer 6 that lands on macOS, and what’s more, it’s also available on older Windows versions and Linux.
So yes, Microsoft is fully committed to polishing Edge even further, and every single update brings notable improvements on all platforms.
The most recent stable releases brought the app to version 87 on Windows and Mac, and the latest update available right now is 87.0.664.47.
So let’s have a look at what’s new in Edge 87.
First and foremost, Microsoft announced a new redirect notice in Internet Explorer, with users now automatically pushed to the new Edge browser when certain incompatible websites are loaded.
In other words, if you still use Internet Explorer (although you really shouldn’t!) and load a website that’s no longer considered to be compatible with this old browser, you should then be automatically redirected to Microsoft Edge, with a prompt showing up on the screen to tell you what happened.
“Many modern websites have designs that are incompatible with Internet Explorer. Whenever an Internet Explorer user visits an incompatible public site, they get a message that tells them the site is incompatible with their browser, and they need to manually switch to a different browser,” Microsoft explains.
“The need to manually switch to a different browser changes starting with Microsoft Edge Stable version 87. When a user goes to a site that is incompatible with Internet Explorer, they will be automatically redirected to Microsoft Edge. This article describes the user experience for redirection and the group policies that are used to configure or disable automatic redirection.”
This new version has also enabled the shopping features that Microsoft announced with much fanfare earlier this month, and which brings options to find coupons and better prices when shopping online.
Microsoft Edge 87 also introduces a refreshed New Tab page for enterprises, and this one is further customized with content that makes sense for employees.
“The enterprise NTP blends the Office 365 productivity page we offer to users signed in with their work or school account with personalized, work-relevant company and industry feeds that are organized in a single page. Users will be able to recognize the familiar Office 365 content and Microsoft Search for Business powered by Bing. In addition, they can easily customize "My Feed" by choosing the most relevant content to them from the available content and modules for their organization. IT Administrators can control the News feed settings for their organization, including the selected industry for the Edge new tab page by going to Microsoft 365 admin center,” Microsoft explains.
Edge 87 also introduces keyboard support for highlighting text in a PDF, as well as TLS Token Binding for policy-configured websites. Like every other Edge release, there are also new policy updates in this release.
Of course, the latest Edge update also includes additional security improvements, so installing it is definitely recommended regardless of the operating system you are running.
Needless to say, Edge is getting better and better, and today’s update is living proof Microsoft is very committed to improving the experience with the browser not only for consumers but for enterprises too. In the long term, Microsoft is clearly hoping Edge would become the preferred browser for everybody, though right now, Google Chrome continues to dominate the market with a share of close to 70 percent according to third-party numbers.