14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft Edge is far behind rival Google Chrome, according to the most recent market share figures from NetMarketShare, but Microsoft is very committed to improving the browser, and the upcoming Fall Creators Update will mark an important step in this direction.
A preview build that was rolled out today provides us with a glimpse into the feature lineup of Microsoft Edge in the next Windows 10 version, though it’s worth mentioning that more changes could be made before the public release, all based on feedback.
Full-screen support in Microsoft Edge
First and foremost, Microsoft is bringing back the feature to pin favorite websites to the taskbar. Such functionality was offered in the original Windows 10 version, but then removed for an undisclosed reason, though it looks like it was pretty widely used by adopters of the operating system.
By pinning websites to the taskbar, users can quickly load pages, without having to launch Microsoft Edge and type the address in the URL bar.
In addition, this update for Microsoft Edge also introduces full-screen support, which was one of the most requested features in the browser. The full-screen mode works in Microsoft Edge just like in any other browser, so you can simply press F11 to enable or disable it. Additionally, there’s a new icon in the menu that lets you access the full-screen mode.
Microsoft Edge also supports annotations for EPUB books, and users can now highlight in four colors, underline, and add comments. There are also PDF improvements, including more highlight colors and the option to Ask Cortana when opening PDFs in Microsoft Edge.
The software giant has also implemented smaller tweaks, including refinements to the splash page to make Start and New Tab pages load more smoothly, as well as improved animations when opening or closing new tabs. Session restore behavior has also been improved, and so have been the options to close the browser directly using the close button even when a JavaScript dialog is showing.
All in all, Microsoft Edge is clearly evolving and the upcoming Falls Creators Update is very likely to make it a better rival to third-party browsers. More new features could see daylight by the time the next OS release goes live, so it’s all up to insiders to decide the feature lineup at this point.
