Microsoft Edge gets vertical tab stacking and speeds up the launch process

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar

Microsoft has started the rollout of Edge v89 update, and it brings a bunch of useful new features. The first one, and probably the one that tab hoarders will love, is vertical tabs. As the name makes it abundantly clear, vertical tabs will allow you to stack your tabs vertically alongside the left edge of the screen. All you have to do is tap on the ‘Turn on vertical tabs’ icon that appears in the top left corner of the screen.

Just over the cursor over tab icons to expand the vertical tab view

Vertical tabs actually look pretty neat and they make each tab more easily identifiable, especially if all of them have identical icons after originating from the same website. Once you enable vertical tabs, you just have to hover the cursor over one of the tab icons to open the expanded view. You can choose to keep the expanded view open all the time, or you can make it collapsible to free some screen real estate. Personally, I like the vertical tab stacking in Edge a lot more than the classic horizontal view.

vertical tabs in edge
Vertical tabs in Microsoft Edge v89

Another cool feature that arrives widely with Edge v89.0 is Startup Boost. This trick speeds up the launch of Edge browser. Microsoft says that once enabled, a set of core processes keep running in the background, but these consume a significantly less amount of system resources compared to when Edge is actually running in the foreground with its own window(s) open. Based on internal tests, Microsoft is touting an improvement between 29% and 41% in startup times after enabling the new feature.

edge sleeping tabs

Microsoft is also releasing the sleeping tabs feature – which was spotted testing late last month – with the stable Edge v89 update. This feature automatically frees the system resources for certain tabs after a period of inactivity, without actually closing them. You can choose the inactivity period after which tabs are put to sleep, ranging from 5 minutes to a full 12 hours.

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Edge browser is taking a crowdsourced approach to show you fewer notifications

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar
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With the release of Edge (v84) update last year, Microsoft launched a new feature called ‘quiet notifications’ that would turn website notifications appearing as a small window into a tiny bell icon inside the address bar. This was a less intrusive way of managing website notifications, one that was enabled by default for all uses and ensured a distraction-free web browsing experience. Now, Microsoft is building upon that feature by taking a crowdsourcing approach to decide which websites can show full-fledged notifications and whose notifications are given the ‘quiet’ treatment.

This feature is rolling out for all Edge (v88) users via stable channel

The company is calling it adaptive notification requests, and here’s the gist of it. Edge browser will analyze user preference for notifications sent by a particular website. For example, if more users choose to click on the ‘Allow’ button for seeing notifications, those websites are given a positive score. Those which get a ‘Block’ response are ranked negatively, while Dismissal (via the X button) or choosing to ignore it yields a weak negative score.

Edge quiet notifications
Standard website notification windows (Left) vs quiet notification prompt in address bar (Right)
READ MORE: Microsoft is testing a password-protected Kids Mode in Edge browser

Microsoft will analyze this mass user preference behavior for each website, and on the basis of this crowdsourced data, Edge browser will decide which websites can show a full-fledged notification prompt in the form of a window, and which websites get their notification prompts silenced and relegated to the address bar. The company is relying on a scoring system to bring the Adaptive notification requests to life.

We suggest site owners provide permission requests with consideration to the user’s context and timing, after users have engaged with sites. Sites that follow good practices and earn a high user acceptance rate will begin to show the full prompt without being “quieted.”
Edge browser
Website whose notifications are silenced will show this prompt when the bell icon is clicked

Public behavior decides which websites can show full-fledged windows notifications

However, Microsoft will give a second chance to websites with bad user responses to their notification prompts by allowing them to mend their ways. In order to take advantage of Edge browser’s crowdsourced notification tool, you must first enable the Quiet Notification Requests feature by following this path: Settings > Cookies and site permissions > Notifications.

Microsoft adds that if users consecutively block three notifications across different websites, the quiet request feature will be enabled on its own. And in case users block the notification request of a website 3 or 4 times in a row, Edge will automatically block further notifications from it. The new crowdsourced notification feature in Edge is rolling out publicly for all users with v88 of Edge browser.

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Microsoft is testing a password-protected Kids Mode in Edge browser

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar

Microsoft has started testing a new feature in Edge browser called Kids Mode, which as the name clearly suggests, is aimed at ensuring a safe internet browsing experience for children. Microsoft is currently testing the feature among the Insiders group in the Dev and Canary channels, and will likely roll it out widely soon.

You'll need the device PIN or password to exit Kids Mode

In Microsoft’s own words, enabling Kids Mode in Edge browser shows content that is kid-friendly and limits the scope of websites that can be accessed by children. While the list of websites that children of a particular age group can access is determined by the browser itself, parents can choose to manually add or remove certain websites from the safe list as well.

Tap to see full-sized-image (Credit: Microsoft)
READ MORE: Microsoft Edge gets sleeping tabs to keep your PC from choking. Here’s how to enable it

Enabling the Kids Mode in Edge browser doesn’t require any sign-in, but in order to exit Kids Mode, one must enter the PIN or password of the device. Kids Mode can be enabled by tapping on the profile switcher option in the top right corner and selecting ‘Browse in Kids Mode’ from the drop-down menu.

Choose between two age groups viz. 5-8 years and 9 years or older.

You don’t necessarily have to sign-in for enabling Kids Mode, but doing so will sync the settings – such as the age group of children specified by parents and the list of blocked websites – across all your devices. Kids Mode will let parents choose between two age groups 5-8 years and 9 years or older. The only difference between the two is that the former opens a simplified browser view.

Tap to see full-sized-image (Credit: Microsoft)

And in case you’re wondering, parents and guardians can always change the age selection for running Kids Mode in Edge browser. And until you exit Kids Mode by entering the device’s password, Edge browser will always launch in the kid-friendly mode. And oh, there’s also an option to adjust the theme when this feature is enabled.

When children visit a restricted website, they can ask their guardian to grant access to it via a Get Permission feature that is also password protected. The feature is available under the Family section of Settings menu in Edge browser. At the moment, testing of Kids Mode is limited to English (US) language on Windows and macOS.

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Microsoft Edge gets a password generator and alerts for compromised credentials

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar

Microsoft has today announced a slew of new features coming to its Edge browser with the v88 update that includes new themes, a sleeping tabs feature, redesigned icons, and sidebar search to name a few. But the company is also throwing in a few privacy and security-centric upgrades as well, marking the first anniversary of its Chromium-based Edge browser. The first one of those changes is a native password generator tool.  

Every time you sign up for a new account or are in the middle of changing an old password, the in-built password generator in Edge browser’s latest version will suggest a  more complex password that will be automatically saved and synced. This new browser-suggested password will appear in the drop-down and all you have to do is tap on it, and it will be saved and synced across all your devices. 

Microsoft Edge Password generator
Password generator in Edge (Image: Microsoft)
READ MORE: Microsoft Edge gets native support for M1 Macs in the beta channel

Another useful tool that Microsoft is adding to its in-house browser is an in-built password compromise alert system called Password Monitor. The new feature automatically performs dark web scanning to check if any of your passwords saved in the browser have been leaked. And if a match is found – which can only mean your password is not secure anymore – Edge will notify users of the same and will prompt them to update their password. The Password monitor does its dark web scanning job in the background and is enabled by default. 

Password Monitor in Edge (Image: Microsoft)

Microsoft is also making it easier to control which websites have access to location, camera, and mic permissions. Plus, there is now a separate option for deleting third-party cookies, while keeping the rest intact for a better browsing experience. And if you’re worried about ad-tracking, Edge now offers a ‘strict’ mode for browning while using the InPrivate mode for tracking prevention. Edge is also getting a Secure DNS capability that automatically switches over to DNS-over-HTTPS for more security, assuming the service provider offers support for it. 

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Microsoft Edge gets native support for M1 Macs in the beta channel

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar

Microsoft released an optimized version of its Edge browser for the new Macs powered by Apple’s M1 silicon back in December last year. But so far, that build has been limited to the experimental Canary channel targeted at developers. Now, the company has finally pushed the ARM64 version of Edge browser that runs natively on the M1 Macs to the beta channel. 

Compared to the Canary and Dev channels, the Beta is the most stable build

With Edge going native on the M1 Macs, you can expect some performance improvements and a better overall experience compared to its non-native version that ran on top of the Rosetta 2 emulation layer. And compared to the Canary and Dev channels, the Beta version of Microsoft’s browser on the Insiders channel is much more stable. In Microsoft’s own words, ‘the Beta Channel is the most stable Microsoft Edge preview experience.’

But this is still a beta build after all, so there are chances you might come across a few bugs. In my experience running a beta build of Microsoft’s in-house browser for a few months, the whole process has been usable for the most part. And with Microsoft rolling out a beta build, it is quite likely that a stable build of Edge that runs natively on the M1 Macs will be released sooner than later. For now, if you have a Mac with the M1 silicon and don’t have any reservations against running beta software, you can download the beta ARM64 macOS build of Edge browser here.

Don’t like Edge? Chrome and Firefox run natively on M1 Macs

However, if Edge doesn’t cut it for you, there are other options on the table as well. Google has already released an ARM64 version of Chrome for macOS, and you also have the Mozilla Firefox browser that gained native M1 Mac support with its version 84 that was released a while ago. In case you want a more privacy-centric browser, a macOS ARM64 version of Brave browser was released a few weeks ago as well. It is worth noting that both Edge and Brave browsers run on the Chromium engine, which means you can migrate data such as extensions from Chrome without having to think twice about compatibility hassles. 

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Pocketnow Daily: Google Pixel 5 Might NOT be a FLAGSHIP?!(video)

Posted on by Samuel Martinez

On today's Pocketnow Daily, we talk about the new Google Pixel 5, Samsung's possible 150MP camera sensor, a new iPhone 9 Plus and more

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Expect an LTE-only T-Mobile by 2019 if the carrier can peel legacy clingers

Posted on by Jules Wang

Speaking at an Ericsson event at MWC 2017, T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray said that the carrier will have to work on converting every last call onto VoLTE.

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The end of 2G for AT&T slated for this year

Posted on by Jules Wang

We’ve been livin’ on the EDGE for a long time, but AT&T figures it’s about that time that the sky started falling on GSM. CFO John Stevens says the network’s remaining 2G networks will be shut off by the end of this year.In AT&T’s Q1 earnings conference call, Stevens said that the company moved off six million customers from 2G in the past 12 months. Some stubborn feature phone-wielding subscribers may end up getting lost in the transition, ...

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Microsoft locks down Cortana to kill Bing-, Edge-dodging hacks

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Voice-powered assistants are becoming more and more popular ways for users to get access to data, using them to conduct searches and connect with the websites holding  answers. But for as powerful as they are, use of such services can mean making certain compromises. Take Google’s voice search on Android devices, for instance: you can ask it to search for anything you choose, but it’s only going to give you results from Google’s own servers – there’s no easy way to ...

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Microsoft Edge browser extension preview page goes live ahead of availability

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Windows users, your long wait may nearly be over – on multiple fronts. Earlier today we shared news with you about the latest rumor addressing Microsoft’s hugely anticipated release of Windows 10 Mobile updates for Windows Phone 8.1 devices, but that’s not the only software news that’s been months in the making: last week we heard from a couple sources that Microsoft was nearly ready ...

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