Microsoft’s Chromium-based Edge browser was released at the start of this year. It has since garnered a ton of praise for being a notch above the old Edge experience. Well, if you’ve been meaning to try out the new Microsoft Edge, then now is the right time as a ton of cool features have just found their way into this browser.
First up, Microsoft Edge has added a new vertical tabs UI that will enable users to stack open tabs on the left edge instead of the very top. This might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it should be ideal for 16:9 screens. Also, I am willing to give it a shot as it feels familiar to Opera’s sidebar that I’m used to. How’s the vertical UI better than the horizontal tabbed UI, you ask?
Well, as you can see in the screenshot above, the vertical tab UI will make it way easier to navigate between multiple tabs. You can simply hover the cursor over this new UI to see the complete list of tabs open whereas the standard horizontal UI does not give you this freedom.
The second feature, and the one that should come in super handy for some of you, is called Smart Copy. Microsoft Edge is making it easy for you to copy and paste text from anywhere on the web and retain its formatting. Yeah, you can now copy tables or images and see them pasted with the original formatting (rich web format preserved) as the website you copied it from in your email or articles.
One of the highlights of today’s announcement is the new Password Monitor feature. Microsoft, in the official blog post, says that this feature will “help keep your online accounts safe from hackers.” Wondering how? Well, Password Monitor will match the login credentials you save to auto-fill to those that have been leaked on the dark web to see whether your account may be compromised or not. It will prompt you if that’s the case and help you quickly change the password to safeguard your account.
In addition, Microsoft Edge has further improved its tracking protection, InPrivate browsing (another name for Incognito), the Immersive Reader, and more. You can read all about the new features in Edge right here. Most of the features are expected to hit your browser via the Insider builds in the coming weeks.
The browser will now also present you with the option to give back to the community by using Microsoft’s Bing search engine. Called “Give with Bing,” you can enable this feature under the Microsoft Rewards program and donate your reward points to the cause of your choice. This includes the CDC Foundation and others supporting the COVID-19 response.
