Startup Boost and Sleeping Tabs are among the new features and functionalities.
This week Microsoft released a range of new features out of Beta to enter Edge Stable. The new additions include Startup Boost, Sleeping Tabs, Vertical Tabs, and a more efficient and readable History dialog. The company also announced new interface tweaks to Bing.
It seems that Microsoft is categorizing these enhancements as Bing and Edge features, but don’t be fooled. These new functions appear to apply more to Edge, it’s an indirect way of promoting their Bing search engine.
Here’s what’s new and improved
Liat Ben-Zur, Microsoft Corporate Vice President, detailed the new release in a blog post last week. Ben-Zur describes himself as a “tab hoarder”. As such, he is excited about the new Vertical tabs feature.
“Now everyone can view and manage their tabs from a pane on the side with a single click,” he wrotes. “This allows you to clearly see the tab titles and controls, making it easier to find and switch between the tabs you need.”
Ben-Zur writes that Startup boost “maximizes your computer’s performance by significantly reducing the time it takes to open the browser after a device reboot or reopening the browser.” According to Ben-Zur, initial tests show startup times improve from 29% – 41% percent with this feature.
Startup boost will be automatically enabled this month and you can access your browser settings menu to personalize Microsoft Edge even more.
Microsoft’s Beta programs
Microsoft Edge’s release and download system is based on three Insider channels: Canary, Dev, and Beta. These three Insider cohorts represent daily, weekly, and six-weekly updates respectively. Each group represents an increasing level of stability.
Microsoft trials new features in these three groups before releasing them into Stable, where normal (non-Insider) users will be able to access them.
If you’re a normal Windows users you cannot directly access new builds in the Stable channel. Instead, they need to wait to get them via Windows Update.
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