The Best Feature of Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge has been growing in popularity since May of 2020. This is mostly a result of the change from the old IE engine to Chromium. Chromium is the open-source web engine that powers Google Chrome, and it gave Edge a new level of compatibility with the latest web tools and applications.

Microsoft Edge

A Good Feature

There has been a lot of talk about a recent update allowing the user to switch to vertical tabs. This is a great option for keeping tabs organized, especially if you have a wide display, but it could have been a game-changer if Microsoft would have given us that vertical real estate back.

Horizontal Tabs

By shifting the address bar up in line with the action buttons, the user gains valuable vertical real estate without losing any functionality. (The screenshot above was taken on MacOS, but the layout is the same for Windows)

The Best Feature

Edge gives you the option to install websites as an app, and with the growing popularity of web apps, it isn’t too surprising that they “feel” very much like native applications.

Install As App

This gives you a separate app in the dock (or in the taskbar for windows) and allows you to cmd+tab (alt+tab) between apps.

Dock

You can also search for the app in the macOS launch pad or spotlight search (or in the start menu on Windows).

App Search

While still limited to web app performance, some of these apps even fetch updates like desktop applications. This also gives you the advantage of refreshing the app if something goes wrong, just like in the browser.

The Advantage

The biggest advantage that Edge has over other browsers is that it ships as the default in Windows. Edge will continue to grow in popularity as users continue to update, and although it will take some time, I see it overtaking Chrome as the most popular browser.

My Favorite Web Apps

Edge will allow you to install a website as an app, but some sites are built for it. Here are some of my favorite web apps that feel like they were meant for the desktop:

And tons more! Thanks for reading if you enjoyed this article please share, comment, and subscribe to our newsletter! You can also read this article on Medium