Reading mode
Reading mode can be added to Chrome using third-party extensions. Microsoft Edge has its own mode called immersive. Click on the icon with the image of a book in the address bar - and all unnecessary elements will disappear, only text and pictures will remain.
Immersive mode makes it easy to adjust text size, line spacing, and background. You can also turn on highlighting different parts with color and breaking down words into syllables. And finally, the browser can read pages out loud.
So is Edge worth your attention?
Considering everything that the Windows 10 browser can surprise you with , we can confidently note a few things . Firstly , no matter how bad or good this browser is, it will still be used by a fairly large number of unassuming users who only need the browser to visit their favorite sites from time to time. Typically, these people are not interested in the availability of alternatives, newfangled features or some high-tech delights, they use what is given to them, and the first thing they will encounter when starting a computer running Windows 10 is the Edge browser, so they will stop there . For the same reason, Internet Exploper remains the second most popular browser in the world. It is simply the first thing that an ordinary person encounters, including his computer. And despite the fact that Edge is head and shoulders above its predecessor , it is destined to take its place. Even if it has a slightly different reputation, Edge will only be a replacement for a browser that is outdated in every sense. Yes, it is fast, modern, beautiful and quite technologically advanced. But this is not enough to become an alternative to third-party analogues, which are developing much more rapidly and can offer a lot of functions that Edge cannot be added even with the help of extensions.
Edge Browser Elements
Secondly , Microsoft Corporation seems to be not averse to developing its product has never shown any particular zeal in this direction . Updates occur extremely rarely , although functionality is added, it is often not what users need, and if it becomes possible to improve the browser with the hands of enthusiasts , then for some reason the site for this has been empty for several years. Thirdly , Edge appeared at a time when almost everyone had already decided which browser was the most optimal for them. It is difficult to lure the audience without offering a full-fledged alternative , but by demonstrating only controversial that are needed by a few . After all, in order for people to start using your product today, you first need to improve existing capabilities , and only then introduce new ones.
One way or another, Edge will continue to exist regardless of whether you use it or not. But if you are one of those people who use the browser in extremely rare cases , and all its capabilities are not important to you, then choosing the Edge browser would probably be the right decision . And if you want to have at your disposal a powerful tool for complete control of your activities on the Internet with maximum convenience and in the most comfortable conditions , then stay tuned for updates on the site , as material will appear in which you can familiarize yourself in detail with the best analogues of the standard browser from Microsoft.
Chrome extension support
Perhaps Edge's biggest problem in the past has been its lack of extensions. But now the situation has changed.
Firstly, the range in the Microsoft Store has become more diverse and now there is no shortage of ad blockers, translators and clippers. And secondly, Edge, as expected, began to support add-ons from Chrome.
And to install them you don’t need to resort to any tricks. Just click on the “Allow extensions from other stores” checkbox in the extensions menu. Or simply open the Chrome Store: Edge will prompt you to enable the desired option in the top bar.
Send menu
In Android and iOS mobile operating systems, the “Send” or “Share” button is available in all applications. But you can’t find it on desktops: among browsers, only Safari on Mac has it. Meanwhile, this is a convenient thing.
Edge has a Send button. You can easily forward a link to the desired page to a person in your contacts list, copy it into an email client, Your Phone app or other programs, or forward it to your nearest device.
Main features, functionality
Microsoft Edge is a basic program that needs to be downloaded additionally - the developers presented it along with Windows 10. The main function of the browser is viewing Internet pages. The application has the following features.
- Notes on the page. If your device is equipped with a stylus and a touch screen, you can write and mark up directly on the open web page.
- Large selection of extensions. The user can personalize the program by adding new extensions for improved functionality. You can install Adblock, Adblock Plus, Amazon, Evernote, LastPass, Microsoft Translator, Office Online and others.
- Support for modern web standards. The browser features an improved navigation system through the keyboard and other manipulators. Supports screen reading, opens PDF files, and works with a speech synthesizer for quick searches.
Important! Microsoft Edge is updated frequently as developers work to fix any shortcomings.
Protecting Security and Privacy
The new Microsoft Edge has built-in protection against online tracking. It automatically blocks most trackers. The browser offers three levels - Basic, Balanced and Strict.
In the Tracking Blocking menu, under Trackers Blocked, you can see exactly what Microsoft Edge protects against.
In addition, the browser has a built-in SmartScreen filter from Microsoft Defender. It does not allow you to go to phishing and infected sites, or download malicious files.
⇡#Browser Features
The new Edge is made in the visual style characteristic of Chromium and in terms of the user interface, and also in the arrangement of controls, it is an almost exact copy of the familiar Google Chrome. The difference lies in the details.
Almost all browsers based on Chromium are the same. The new Edge is no exception
The first and most important feature of Chromium-based Edge is its tight integration with Microsoft online services. The browser out of the box is equipped with tools for authorization in a Microsoft account and synchronization of user data on different devices, as well as support for the Bing search engine, Microsoft News information portal services, Microsoft Translator and other services of the software giant. At the same time, the connection to Microsoft services is in most cases customizable, and you can refuse support for some services if you wish.
Chromium-based Edge integrated into Microsoft's ecosystem of online services
Another pride of the developers is the ability to personalize the page with a new tab. In the browser settings, you can choose the layout, design and content of the new tab, disable background images, display news and the block of quick links.
| Personalized New Tab Page Setup | ||
Special attention is paid to ensuring the confidentiality and privacy of users when working on the Internet. In addition to the classic Edge protection module against phishing and other malicious resources called SmartScreen, the updated browser now has a tracking protection system while browsing websites. The new feature is enabled by default, has three levels of configuration and blocks various web trackers and scripts used by advertising and analytics agencies (and often by attackers) to spy on users' online activities. You can either enable it for all sites or disable it for individual sites.
Tracking Prevention Settings
The strength of the new Edge is the ability to install extensions both from the Microsoft Edge Addons store, which still has a modest range of add-ons, and from the Chrome Web Store, which has thousands of useful applications. Such freedom of choice and Microsoft's concern for users cannot but rejoice.
Microsoft inherited support for Chrome add-ons
With an eye on the enterprise segment of the market, Microsoft included in Edge the ability to launch tabs in compatibility mode with Internet Explorer. This measure is forced, since in the business environment, network resources (usually internal communication web portals) are still often used, “tailored” for the Trident browser engine, also known as MSHTML. IE mode supports working with ActiveX controls, Browser Helper Objects, and other Trident core functions.
When IE compatibility mode is enabled, the corresponding icon is displayed in the browser address bar
Many other interesting innovations have been implemented in the new Edge. Among them are support for Azure Active Directory, 4K video streaming, handwriting in PDF, voice-over of web pages, dark browser theme, integration with corporate services FastTrack and App Assure. Well, and most importantly, Edge now has browser versions for Android and iOS. This means that from now on it can compete on equal terms with alternative web browsers not only in the desktop segment, but also in the mobile sphere. This is a very important step for the new Microsoft product on the way to an impressive audience of smartphone and gadget users.
Android version of the new Microsoft Edge
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Customizable start page
Edge offers three start page options.
- “Focused” - just the icons of frequently visited sites and the search field are in front of you, just like in Chrome.
- “Inspiring”—Various backgrounds from your Bing photos appear on your screen.
- “Informational” - the launch panel is filled with Microsoft News. Here you can also view the weather, exchange rates and other data.
By switching between modes, you can make the start page as informative as possible. Or, on the contrary, arrange it so that it does not distract from surfing.
User profiles
Microsoft Edge retains one of the best features of Chromium - the ability to create profiles so that several people use the browser at the same time without mixing up their favorite sites, passwords, payment information, addresses and other settings. Profiles can also be used to separate personal and work content.
Edge can create two types of profiles. Local saves data only on your device. And the cloud synchronizes bookmarks, history, passwords and other information between all your gadgets, but you need to connect your Microsoft account.
⇡#Performance evaluation
The new Microsoft Edge is based on the same Blink rendering engine that is used in Chrome, Opera, Vivaldi and other browsers built on the Chromium code base. As a result, all such software solutions demonstrate similar performance when processing web content. Our tests confirm this.
To test the speed characteristics of Internet browsers, we used a Windows To Go bootable flash drive with a 64-bit build of Windows 10. The test bench was an Acer Aspire 5742G laptop (Intel Core i3-370M processor with a clock frequency of up to 2.4 GHz, 8 GB of RAM, SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M video card). To evaluate performance, we used the Octane 2.0, MotionMark 1.1, JetStream 2, Basemark and Speedometer 2.0 benchmarks, which measure the speed of graphics processing, web content and page rendering, the speed of the JavaScript interpreter and the execution time of tasks typical for most Internet users. For comparison, in addition to the new Edge on Chromium, we chose the classic Edge, Internet Explorer 11, Firefox and the browsers Chrome, Opera and Yandex Browser built on the same Chromium, the latest versions at the time of writing. For the purity of the experiment, all programs were tested separately; the remaining applications running on the system were unloaded from the computer’s memory when running benchmarks. The results of our testing can be judged from the graphs below.
Browser performance benchmarking results (click to view full-size images)
HTML5test.com test results
All products built on a single technological platform - Chrome, Opera, Yandex.Browser, the new Edge - showed almost identical results in comparative tests, which is not at all surprising. At the same time, it should be noted that in some disciplines the Microsoft browser distinguished itself better than its sister Chrome. Firefox showed mediocre results. Well, the worst performers were the classic Edge and the ancient IE 11, which failed almost all tests - the fault was the outdated web browser engine.
Collections and notes
Collections are a great tool for those who frequently save things from the Web. You can collect websites, documents and images. Collections also contain notes, which have simple formatting and are ideal for quick notes.
All this is useful if you are conducting, for example, some kind of research. You can save different sources and pictures, simultaneously providing them with comments and sorting them at your discretion. Much clearer than simple bookmarks. The contents of collections can be easily exported directly from the browser to Word or Excel.
This is a hidden feature for now, but Microsoft should fully enable it in future updates. To activate it now, add the --enable‑features=msEdgeCollections parameter to the Microsoft Edge shortcut properties in the "Object" field.
Close your browser and launch it again.
What is this program?
So what is Microsoft Edge? This is a standard browser that comes with the Windows 10 operating system. In the screenshot below you can evaluate the software interface.
This browser's controls, at least those located on the main panel, are similar to those in Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. However, if we, for example, go into the settings, we will see that everything is different here.
Microsoft constantly claims that their products are getting better and better. Just recently, Edge was even switched to the Chromium engine. However, the browser still has some shortcomings that still need to be worked on. For example, we cannot rename a site in the favorites bar so that the name is completely removed and only one icon remains. This application automatically restores the bookmark name if it has been completely deleted. This is very inconvenient if you have a huge number of saved pages.
Expert opinion
Basil
Project manager, comment moderation expert.
Ask a Question
We can talk endlessly about the problems of this browser. But overall, this is a very good browser, which is most likely quite enough for the average user.
Dark theme
To replace the light theme with a dark one, go to the appearance settings. The latter puts less strain on vision in the dark.
In addition, the browser has a third option - "Standard system settings". If you click on it, Edge will automatically select a color based on what theme is selected in Windows 10's Settings.
Ad Control with Tracking Prevention
I'll be honest - I love shopping. So, yes, sometimes personalized advertising is useful - I find different new products online that I might not have found otherwise. But for many others—and especially my children—the personalized ads that follow you around the web can seem intrusive, if not creepy. Tracking prevention in Edge protects you from being tracked by third-party websites that you don't visit directly.
This gives you more control over what you see and what you don't. On mobile devices or desktop computers, you can choose from three settings: Basic, Balanced, or Strict. Depending on this, Microsoft Edge will adjust which third-party trackers it blocks. I prefer to use Balanced mode (default) when surfing. And I set my children's browsers to Strict mode. With Tracking Prevention, it's easier to see and manage who's tracking you online. The feature is already available.
