Windows 10 Redstone 5, which could hit the
market as October 2018 Update, will bring several Microsoft Edge
browser improvements, as the app continues to evolve in the operating
system.
Microsoft uses new OS feature updates to deliver improvements for
Microsoft Edge, as the company hasn’t yet brought the app to the
Microsoft Store for more frequent releases.
But the October 2018 Update isn’t all about new features that you’d spot
just after launching the browser, as it also brings more subtle changes
that you may otherwise miss if you’re not looking carefully enough.
This is part of Microsoft’s work to refine the experience with Microsoft
Edge, and the attention to small details is something that we should be
pleased with. Every little small improvement that Microsoft brings to
the app is responsible for eventually refining the experience with the
browser, so even if updates aren’t easily noticeable at first, they play
a key role.
Redstone 5 comes with many such improvements, but here are five of them
that I consider to be among the most important and which you should have
in mind after updating the computer to the latest OS release:
#1 – Drop shadows behind tabs. Clearly not easily noticeable at first
glance, these small drop shadows that are displayed behind tabs make the
browser look and feel more modern, and they are part of Microsoft’s
visual overhaul called Fluent Design.
With this small touch, Microsoft Edge comes more in line with the rest
of visual improvements that are released for Windows 10 itself and the
other core apps.
#2 – Pre-mute tabs. Muting tabs has been around for a while, allowing
users to turn off the audio content playing on a certain page, but with
this new update, Microsoft Edge pushes the feature one step further.
The default Windows 10 browser allows you to mute audio tabs before they
actually play any sound. On YouTube, for instance, you can mute the tab
before clicking the play button of a specific video. Just right-click
the tab and hit Mute Tab.
#3 – Help means help. When pressing the F1 key in the previous Microsoft
Edge versions (in April 2018 Update, for instance), you were redirected
to the Microsoft Edge tips page, which to be honest, wasn’t exactly the
destination that most people were actually interested in.
Starting with the October 2018 Update, pressing the F1 key loads the
Microsoft Edge support page, so you can actually receive more
information on a specific feature of the browser, just like the help
option is supposed to.
#4 – Book live tile. In addition to browsing, Microsoft has also focused
heavily on the document reading capabilities of Microsoft Edge. So Edge
not only that is the default browser in Windows 10, but it is also the
recommended e-book reader.
Windows 10 version 1809 will thus bring new capabilities for e-book
reading, allowing users to pin books to Start straight from the app. And
the tile itself displays very helpful information, such as the book
cover, as well as the current reading progress, so you can always know
where you left off.
#5 – New settings menu. You may not notice it at first, but the settings
menu, the one that you can launch by clicking on the three-dot icon in
the top right corner, now has icons for each item that it contains.
This makes the settings drop-down menu itself a lot more straightforward
and intuitive, while at the same time scoring extra in terms of modern
look and feeling. Options have also been re-organized, so it’s easier to
find the settings you are looking for because they’re exactly in the
right place.
Bogdan Popa
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