Microsoft Edge, the Chromium-based web browser, is finally getting ‘Vertical Tabs’. The Windows 10 OS maker had announced the feature more than a year ago.
Besides the ability to arrange tabs vertically as well as horizontally, the Edge browser will also start faster. These features are in addition to the “Sleeping Tabs” that improve CPU and RAM utilization.
Microsoft offers Vertical Tab Scrolling for the Chromium-based web browser:
Microsoft announced vertical tabs nearly a year ago. The feature is now finally making its way to all Edge users this month.
Essentially, users of the Chromium-based web browser will be able to stack tabs at the side of the browser. Ever since the web browser arrived, users had to scroll through their long list of tabs at the top.
Microsoft Edge let you search the web from Vertical Tab Panel #MicorosftEdge #EdgeChromium #EdgeVerticalTabs #Microsoft https://t.co/WD06QW2Zka via @thegeekermag @vineydhiman pic.twitter.com/tIEHKhjkys
— Viney Dhiman (@vineydhiman) March 4, 2021
Microsoft has clearly optimized the Vertical Tab scrolling for display with a 16:9 aspect ratio. While users can easily switch between tabs by clicking on their titles, they can also group tabs together to form a cluster.
Speaking about the feature, Microsoft’s Michele McDanel said: “Most websites follow a conventional grid that leaves plenty of whitespace on either end of the page As we began working with our users, we realized that this vertical real estate could be a better location for tabs, rather than the traditional horizontal list of tabs at the top. While vertical tabs may not be an entirely new concept, we saw an opportunity to improve the browser experience and tested several prototypes with our users.”
Try it on Microsoft Edge in Vertical Tab Mode! You will see Tab Groups vertically! pic.twitter.com/SuYPBV4PQA
— Mohamed Mansour (@mohamedmansour) January 5, 2021
Interestingly, while Microsoft Edge has received the feature this month, the majority of popular web browsers for Windows 10, macOS, and Linux OS have had the feature for quite some time. The browsers that lacked the feature, could gain the same through extensions or add-ons.
Microsoft Edge getting better at starting up faster and managing RAM and CPU resources:
Besides Vertical Tabs, Microsoft is also reportedly improving the start-up times of the Edge browser. The new Startup Boost feature is rolling out. Microsoft claims it can ensure the browser launches up to 41 percent faster after rebooting a device.
Liat Ben-Zur, a Microsoft executive working on the company’s “Modern Life” initiative said: “Initial tests show startup times improve from 29 percent to 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.”
Amp up your performance with Startup boost and find information blazingly fast with Microsoft Edge and Bing https://t.co/xagrs81Zzq pic.twitter.com/AUTpPqkY6b
— Mario López Baratas (@Mariolobar) March 4, 2021
Microsoft has been making several important features to ensure the modern Edge browser does not hog system resources. The Sleeping Tab feature is a good example.
The feature essentially puts inactive tabs to sleep and frees up resources. When a user clicks on a “Sleeping Tab”, the browser wakes up the tab and pulls system resources to display its content.
Apart from these features, Microsoft Edge users will also receive a new history view in the browser this month. When users navigate to history it will drop down from the toolbar instead of heading into the settings section. Microsoft assures this method makes it easier to search, open, or manage search history. Some of the upcoming features also include a mini context menu in PDFs and support for additional in-page translation languages.