Microsoft recently announced new Microsoft 365 subscription plans, and while doing so, the company unveiled new Edge browser features, too.

What's new in Edge?

The biggest new feature coming to Edge is called vertical tabs. It allows you to view tabs on the side of the browser instead of up top, where one traditional sees and manages their browser tabs. This setup seems ideal for laptops and computers with a 16:9 display, but you can use vertical tabs in Edge on any device. They work like normal, too, so you can switch between them and group them and move them around per usual.

New Microsoft Edge Update Vertical Tabs Now Let You Manage Tabs On The Side image 2
Microsoft/Pocket-lint

Microsoft's screenshots of the feature suggests you can scroll through a list of tabs and clearly see the favicon and name of each open website. The company said it is now “the only browser that allows you to manage your tabs on the side with a single click" - but, technically, with add-ons, browsers like Firefox or Chrome have long offered experimental users the ability to use vertical tabs. 

Is that it?

Microsoft Edge is also adding password monitoring, tracking prevention, a mobile version of Collections, and something called Immersive Reader.

  • Password Monitor will let you know if credentials you’ve saved to autofill have been detected on the dark web. 
  • Tracking prevention adds three settings - Basic, Balanced, or Strict - so you can adjust the types of third-party trackers blocked. 
  • The mobile version of Collections lets you drag articles into a Collections area, and Edge will organise them, from a phone or tablet.
  • Immersive Reader provides a distraction-free mode so you can concentrate on reading an article rather than ignoring ads and pop-ups.

For more about what's new in Edge, check out Microsoft's blog post.

When will these new features arrive?

Edge is built on Google's open-source Chromium, so you will be able to test new features in Microsoft's Insider program for free. The vertical tabs are expected to come to beta and canary versions of Edge within the next few months, so the testing community will get to try them soon.