Microsoft Edge gets a vertical makeover and speed upgrade

(Image credit: Microsoft)

If you haven't tried out Edge on your Windows 10 PC yet, now might be a good time to do so as Microsoft is rolling out several new features that help boost productivity and improve the way in which you browse the web.

After being announced back in March of last year, the software giant is finally making Edge's vertical tabs feature generally available. With vertical tabs all of your open tabs can be viewed and managed from a pane on the left side of the browser with a single click.

While Google Chrome and other browsers show your tabs above the address bar, Edge lets you clearly see the tab titles and controls in a separate pane to make it easier to find and switch between tabs regardless of how many you have open. To get started using this feature, users can click on the vertical tabs icon in the upper left corner of Edge to enable it.

History and startup boost

After receiving feedback from users that missed the hub experience in legacy Edge, Microsoft has decided to rework the history menu in its browser.

Now when you go to history in Edge, it will open as a lightweight drowpdown from the toolbar instead of opening the full page view in settings. As a result, users can now easily search, open and manage their history without having to navigate away from the current page their on.

Microsoft is well aware of the fact that speed matters when working from home which is why it has added a startup boost feature to Edge that maximizes your computer's performance by significantly reducing the time it takes to open the browser after a device reboot or when restarting the program.

This new feature is rolling out this month and based on the company's initial tests, it will improve startup times by anywhere from 29 to 41 percent. Startup boost will be automatically enabled when it becomes available so if Edge seems to be launching faster than usual, you'll know why.

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After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home.