Back in 2018, Microsoft ditched EdgeHTML and adopted Google"s Chromium framework for its web browser. Since then the company has been working alongside Google to improve the Chromium framework as well as Chromium-based Microsoft Edge.
Now, Microsoft has added another feature to the Edge browser that allows users to download custom themes from the third-party stores and apply it to the new tab page (via Techdows). Earlier this year, the firm added support for themes from the Chrome Web Store, but these themes did not extend to the new tab page. Edge users can now follow the steps below to apply themes to the new tab page as well:
- Open Microsoft Edge and click on the gear icon on the top right side of the new tab page
- Click on "Custom" and select "Custom theme" under the "Background" section
This will apply the custom theme to the new tab page. If you haven"t selected a theme, you can head to the "Chrome Web Store" and add themes to Microsoft Edge.
Do note that Microsoft is still rolling out the custom themes feature to Edge Beta and Stable users. If you encounter an error while installing a theme then you will need to enable the "Allow installation of external store themes" flag. Once enabled, you will be able to install custom themes and you will be able to manage installed themes from Settings > Appearance > Custom themes.
Along with custom themes, Microsoft has also added "Preload the new tab page for a faster experience" option to Edge Canary and Dev. This allows the browser to pre-load the new tab page in the background to reduce the loading times. This option is currently limited to the Canary and Dev channel versions and can be managed from Settings > New tab page.