Microsoft today published a blog post showing off what's coming to its in-house Edge browser in the Windows 10 Creators Update, which is slated to arrive in April. Of course, if you've been following along with the Windows Insider Preview builds, none of this should be new to you.
The browser will now contain a number of new features for managing tabs. This will probably be the first design change that you'll notice when opening Edge for the first time after upgrading. To the right, you'll see an arrow that, when clicked, will show you a preview of all of the tabs that you have open. With the icons on the left, you can choose to hide tabs.
After hiding tabs, they'll be grouped into various collections, and you can bring them back as you wish. For example, if you hide a group of five tabs today, and another three tomorrow, you can still go back to today's five.
Edge is also "embracing 3D". Development of WebVR began back in September, but when it's released, it will allow users to consume virtual reality content via the Edge browser. This will be supported by the upcoming mixed reality headsets that the company announced back in October.
Microsoft will begin selling ebooks through the Windows Store beginning with the Creators Update, and you'll be able to read them through the Edge browser. There will be a dedicated section of the app on both PCs and phones, and you can even have it read the book to you.
The company also introduced a Payment Request API, which will work with Microsoft Wallet. Unfortunately, the list of major banks that support the service is still very small.
Speaking of new APIs though, Microsoft says that extension developers will be able to access 30% more of them, compared to when the feature was originally offered in the Anniversary Update last summer. The company says that it continues "to work closely with partners to help them release extensions that meet our shared quality and performance goals", so the platform still isn't open to just anyone, which is why there still isn't much of a selection of Edge extensions.
Finally, the firm is touting the type of improvements that you'd expect, saying that Edge is "faster, safer, and more efficient than ever", referring to the browsers efficiency, performance, and security as already "class-leading". However, Microsoft says that it is still getting better.
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