{"id":723427,"date":"2021-03-04T09:00:35","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T17:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/?post_type=msr-blog-post&p=723427"},"modified":"2024-02-13T09:41:03","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T17:41:03","slug":"giving-users-an-edge-whats-new-with-microsofts-latest-browser","status":"publish","type":"msr-blog-post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/articles\/giving-users-an-edge-whats-new-with-microsofts-latest-browser\/","title":{"rendered":"Giving users an “Edge:” What’s new with Microsoft’s latest browser"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Michele McDanel (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"computer<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The internet browser has become the primary way we work, learn, and discover. With people now spending an average of <\/span>six hours and 43 minutes online each day<\/span> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, the need for a secure, productive, and compatible browser is greater than ever. Last year, we started rebuilding the Microsoft Edge browser and after a year-long journey, we launched the browser<\/span> <\/span>built on the <\/span>Chromium open-source engine<\/span> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>.\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the web continues to grow in complexity, we see an opportunity to improve the web and users\u2019 experience of it by building new capabilities into a shared open-source project.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driving <\/span>impact<\/span> <\/span>is<\/span> more than just building great products. <\/span>It\u2019s<\/span> about understanding your customers to bring them the best possible experiences. User research provides us with the ability to engage with, learn from, and empathize with our customers. Through user research, the Edge team introduced new functionalities (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> in both <\/span>vertical tabs<\/span><\/b> and <\/span>tracking prevention<\/span><\/b>. <\/span>Let\u2019s<\/span> <\/span>look at those improvements, and how research informed them.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building vertical tabs <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managing tabs has been a persistent pain point for our users.<\/span> On<\/span>e<\/span> develope<\/span>r<\/span> told <\/span>us <\/span>about his experiences <\/span>with<\/span> managing 200 open tabs<\/span>, <\/span>describ<\/span>ing<\/span> it as \u2018mental gymnastics\u2019<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>With that <\/span>much<\/span> open<\/span> on the screen<\/span>, the individual tab <\/span>titles <\/span>become<\/span> lost<\/span>,<\/span> and favicons are the only thing <\/span>users <\/span>can see. <\/span>To create more space, some users <\/span>resorted to opening<\/span> <\/span>multiple browser window<\/span>s<\/span>. <\/span>\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"vertical<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome people are very rigorous about only opening tabs they need and closing them when they\u2019re done. But others accumulate dozens of tabs and keep them open for weeks or months at <\/span>a time,\u201d says William Devereux, a Senior Program Manager on Edge. \u201cFor these users, it can be incredibly difficult to find the tab they\u2019re looking for.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.\u202f<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After listening to our users and consolidating our findings, we came upon some important considerations for the next iteration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n