Edge Browser Gets up to 40 Percent Faster

Microsoft claims it has made key parts of the Edge browser dramatically faster. The update affects specific features of the browser rather than simply the page loading time.

According to Microsoft, 14 different features have been sped up, with an average boost of 40 percent. However, it's only specifically listed a few of the affected features:

• Browser Essentials: a status windows that lists some of the key performance features such as which tabs have been put into sleeping mode to minimize memory user.
   
• Downloads: the display of which files the user has downloaded (or is midway through downloading), with an option to open them or find their location on a hard drive.
   
• Drop: a feature that lets users save files, photos, messages and notes into a single location that they can come back to later on.
   
• Favorites: the Edge version of a bookmarks menu.
   
• History lists inPrivate (the Edge version of Incognito or Private Browsing).

Code Streamlined

In most cases the speed increase is about the time it takes to open the feature. With inPrivate mode, it's about how quickly a new tab opens.

Microsoft says the two key reasons are reducing the amount of code it takes to run each feature, and reducing code that was unnecessarily shared across different parts of the browser. (Source: neowin.net)

How noticeable the increase will be may vary across different features and computers. A Microsoft video showing one of its own Surface laptops showed the time between clicking on the Downloads button and the relevant screen opening and being usable falling from just under one second to just under half a second.

More Boosts Coming

That difference is enough to be noticeable and feel very responsive, but not quite enough that the screen appears to open "instantly". (Source: xda-developers.com)

The changes should already be in place for all users as they came with version 132 of Edge, with the latest version being 133. Microsoft says it plans similar speed boosts to other features including the settings menu, the "read aloud" feature and the print preview screen.

What's Your Opinion?

If you use Edge, have you noticed the difference? Do you find aspects of your web browser slow and unresponsive? Should browser developers prioritize the speed of individual features or the time it takes a web page to load?