Microsoft applies Windows 11 design improvements to Edge browser

The Windows 11-inspired user interface will bring Edge a host of new features such as a slimmer, more consistent page scrollbar, as well as feature icons with a new design in the title bar. These features are not currently available to all Windows users.

However, individuals who have signed up to test beta releases of Microsoft Edge through the Edge Insider program can experience new design elements inspired by Windows 11 today.

Microsoft applies Windows 11 design improvements to Edge browser Picture 1

If you're curious and want to try out Edge's new interface changes, simply sign up for the Microsoft Edge Insider program and download the Canary Channel build. However, it should be noted that Canary versions are updated nightly and you may experience bugs or glitches during testing, which is inevitable. The browser is available for both Windows and Mac users.

In addition, to test new changes and improvements, you will also need to enable the corresponding flags. For example, to see what the new scrollbars look like, you'd need to go to the Flags menu on the Canary build of Edge, find the flag titled 'Overlay Scrollbars' and enable it.

In addition to the refined scrollbar look, the Edge Canary build also brings Mica themes to the title bar. With the new Mica theme from Windows 11, the buttons to maximize, minimize, and close the browser at the top are now centered, making Edge's design more similar to Windows 11.

Test users can also enable the effects of the new Fluent Design for various menus, including the main menu. Additionally, if you enable this flag, you'll notice other visual user interface changes, like larger font sizes, brighter text, and rounded menu corners.

David Pac

Update 02 September 2021