Regarding Internet Browsers, Edge is surely not the user favorite. Still, Microsoft has been trying to make the browser better for a while now and with the switch to Chromium, it’s finally gotten a lot more practical. After adding several new features and playing with the aesthetics a bit, the company is testing a dedicated Touch Mode for Edge. This should improve the functionality for touch-enabled devices like 2-in-1s, Tablets, etc.
Touch Mode on Microsoft Edge
Microsoft has enabled Touch Mode in the latest Edge Canary build with touch-friendly changes to the browser. These changes enable UI modifications that make the browser easier to use when using your Windows Laptop, 2-in-1, or Tablet.
Reddit user, Leopeva64-2 posted several photos showing the changes in this new feature and the setting that enables it. In the new Canary build, the option to enable Touch Mode is inside the “Appearance” section in Settings. There are three options to choose from including “Auto“, “On“, and “Off“.
In the “Auto” setting, Edge will automatically detect when you are using your device as a Tablet and turn on the Touch UI. That means a Surface device or something similar that comes with a separate display should benefit greatly from using the auto setting and even foldable 2-in-1s can take advantage of it.
However, laptops that don’t fold but still have a Touchscreen may benefit better from the “On” setting. If you don’t want to use the Touch UI at all, you can keep it at “Off” instead.
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When the Touch UI is enabled, Edge is trying to emulate a more tablet-like experience instead of a PC one. The top section (including the Address Bar & its side elements and the Favorites bar) expands to make them easier to click. It may also have added other tweaks, but as the availability is still limited, I wasn’t able to test this myself, just yet.
I’ve tried checking the latest Edge Canary build on my touchscreen laptop, and this option is not showing up for me. So it seems like, most of you may need to wait a while to use this feature. Of course, this mode needs to get much more useful to be practical for Touch users, before it can roll out to the general public.
The public build of Microsoft Edge recently introduced several new features including Typo Protection for website URLs and Controller Vibration support for Xbox Cloud Gaming. As Microsoft keeps making Edge better, it’ll be interesting to see if they can actually convince users to use it as their default.
Via: Windows Central
