Microsoft has updated its Edge browser for Mac with several new features, including “sleeping places”, a password generator and monitor, new visual themes and more.
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The ‘Sleep tabs’ feature aims to improve performance by releasing system resources for inactive or background tabs. The feature is optional and can be activated in the browser settings menu.
Meanwhile, the new password generator provides users with a secure and complex password when logging in to a website for the first time or trying to change an existing password. Edge also now notifies users if a password has been compromised in the event of a data breach, similar to a feature recently introduced in Apple’s Safari browser.
Elsewhere, 24 new themes offer visual customizations that affect different parts of the browser interface, including tabs, page pages, and the address bar. The Edge development team has partnered with Xbox to offer themes from Microsoft franchises, including Halo, Gears, Forza, Flight Simulator, Sea of Thieves, Grounded, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and more.
In addition, sidebar search is currently widely available in Microsoft Edge. While browsing web pages, users can highlight, right-click and search for a word. A sidebar will open with search results so they can get quick answers without having to navigate from your current page.
Automatic profile switching also came to macOS, as described in Microsoft’s blog post:
One of our favorite features, called Automatic Profile Switching, is on its way to macOS this month. I like to keep my activities and personal browsing activities separate, and linking profiles makes it so easy. MacOS now offers the ability to switch websites that are verified with a user’s work profile, making it easier to switch between work and personal browsing. To get started, consult your local manager if the automatic profile switch for your organization is turned on. If so, sign in with your Microsoft personal and work accounts and you’ll be ready to go.
Microsoft Edge has won many users with its regular feature updates and the close integration of Microsoft’s design language with the macOS design language. Recent tab sync features were added, and it was also quick to provide Apple Silicon support, which Macs optimized with the M1 drive. The browser can be downloaded from the Microsoft Edge website.