We know that Microsoft’s Edge team began pulling its flags for tabs with rounded corners in its latest Insider release for testers, but it seems that was just one of many UI changes that won’t make it to end users in the future.
Beyond axing its proposed rounded tab UI look, it also appears Microsoft is stopping the application of blurred effects across the browser, as previously mentioned by the company.
The folks over at Windows Central got confirmation from Microsoft that the team is scrapping it previously reported UI upgrade efforts.
For now, the company has moved away from the floating rounded tabs design, but are continuing to evolve and modernize the overall look and feel of Edge.
Microsoft Spokespersons
Last year, Microsoft pitched a new Bing and Edge experience for users was in store for users as the company had plans to deliver an updated user interface for its search and browser interactions.
So far, it’s delivered on only one of those pitches, Bing.
While Microsoft executives stopped short of discussing a full overhaul of the current Edge UI, they did mention subtle changes that were meant to make the browser feel “sleeker” or “lighter” than what’s been presented over the past few years.
With that context, Microsoft had been testing one of the proposed UI changes coming to Edge via its Insider program that included the use of rounded tabs for some time. For most users, the tabbed experience in Edge is similar to that in Chrome, from a visual standpoint. It’s a bit more rounded than when Edge first showed up, but it ultimately mimics the look and feel of Google’s Chrome tab design.
Microsoft was looking into a floating rounded UI that would detach the tab from the browser window while allowing it to rest independently of the page. However, to see the new look, users had to be familiar with the flag system in the Edge browser to activate the hidden UI element.
As for an increase in the use of blur effects for Edge, that UI element still hadn’t made its way to Insider testing after a year since its mention.
While the Edge team will undoubtedly continue to tweak things for the browser, it’s unclear why the UI design effort has been halted. With much of the features only living as proposal, it’s not like bad feedback forced Microsoft’s hand. In fact, any feedback would have probably been appreciated and used as guidance for future UI efforts.
For now, users will have to remain content with the current UI of Edge and hope that stalled UI developments lend way to performance focus for the rest of the teams.
