Microsoft has just announced the new features to come bundled with Edge 88, with the download links in the stable channel to go live later today.

Microsoft Edge 88 comes with several improvements that have previously been tested in the Canary, Dev, and Beta builds, including support for history and open tab synchronization.

“Moving between devices is getting even easier with this release. Now you can sync your history and tabs, in addition to favorites, passwords and autofill information. This is now available on desktop and mobile to all customers who are signed in with the same profile. To enable history and open tabs sync, go to the Edge settings < profiles < sync and turn on the toggles. You can view your history and open tabs by selecting the “history” option from the menu, or by using the keyboard shortcut CTRL + H,” Microsoft explains.

In addition, Edge 88 comes with automatic profile switching on macOS, which means the browser can automatically toggle between work and personal profiles when visiting certain websites.

Outlook now part of the Edge experience

Here are some solutions to common problems with the new Microsoft Edge. If Microsoft Edge keeps crashing. If you can't open Microsoft Edge, or if it opens briefly and then closes, or if you’re unable to open specific webpages, here are some things you can try. Microsoft released a new stable version of its Chromium-based Edge web browser on January 21, 2021. Microsoft Edge 88 is a security and feature update that introduces several new features and changes to the browser. The company released the first stable version of the new Microsoft Edge in January 2020.

• For more updates on all that new in Microsoft Edge 88, take a look at the latest blog from Corporate Vice President, Liat Ben-Zur, or try out our new privacy and security features in Microsoft Edge today! Help keep your online accounts secure with password generator 1 and Password Monitor 2.
• Starting with Stable channel version 94, Microsoft Edge is moving to a 4-week major release cycle cadence. However, we recognize that enterprise customers who manage complex environments need more time to plan and test Microsoft Edge updates.
• The Microsoft Edge team plans to push public updates to the Beta and Stable channels every six weeks. 88: Released Version: 09-Dec-2020 88.0.705.18: 21-Jan-2021.

Microsoft is also integrating Outlook deeper into Edge, so users will be able to see incoming emails by simply right-clicking on the new tab page of the browser.

The feature will go live later this month, Microsoft says, and users first need to configure the integration by signing in to Edge with the same account used for Outlook.

Sidebar search is also available in the new Edge version, and so is support for themes and anew pack of icons based on the Fluent Design system.

Overall, this is one major update for Microsoft Edge, not only on Windows but on macOS too, with Microsoft promising even bigger improvements in the next releases as the browser keeps evolving.

Microsoft is releasing Edge 88 to the Beta channel today, bringing a bunch of new features, including performance improvements thanks to sleeping tabs, PDF annotation additions, the new shopping features that are now available to all users, a new design for the History menu, and more. As usual, while the update is out bringing version 88.0.705.18 to Beta channel users, the firm is yet to post the release notes detailing all the features making it to this release.

Microsoft Edge 88 Manual

Of course, since the version has been tested in the Dev channel for a while, one can look at the release notes from the builds served to that channel, in addition to the few capabilities added to the Beta version mid-stream.

Microsoft Edge 88 Release Date

Microsoft says that the new sleeping tabs feature that freezes non-essential processes on background tabs is now rolling out to the Beta channel. It promises up to 32% reduction in memory usage and up to 37% less CPU on average, resulting in improved battery usage.

Another significant improvement being made is the revamped History menu which now opens in a pop-up window and features a pivot-styled layout, letting users switch between all tabs, recently closed, or tabs synced from other devices - for those who have enabled history and tab sync. Additional improvements include the ability to add text notes in PDFs - including to already highlighted text, the option to capture entire web pages and add links, support for pinning websites to the Start menu, and much more.

The complete changelog, when published by the Redmond firm, will be found here. As usual, the update should be downloaded and installed by the browser automatically in the background. However, you can also head into Settings > Settings -> About Microsoft Edge to force the browser to check for updates. If all goes well, Edge 88 should be promoted to the stable channel in the week of January 21, according to the firm's roadmap.