The Edge app is Microsoft’s free web browser that runs on Android and iOS. It’s fast, has many of the features you’d expect from a browser-based application, and is pretty easy to use. However, there are also some really unique features that are not found in other smartphone browser apps.
Is Edge better than Chrome? What about Firefox, Safari or Opera? The answer is primarily your opinion, but below are some good reasons to switch to Edge as your primary smartphone browser.
Edge syncs to your computer
Like most smartphone browsers that allow you to connect to your account associated with the company that creates the app, Edge provides a way to sign in to your Microsoft account to sync favorites, history, passwords, and more between your computer and other devices, on which Edge works.
This makes it very easy to use Edge on your phone as you don’t have to re-configure all the information. Just enter your account information and all Edge data on your computer will be sent straight to your phone.
However, unlike other smartphone apps, Edge can also connect directly to your Windows 10 PC for instant web page sharing. Instead of emailing yourself to yourself and then downloading the email to your computer to find the link, Edge has a button that you can click on any webpage to send it directly to Edge on Windows 10.
Plugins are built-in
You won’t find add-ons, plug-ins or extensions built into most web browsers. In fact, some can’t even install add-ons if that’s what you want. However, there are a few in Edge that you’ll definitely love.
– /
One is for ad blocking, and you may already be using it in other desktop browsers. It’s called Adblock Plus and it blocks ads anytime it’s on. You can block all ads or allow “acceptable” ads. You can also whitelist websites so that ads appear on them but not on others.
The Edge app also finds and automatically applies coupons when you browse the web. This is done using the Honey add-on.
Council. Looking for other ways to save on shopping? See our list of the best ways to find deals online
Another add-on you can include in Edge is NewsGuard, which helps you easily find news brands that have legitimate content and spot those that are spreading false news and misinformation.
Many ways to interact with pages
It’s hard to compare every feature of Edge to all the features of other web browsers, but one of the most important areas to look at is how you can interact with the websites you’re on while using Edge.
For example, there is a button that you can click to instantly load any web page for offline viewing. This is great if you are about to enter a dead zone but want to finish reading something. Or maybe you are concerned that the page will open soon and want to use this feature as a simple method for archiving web pages.
If you can’t or don’t want to read the content on the page, Edge can do it for you. It supports multiple languages ??and allows you to adjust the speed. Select it from the menu to see a new set of controls at the top where you can pause, fast forward, or rewind your reading.
Reading View is another way Edge provides a unique reading experience. Many browsers support this, but it’s important to know that Edge does too. Reading Mode is a button that you can click on certain web pages to automatically reorganize content for better readability.
It cuts down on complex formatting and removes buttons and images that are not needed to read the content. This is useful for pages that have a lot of unnecessary things that make it difficult to read. It also helps you stay focused while reading.
Edge is also useful for quick searches. While most web browser apps include audio input so you can search with your voice, Edge takes it a step further and lets you search not only by talking, but by scanning something.
Click the camera button on the main page of the app to scan barcodes or objects to help you find where to buy online.
If you’ve used your browser for a while, you may already be familiar with bookmarks and favorites. They are great for saving things that you might want to refer to later. However, it is easy to clutter up favorites and end up being harder to access those pages (which negates the whole idea of ??favorites).
Edge mitigates this by letting you save “temporary” favorites on your Reading List. Favorite things that require long-term retention (for example, pages that you will return to several times in the future) can be bookmarked, but reserve the reading list for short-term readings that you want to access soon, and then delete.
More unique edge features
Edge is full of features. Below are some others we think are worth mentioning in your quest to compare Edge to Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Yandex, and other web browsers
If you want to keep up with the news, but not the type to subscribe to news notifications or not follow news site updates, Edge includes an option to alert you to important news.
Microsoft Rewards are also built into the Edge app, which you can earn by searching with Bing. Your points can be redeemed for gift cards, donations, sweepstakes and more.
Council. Find out why it’s still worth using Bing to search the web.
Some other features that you won’t find in most other major browser apps but that are available in Edge include the ability to hide your search history from being displayed as you type in the search box, the ability to turn off autoplay for muted videos, and the ability to set the new tab page to MSN or MSN Kids.
–