Last Updated on October 17, 2021 by Mathew Diekhake

Microsoft Edge 89 is now rolling out to Windows Insiders who are signed up to the Beta channel. The standout feature in Edge 89 is the ability to reset the feature designed to sync across browsers.

It’s not uncommon for people to use several different web browsers in today’s world since there are now numerous browsers worthy of your consideration. One of the first things people do is sync data from one browser they had been previously using to the next, to help make the new browser more convenient. The problem for a small minority of users is syncing doesn’t always go to plan, and an attempt to sync may cause problems. Now with the new Reset Sync button in Edge 89, you can reset the sync feature entirely and guarantee the chance to redo the sync so it goes smoothly.

There are other noteworthy features as well. For instance, if you use the Canary version of Edge, you can adjust the target (by adding –enable-features=ExtensionsToolbarMenu after the msedge.exe), and it will display an Extensions icon similar to Google Chrome. This icon will then be clickable and reveal a list of extensions for you to enable and disable from there. Having the Extensions icon on the menu will definitely be popular for Google in the future as it tries to hide the fact that YouTubers love using ad block plugins. But how far Microsoft goes with it remains to be seen.

The rest of the features can be read below:

Feature updates

  • Kiosk mode enables additional lockdown capabilities. Starting with Microsoft Edge version 89, we have added additional lockdown capabilities within kiosk mode to enable customers to get the job done in a productive and more secure experience.
  • The Enterprise Mode Site List Manager tool will be available in the browser through the edge://compat page. You can use this tool to create, edit and export your site list XML for Internet Explorer mode on Microsoft Edge. You can enable access to this tool as needed through group policy.
  • Improve browser performance with sleeping tabs. Sleeping tabs improves browser performance by putting inactive tabs to sleep to free up system resources like memory and CPU so active tabs or other applications can use them. Users can prevent sites from going to sleep and configure the length of time before an inactive tab goes to sleep. To keep users in their flow, there are also heuristics to prevent certain sites from going to sleep, such as intranet sites. This feature can be managed with group policies.

  •  Note: Improve browser performance with sleeping tabs” is an update to the February 3 release notes for major version 89.0.774.18.

  • Reset your Microsoft Edge sync data in the cloud manually. We are introducing a way to reset your Microsoft Edge sync data from within the product. This ensures that your data is cleared from Microsoft services, as well as resolving certain product issues that previously required a support ticket.
  • Improvements to text selection experience within PDF documents. Users will begin to get a smoother and more consistent text selection experience across PDF documents opened in Microsoft Edge starting with version 89.
  • Date of birth field now supported in autofill. Today Microsoft Edge helps you save time and effort while filling out forms and creating accounts online by auto filling your data like addresses, names, phone numbers, etc. Starting with Microsoft Edge version 89, we are adding support for another field that you can have saved and auto-filled – date of birth. You can view, edit and delete this information anytime in your profile settings.
  • Support for natural language search on the address bar, history search page, and the history hub. Starting with Microsoft Edge version 89, finding an article/website will be easier with the natural language search on the address bar, history page, and history hub. Users can search for previously viewed page content/description/timing (such as “cake recipe from last week”) in addition to titles/URL keyword matches. This feature is limited to a randomly selected group of users who have enabled experimentation. These users are giving feedback to the feature team.

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