Microsoft Experiments With a ‘Split Screen’ Feature in the Edge Browser

Microsoft is experimenting with a new feature in the Edge browser that allows you to view and interact with two tabs side-by-side.

Details of the new feature were shared by Reddit user Leopeva64-2(Opens in a new window), along with some animated GIFs of the it in action. As The Verge reports(Opens in a new window), anyone running the beta, dev, or canary versions of Edge for Windows, macOS, or Linux can play with it using an experimental flag, which also means this feature is in no way guaranteed to make it out of testing.

With Split Screen enabled, a new icon appears to the right of the address bar. Clicking it will split the active tab in two, allowing you to view two web pages side-by-side. Doing this across multiple tabs effectively doubles the amount of pages you can see without increasing the tab count. Such a feature may be music to the ears of anyone who uses an ultrawide monitor.

It’s also possible to right-click and open a link in what Microsoft refers to as a “split window.” Doing so will split the active tab in two and load the link in the other half of the screen. This could prove very useful when reading a long-form post that contains links or when carrying out some research that would normally result in tab overload.

If this screen splitting sounds familiar, it’s probably because rival web browser Vivaldi has included it as a feature for years(Opens in a new window). Someone at Microsoft clearly realized it’s a good idea and hopefully soon rolls it out to the version of Edge all Windows users have installed (whether they like it or not).