Even in 2025, browser wars are still a thing. As expected, Google continues to dominate the search and browser landscape, while Microsoft firmly holds the shorter end of the stick with Bing and Microsoft Edge. But as it seems, the tech giant might have a new trick to salvage the situation, potentially attracting new users to its Edge browser.
According to Windows Latest, Microsoft is working on a new project called Phoenix. The project will revamp Microsoft Edge’s look and feel to align with Windows 11‘s modern appeal and aesthetics. Interestingly, the tech outlet details that the project will roll out in waves.
The report further details that some elements of the Phoenix project have already shipped to Microsoft Edge, including the Split screen feature, which lets users drag and drop a tab to open it alongside another webpage. The Phoenix project will also ship with Mica, a new feature designed to add a dynamic and translucent effect to Microsoft Edge’s user interface.
Windows Latest attributes its deductions to two flags it uncovered buried in Microsoft Edge Canary’s preview builds, including:
- msEdgePhoenixColorPaletteGenerator
- msUseSnappingPointsForPhoenixPaletteGeneration
As highlighted by our sister site, TechRadar, “What these flags likely refer to is the ability for Edge to run a piece of ‘color palette generator’ code that could detect Windows 11’s accent colors or theme, and change the browser to match that. In other words, Edge would dynamically switch to complement the Windows 11 environment in this respect.”
Microsoft is playing it safe with Edge’s new updates
Over the years, Microsoft has shipped many features to Edge to grow its user base while improving its user experience. However, users have blatantly expressed their inclination toward Google Chrome while calling out Microsoft for making Microsoft Edge ‘bloated.’
User reception to Microsoft’s Phoenix project designed to overhaul Edge remains to be seen. But if the intricate details of the report are anything to go by, Microsoft is seemingly playing it safe by shipping the update in waves. This could give the tech giant time to garner feedback, allowing it to work on areas that need improvement or outrightly pull the plug on the entire enterprise.
READ MORE: Microsoft masks Bing as Google to grow its market share
Last year, our Zac Bowden reported that Microsoft was scrapping the major UI update for Edge with rounded tabs and blur effects. The report highlighted Microsoft’s plan to remove the flag to enable the features via a future update for the browser.
That said, we’ll have to wait and see if Microsoft will finally ship the major Edge overhaul this time.
