Forum Discussion
MicrosoftDiscussion - Updating our interface with Fluent touches
Hi Insiders. We have received a whole lot of feedback on the overall design of the next version of Microsoft Edge. First off, we would like to thank you all for the feedback that you have submitted. We also want you to know that we are continuing to evolve the look and feel of the new Microsoft Edge. You can see our progress in our new icon, in the changes to dark theme, on the layout of the settings pages and in the style of the controls that we have added so far. Our goal has been to modernize the next version of Microsoft Edge while keeping the feel of the original. In the five years since we released the first Microsoft Edge browser with Windows 10, the Microsoft Design Language has and will continue to change and adapt. We have been evolving our user interface with this in mind and may be the first place you see some of these changes. We are planning on continuing to apply elements of the Microsoft Design Language to align with other Microsoft products.
We are thrilled with how much you think about the look and feel of the new Microsoft Edge browser. As we dug into the feedback, we found different ideas lumped together into very broad buckets and felt like we needed to re-sort the issues into new categories that are more specific to the actual issues that were being discussed. The previous categories that we have been reporting on are:
- Update the user interface with the Fluent Design System
- Make tabs more square and less rounded, like the current version of Microsoft Edge
- Provide a transparent theme for the browser frame
- The address bar and text are too large
The first step of this journey was to dig into each of the feedback items individually and understand what your ask was, and if there was a reason listed for the feedback. This helped us better understand why you are asking for these changes. The next step we took was to recombine the feedback and sort it into more specific buckets. We understand change is challenging, and we are not changing our interface just to be different. We have been working closely with our designers to get a look and feel that aligns with our Fluent Design language and meets our standards for usability and accessibility. It is our goal for our design to be easier to use on a daily basis. When you provide feedback, it helps us to challenge our assumptions and makes us reanalyze our conclusions.
Based on this analysis, we are seeing the following themes emerge from your comments: we will be tracking and following feedback in these categories going forward:
- Ability to add distinct color or color themes to the main browser interface.
- Add transparency or other material effect to the main browser interface.
- The corners of the tabs and browser buttons have been rounded too much.
- Make the tab band and address bar / toolbar smaller if device doesn’t support touch capability.
- Update or add animations to user interface.
- Add a reveal effect to highlight on mouse hover.
We would love to start talking about these items now. Please let us know if you think that we are on the right track with the changes we have made so far. The most impactful feedback is that which lists the task that you are trying to accomplish, the challenges that you face while accomplishing it, and your ideas on how it could be made easier. Also, feel free to reach out if you think that we have missed something important here. We will always take feedback and suggestions to help us make this the best, fastest, most productive browser possible.
Thank you so much for all your feedback on the overall design of the new version of Edge, as it is invaluable to our getting the experience right. A common thread through this feedback has been a lot of discussion about the definition of “Fluent” design, and how it should apply to Microsoft products, so we wanted to share an update to provide some clarity. As opposed to a specific or static set of design rules, Fluent is intended to be an ever-evolving design system across Microsoft products. As the world around us continues to evolve, including devices, interaction models, user habits and expectations, the Microsoft design system must also evolve to meet the changing needs of our users. This means Fluent will not necessarily always represent everything that it did several years ago when the look and feel of the legacy version of Edge was first developed. You can learn more about the current direction of Fluent by visiting the Fluent Design System Page, which provides a summary of the design system as a whole, as well as how it applies to different platforms, applications and controls across Microsoft.
If you browse through the Fluent guidance at the link above, you’ll note that the new version of Edge is aligned with the current direction Fluent is going, and we will continue to evolve along with the design system and Microsoft as a whole. While Edge may be one of the first to put some of these new Fluent elements into practice, you will continue to see other products across the company update to reflect this direction as well. For example, you’ll notice that the latest Fluent designs are characterized by rounded corners across objects and controls, and the new version of Edge is consistent with that guidance. Another example is that there isn't a pivotal focus on transparency in the latest Fluent designs, and surfaces of the new version of Edge reflects this.
This is not to say we will never consider incorporating such aspects into our designs going forward, or perhaps offering options to customize the look and feel, but there are no plans to incorporate these elements into the default experience for all users at this time. However, there are other design investments on our roadmap to continue aligning with the broader Fluent direction, such as updating icons and illustrations across the product. Please continue to send your feedback on the overall Edge look and feel, including preferences and pain points, as we are always open to learning more and updating our direction based on the needs of our users.
- The Microsoft Edge Team
Great categorization job!
I want all of the above
"
- Ability to add distinct color or color themes to the main browser interface.
- Add transparency or other material effect to the main browser interface.
- The corners of the tabs and browser buttons have been rounded too much.
Make the tab band and address bar / toolbar smaller if device doesn’t support touch capability.- Update or add animations to user interface.
- Add a reveal effect to highlight on mouse hover."
my only problem is the one in red color.
please don't implement it or if you are going to implement it, make it optional. I really love the current size. it would be best if you add a slider in Edge settings, for scaling down/up those UI elements.
bigger UI elements and address bar is one of the big reasons why I love new Edge and hate Google chrome.
on Google chrome everything is too small.
Also add Transparent or Acrylic theme to be one of the Edge browser themes to choose from.
- I agree with most of the proposed changes. But I think think the new edge is the perfect amount of round.
- yes, the current size of address bar is ok!
- Yes, Fluent Design is URGENTLY needed! Ever since you guys added effects like Acrylic and Reveal to Edge, mainly in the April 2018 update of Windows, that design has become a symbol of Edge and makes it its own browser and unique, and beautiful. It just doesn’t feel like Edge without them.
We need:
Acrylic on the header, Reveal on tabs and buttons in the browser, and just bringing back some old designs from the old edge like the old vertically-expandable tab view, and add acrylic to that. Basically just bring back everything important that you removed. Because without the stuff, it’s not the Edge we know.That is what I've been really wanting since the new Edge came out. I really want the acrylic (slightly transparent appearance) on the new Edge. I want the new Edge to still carry over some of that feel and look of the original Edge but also getting some new updates and changes.
Elliot Kirk Thank you for kickstarting this discussion! Here are my thoughts.
- Ability to add distinct color or color themes to the main browser interface.
- Add transparency or other material effect to the main browser interface.
- The corners of the tabs and browser buttons have been rounded too much.
- Make the tab band and address bar / toolbar smaller if device doesn’t support touch capability.
- Update or add animations to user interface.
- Add a reveal effect to highlight on mouse hover.
- Seems like a legit request, although I'm fine with the way it is now.
- Many people seem to ask for a transparency effect on the title bar akin to that of old Edge, but I was never too fond of that, especially in dark mode, because depending on what is behind the window it can look quite ugly. Since most people (I assume) usually run the browser maximized anyway, there is little value to derive from transparency up there, especially on such a thin strip. In addition, it seems that Microsoft has been backtracking on background acrylic lately. The Fluent Design guidelines actually don't intend it for NavigationViews anymore - as can be seen in the removal of background acrylic in Feedback Hub and Your Phone beginning with 1903. It's also gone from search in 2004 (unfortunately). Now don't get me wrong, I do like acrylic very much, including background acrylic in apps such as Calculator. However, I think what would be more appropriate for Edge would be the same effect that both Safari on macOS and the Microsoft Store itself have - in-app acrylic on the title / address / favorites bar area that shows website content underneath as you scroll up. It makes the entire interface feel more connected, looks good and is much more dynamic and lively than having plain background acrylic there. EDIT: Context menus (and the ... and favorites menus) are other places where acrylic would make sense.
- I don't agree with this, in fact it seems entirely consistent with the current Fluent Design guidelines as far as I can tell. Except for the InPrivate badge, that one is way too rounded, for some reason.
- I think it's perfect as it is. You could always handle this like Chrome where one can change the size of this area - in fact, you could make it even better by adding a user-facing option for this instead of hiding it behind a flag. But if it has to be one or the other, I'd rather keep it the way it is now. I never thought I needed more space up there (even with the favorites bar enabled) and it feels more comfortable with some non-excessive height than when it's tiny and squished together.
- I'd always dig this.
- I'm fine with the way it is now, but I guess it'd be consistent with other places of Windows, so it seems like a legit request.
Thank you for reading all our feedback and keep up all the good work!
- This is false. They are partially backtracking with it, but Search missing acrylic was just a bug and is now back in the latest build. Also, acrylic is a key part of Edge’s design that makes it Edge, unique from other browsers. We NEED BG Acrylic. The “backtracking” needs to stop!
- Good catch about the latest build. However:
"We fixed an issue where the Search window wasn’t showing acrylic at the top."
It mentions only the top, so removing it from the rest of the search UI may actually have been intentional. I'd hope it isn't but even in that case, it's probably to stay as it is for all of 2004's lifetime. But alright, let's forget about search.
Acrylic is a part of Edge's design but I don't think that needs to be background acrylic. The in-app acrylic I suggested would still make it stand out among all other browsers on Windows while (in my opinion) looking much better. So I disagree that Edge needs background acrylic. Acrylic would suit it well (another place it would be good is all the context menus) but not necessarily background acrylic in my opinion.
- "Many people seem to ask for a transparency effect on the title bar akin to that of old Edge, but I was never too fond of that, especially in dark mode, because depending on what is behind the window it can look quite ugly."
A option would also to be to use the Windows settings. There you can turn transparency on and off - and progams could just respect that setting.- The Opacity was high enough to prevent that.
- I completely agree. Not all aspects of the original Edge Legacy's design language were perfect.
I think this one is easy: Windows should be consistent. You have a default toolkit in Windows called WinUI, that should be available to UWP and Win32 apps alike this year. Microsoft Edge should look juste like that. Same size, same animations, same rounded corners, same behavior.
Opening a WinUI app and Edge side-by-side should show the same scrollbar, the same buttons, the same tabs, and the same fluent design animations if possible. It should feel native.
Anything else is inconsistencies for the user.
- Your reply is spot on. Someone else pointed out the scroll bar isn’t even the new scroll bar with chevrons that we see everywhere else in Windows.
If consistency with Windows 10 was the main spec, this debate would come to an easy resolution.
But I'm currently using edge on a Macbook at work.
For the sake of users on other platforms and users who don't really care for Fluent (which are many) please proceed slowly and thoughtfully. Many users, once they get a whiff of the old edge UI, will immediately proceed to download chrome.
Maybe try to make it consistent with Office suite at first, since many people are already used to it.
UI features (not just design language) and accessibility, gestures etc. are going to be more important in getting users to give Edge a try.
Put a pause button on the tab card, like you do with the Win10 taskbar, for example, and people will give the new Edge a second look.
Personally, the more I can use Fluent on my Macbook at work, the better -- but I know not everyone agrees.
I want to have the same transparency I can get on Windows Terminal in Microsoft Edge
This is literally my biggest wish
- It's really hard to read if there are a lot of text... Acrylic style looks nice in components like title bar or sidebar like Windows settings application, but really terrible if something make it's content transparent like this
- In the screenshot i set the transparency level to highest but Edge will need something less transparent/acrylic to keep text readable, you know, just like in Edge classic 🙂
- Who doesn't 😉
- Absolutely 10/10
- Please don’t change the toolbar/address size. It’s perfect as it is. I prefer the new Edge over Chrome because of that 🙂
Yes! Using a decent sized font, even in the address bar, is very important for accessibility. "Squint print" is annoying to read fast. Accessible sites use larger print -- we're just not used to seeing that yet. Easy "skimming" of text is he goal.
On another accessibility note, the gray Immersive Reader and "Add to FAVs" icons in the address bar area need to be lighter in color. While the image contrast with its background when using the Dark Theme passes accessibility tests, it's quite hard to quickly notice compared to the colored icons or the white ones.
Great job guys. I'm digging the way the new edge is coming together.
I sent feedback regarding my only concern which was the way the close, maximize, and minimize buttons have been shortened compared to the original edge. The shortened buttons don't do a good job with the alignment of the UI.
Regardless, though, keep up the good work!
- If its market share you're after, I don't know how much these changes will help. I liked the old edge UI -- I really did! -- but I think most people (not necessarily the ones that contribute to this forum) just want to feel like they're still in Chrome. In fact, I like that it is basically Chrome plus a few features, and I think other adopters would also like that. (Imagine opening Chrome except that it's more beautiful and has a scrollable tabstrip?!)
That said, there are obvious changes that could be done, such as a scrollable tabstrip, scrollable address bar (it's ridiculous that there is no scrollable address bar without first going in to edit the text), ability to make windows narrower, all the things that old Edge did better.
I think, for the sake of workspace size, that there should be an *option* to autohide [certain elements of or all of] the top bar, or an *option* to make it smaller until the mouse comes close. Perhaps one could choose how they want their full-screen UI, whether autohide as in old Edge and Firefox; or as it is now -- as it is in Chrome.
I also think the size slider for all UI elements is a good idea, or just two or three options as there is in office.
Why not make a few animations or UI samples as gifs and ask people to vote?GrahamJockey I fully agree, having the ability to only see certain UI elements on hover would greatly decrease overall screen clutter if done well. Having the ability to auto-hide the favorite bar for example would be a great addition.
The auto-hide feature could also allow for more UI elements to be enabled (such as side panels) and would be an effective way to further develop functionality while maintaining an overall clean and de-cluttered aesthetic.
Elliot Kirk Thanks very much for this post, very helpful to understand how the team is thinking about the changes and its impact to users.
For "The address bar and text are too large," I would love to see the spacing between my icons (both extension and Edge) become much more similar to that of Chrome. For me, it's a little clunky when it's so spread out.
Thanks for the consideration!
- If this is going to be implemented, please make it optional as the current design is more touch-friendly.
- Most of these things are just visuals which won’t impair the touch functionality, also, MS would never let touch functional be reduced
- I absolutely agree about the space between icons, in macOS they are much larger than in Chrome and this forces the address bar to shrink.
I really miss this and want it to return desperately. I really liked the acrylic. I would really like for it to return.
I also miss how the buttons would highlight when the cursor would get near the button. It's just a few of those small details that were in the old Edge that I want to return in the new Edge. I don't mind the slightly rounded tabs and buttons. It's a progressive movement into the newer more modern times for technology interface.
- Spoiler
Mason425 wrote:I also miss how the buttons would highlight when the cursor would get near the button. It's just a few of those small details that were in the old Edge that I want to return in the new Edge. I don't mind the slightly rounded tabs and buttons. It's a progressive movement into the newer more modern times for technology interface.
I really like to know what that feature is called, I hope it's not limited to UWP platform only. that would be so bad..the proximity animation or something
it should be somewhere in these Microsoft Docs
Please, please, please make the InPrivate button blue, just like how it was in IE and classic edge. It looks so much better and more appealing if the color wasn't the same as chrome's. It's harder to see it in dark mode too, if it was blue it would be more noticeable.
