Microsoft

Microsoft Edge set to gain ability to share tabs between Windows 10 and Android

Damien Wilde | Apr 30 2021 - 2:03 am PT

While Google Chrome is undoubtedly the biggest browser across desktop and mobile, Microsoft Edge is set to add a tab sharing feature between the Chromium-based browser and the Android counterpart.

It’s actually live for a very small group of users in the latest Edge Canary build v92.0.873.0 with tab sharing possible with the Android 92.0.870 build (via Windows Latest). Given that many Windows 10 users might be happy with Edge and would like the ability to sync active tabs across desktop and mobile, we can see this being a big hit.

Sure, if you’re deeply entrenched in Google Chrome, this won’t affect you. However, the option to sync tabs in a future stable Microsoft Edge build is still a welcome option. As we have mentioned, the tab sharing feature is only currently live in the recent Microsoft Edge Canary build on desktop and works with only the most recent Android version.

It works in the exact same way that tab sharing works in Chrome. Tapping the address bar or right-clicking will bring up a small laptop and phone icon that you can tap to send to any device currently logged in. You can see a short .gif of the familiar sharing process in action below:

On your Android smartphone, you’ll get a notification to confirm that Microsoft Edge has sent a tab to your device. This pop-up includes the URL and some information on the device that originally sent the tab. Tab sharing is available in both directions, which makes this more useful than just a one-way option that some other browsers offer.

It doesn’t look as though this option is available on MacOS just yet, but it expands upon the history and tab sync feature that has already rolled out for Microsoft Edge. Being able to target specific browser tabs will likely prove much more useful than having to sync your entire recent browsing history at once.

Let’s hope that this arrives in a stable Edge build soon, but for now you can start sharing tabs between your smartphone and desktop — or vice versa — by downloading that latest Canary releases on both platforms.