Microsoft Edge will allow two web tabs to be displayed simultaneously in the same app window

Microsoft Edge could gain a major edge over rival Chrome, with users getting the option to view two web tabs simultaneously in the same app window.

Although almost any recent-generation laptop or PC is equipped with widescreen, most web pages are still optimized more for vertical scrolling, limiting the amount of information spread horizontally. Apart from not very successful attempts to modernise websites by moving to so-called Responsive Design, developers of the major web browsers have not been in a hurry to make concrete use of unused display space. So users who want to make more efficient use of the available screen space are forced to open the web browser in multiple windows, in proportion to the number of tabs they want to see at once.

Tested for now with the Canary edition of Microsoft Edge, the feature enabled by checking an experimental parameter adds a new Split View button to the right of the address bar.

As the name implies, Split View mode lets you view two tabs in the same Edge window. Interestingly, the list of tabs remains as one, with pages selected for Split View display being grouped into a single tab. You can create multiple tab groups, with one click bringing up groups of web pages that you can compare or use together.

Although alternatives such as Vivaldi allow you to group up to four tabs and even adjust the amount of space allocated to each web page, Microsoft currently limits Split View to two web pages and symmetrical display. Of course, that doesn’t stop you from opening two Edge windows, each with Split View.