Microsoft Edge is picking up full support for Variable Fonts with the next release of EdgeHTML, Microsoft announced today. Now available to try out as part of Windows Insider preview build 17120, full support for the feature comes months after Microsoft first began adding support for elements of Variable Fonts in build 17074.
Variable Fonts allow web developers to dynamically adjust a single font in ways that allow it to behave as multiple fonts. Attributes like weight, width, and slant can be adjusted on the fly, even allowing developers to create rich animations as users scroll down a page. Support for the feature in EdgeHTML 17 means Microsoft Edge will be able to fully render these fonts in action. You can see an example of the feature in action in the animation below:
Microsoft worked in collaboration with Apple, Adobe, Google, and others to standardize the tech behind OpenType Font Variations, which was first introduced in 2016. If you're a developer, Microsoft has released an "immersive guide" that you can use to learn how to take advantage of the different features of Variable Fonts.
