Microsoft Edge is now faster than ever

Microsoft is migrating its Edge browser to WebUI 2.0 gradually, which results in noticeable speed improvements in the browser's user interface. (Image credit: Future)

Microsoft Edge just got a performance boost. A recent update to the browser improves the speed of opening the Downloads folder, Drop, History, and the inPrivate new tab experience. Favorites and Browser Essentials are also quicker after the jump to Microsoft Edge version 132. Several parts of Edge are, on average, 40% faster than before. As a quick note, Edge is actually up to version 133 at the time of publication, but the speed improvements started rolling out with Edge version 132.

The performance boost comes courtesy of Microsoft Edge's migration to WebUI 2.0. The company began that migration early last year and detailed its efforts in a blog post in May 2024. That post goes into detail on how webpages are rendered and why the speed of certain elements can be improved by a migration to WebUI 2.0.

In short, WebUI 2.0 is a new architecture that reduces how much code Edge needs to run to perform certain tasks. The modular nature of the architecture is also vital to reducing how long it takes to initialize UI elements within Edge.

WebUI2.0 Responsiveness Improvements in Microsoft Edge Downloads UI - YouTube

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The biggest change will be seen on low-end devices, such as those that have an HDD rather than an SSD, but all systems should see an improvement.

It may not seem like a big change to reduce the time it takes to open the download folder from 0.927 seconds to 0.428 seconds, but Microsoft found certain elements have to be quick to appear fast in everyday use. Reducing loading times by even fractions of a second can change how a browser's experience is perceived.

"Research indicates that there are certain absolute responsiveness targets that must be met for a user to perceive the UI as fast, and data showed our UI could be more responsive," said the tech giant.

A more recent blog post that Microsoft shared this week details the changes seen in Edge version 132. At least 14 areas of Edge's UI are now 40% faster on average, including Downloads, Drop, History, and the inPrivate tab experience.