Microsoft Edge will soon get media controls for web apps (PWAs), just like on Chrome

Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome’s number-one rival, is now working to bring the feature of media controls for web apps (PWAs) to the browser. In fact, a flag to enable this feature has been added to the browser, although it’s not working just yet. 

The discovery, as shared by Edge insider @Leopeva on X (fka Twitter), follows up on what Google Chrome introduced a little while ago. Same feature, same everything. It’s spotted on v. 121.0.2220.0.

Take a look at the flag below:

Microsoft has also added the flag to "enable instanced system media controls for web apps" in Edge (the feature itself doesn't work yet):https://t.co/9ASF5LyeYk pic.twitter.com/Gl3WjQtcyQ

— Leopeva64 (@Leopeva64) November 13, 2023

Currently, when a web app plays audio, its volume controls are mixed up with those of other web apps and the browser itself. This can make it challenging to manage audio playback, especially when multiple web apps are playing audio simultaneously.

“Help bridge the gap between web apps and native apps by introducing support for SystemMediaControls to be instanced for each dPWA that’s playing audio,” the engineers describe in the official documentation, which was shared a little over a while ago.

So, this upcoming feature, which is being developed for both Chromium-build Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, will allow each web app that plays audio to have its own separate controls. This means that you will be able to see and control the media playback for each PWA independently, without having to switch between tabs or windows.