New video shows Microsoft’s ‘Phoenix’ project for Edge’s internal feedback collection

'Phoenix' was an 'imaginary' version of Edge, appeared as an internal concept video from MS User Research team, with new UI/features, it's a project to collect feedbacks internally for Edge development directions/priorities, 'Split-Screen' was the most liked feature of Phoenix? pic.twitter.com/DRrLwN8x01

— WalkingCat (@_h0x0d_) January 26, 2023

A new leak shows a video of Microsoft’s “Phoenix” project, Edge browser’s “imaginary” version. The internal video is reportedly from the Microsoft User Research team.

Canary is not the only destination for testing new Edge features and improvements. According to a recently leaked video from Twitter user WalkingCat, Microsoft has been working on a so-called Phoenix project, which is “a project to collect feedbacks internally for Edge development directions/priorities.” If WalkingCat’s statement is true, it means the version serves as the Edge developers’ main presentation platform when proposing new features. It might also mean that there are more hidden Edge features within Phoenix that are not yet known to Insiders. 

According to Windows Central, Phoenix started last summer and is fashioned to allow Edge better complement the Redmond company’s desktop operating system. In the video, Edge Phoenix can be seen sporting some of the features already revealed to Insiders, including “the most liked” Split Screen feature. The internal version of the browser also showcases smooth round edges, from the browser itself to its seemingly floating tabs.

Windows Central added that Phoenix also contains the Tab Activity Center, which basically gives users visual insights about their browser usage. Inside this feature are the total time spent on different activities (shopping, blogs, news, etc.) and “Word Cloud,” which shows the words related to the user’s browsing interests.

Overall, Phoenix boasts an undeniably fresh look different from the current Edge browser available to the general user population these days. It is unknown whether Microsoft intends to use Phoenix solely as an internal testing version of Edge or if it would release it as a whole to Insiders. Nonetheless, it is pleasing to know that the company has more tricks up its sleeves, making Edge more enticing to the public.

However, despite these efforts and the continuous release of interesting improvements and features, Edge remains an underdog in the browser market competition. As expected, the browser market share worldwide is still dominated by Google Chrome and Safari, with 64.68% and 18.29% shares (December 2021 to December 2022), respectively. Edge received a 4.23% share during the said same period.