Bloatware in Microsoft Edge continues, with the ability to crop, edit and resize photos in the web browser currently in testing for some users running Windows 11.
While the Photos app has been updated to reflect the design of Windows 11, from its curved windows and updated icons, Microsoft has decided that you’ll be able to perform some of the same functions in a web browser.
Available on Construction ‘Canary’ (opens in new tab) for some users – not all – like latest windows (opens in new tab), it lets you try out features that are not yet publicly available. For Photos, you can right-click an image in Edge and a sidebar will appear, allowing you to add filters, change the lighting, crop the image, and more.
However, this will only add to some users’ frustrations as Edge is becoming more of a memory sponge for the Windows PC, especially with calculator, speed test and unit conversion features on its way to the web browser.
Image edits in Edge? We will
After Windows 8, which was built under a ‘No Compromise’ design methodology, Microsoft happily backtracked on that mindset, saying no to making its apps offer all sorts of features in different sizes.
However, Microsoft Edge seems to repeat the same Windows 8 mistakes all over again, which seems like a panicked response to what other browsers offer in the same space.
You have Opera, which tries to deliver a unified experience in a streamlined design across three web browsers, for example. There’s also Apple making sure privacy leads in its Safari browser and Google making sure its web apps run just as well as they do in Chrome.
It’s true that Edge is still catching up after Internet Explorer was retired earlier this year, but throwing everything but the kitchen sink seems risky and unwarranted.
On the other side of the coin, though, I’m in favor of the image editing features. We’re in an age where we use web browsers to help complete our work – from school reports to books – and there’s always a chance that images are involved.
Editing royalty-free images to save and place in these projects easily will be a big help to many, myself included, so I’m looking forward to this feature in Edge.
However, you can’t avoid the fact that other features like a calculator seem unnecessary. In an age where web browsers need to be fast and reliable for everyday work, Microsoft should focus on that aspect of Edge rather than throwing everything at the wall and seeing what works.