Microsoft Edge Canary gets a new flag to enable Windows 11 visual updates

Microsoft has started testing a visual refresh for its Edge browser, which is designed to match the upcoming Windows 11 OS launching later this year. As spotted by Reddit user Leopeva64-2, a recent update to the Microsoft Edge Canary channel has brought an experimental flag that lets users enable “Windows 11 visual updates” on their PCs.

The subtle changes introduced in this visual refresh include rounded corners, new font, size, & color for the menu items, and a new design for the hover effect. In addition, the company has aligned the context menus with the design of Windows 11 to provide seamless experiences on PCs. The description for the experimental flag indicates that it “enables in-progress visuals appropriate for your currently installed version of Windows.”

If you’re an Edge Insider, you can enable this new UI design on your PCs by following these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Edge and then head to the “edge://flags” page.
2. Search for the “Enable Windows 11 Visual Updates” flag and enable it.
3. Finally, relaunch the browser to apply these changes.

Once the browser is relaunched, Insiders will see some new design elements that look consistent with Windows 11. More specifically, the browser will add slightly redesigned menus, updated fonts, and other minor UI changes.

These visual changes can be enabled in Edge Canary build 93.0.945.0 or newer on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. However, it is important to note that these changes are still a work in progress, and more improvements will be available in future builds. This new design update will need to go through Edge’s different Insider channels before it becomes generally available in the Stable channel.