Edge 128 and Chrome 128 stable released with several improvements

Two major browser market players have updated their browsers. Both Edge 128 and Chrome 128 stable are available for downloads. Microsoft's browser boasts with Edge Bar improvements, but drops CPUs without SSE3. Chrome 128 comes with Isolated Web Apps, HDR for WebGPU, and standardized CSS zoom support.

What's new in Edge 128

The full version is Microsoft Edge 128.0.2739.42.

Fixes

• Fixed an issue where rendering processes would cause increased CPU usage when running Selenium tests and calling driver.quit()to end the testing session.

Edge Bar Improvements

• In Windows 10, access to settings is no longer via the gear icon in the drop-down menu, but via the edge://settings/sidebar page.
• In Windows 11 and Windows 10, clicking the gear icon will automatically open the edge://settings/sidebar page.
• On Windows 10, Edge brings back the Edge Bar auto-launch feature when you turn on your device. The close "X" button has been moved under the menu (ellipsis) in the lower-right corner of the Edge Bar. The Copilot feature is now attached to the main Edge browser window, not the Edge Bar. Please note that the changes are being rolled out gradually, so they are not yet available to all users.
• Disabling the Edge Bar via the StandaloneHubsSidebarEnabled policy is still possible. An update will be released soon that will fix the display of the UI and briefcase icon on the edge://settings/sidebar page.

New features and changes

• SSE3 Requirement: Microsoft Edge no longer supports processors without SSE3. Devices with these processors will no longer receive updates.
• Copilot and browser context access control:
  • The DiscoverPageContextEnabled policy , previously used to control Copilot's access to the browser context, has been deprecated.
  • Two new policies have been added to more flexibly configure Copilot's access to the browser context for Microsoft Entra ID profiles:
    • CopilotPageContext  - Manages Copilot's shared access to the browser context.
    • CopilotCDPPageContext  - Controls Copilot with Commercial Data Protection access to the browser context for Microsoft Entra ID profiles.
• The "Followable Web" feature has been removed. It allowed users to subscribe to web page updates. The EdgeFollowEnabled policy has also been deprecated.
• The EnforceLocalAnchorConstraintsEnabled policy has been deprecated. This policy was used as a temporary workaround for restrictions in certificates downloaded from the platform certificate store. Starting with Microsoft Edge version 112, restrictions in such certificates are automatically enforced, so this policy is no longer needed.
• Added the ShowDownloadsInsecureWarningsEnabled policy . In future versions of Microsoft Edge, users who download potentially unsafe content from HTTP sites will see a warning in the browser UI. This policy allows administrators to control whether warnings are displayed to users.

New policies

• ApplicationBoundEncryptionEnabled  - Enables Application Bound Encryption.
• DynamicCodeSettings  - Provides settings for managing Dynamic Code.
• ExtensionDeveloperModeSettings  - Controls the availability of developer mode on the extension management page.
• ExtensionExtendedBackgroundLifetimeForPortConnectionsToUrls  - Allows you to configure a list of URLs for which extensions will be granted an extended background lifetime.
• KeyboardFocusableScrollersEnabled  - enables the ability to focus on scrollbars using the keyboard.
• ShowDownloadsInsecureWarningsEnabled  - Controls whether warnings about unsafe downloads are displayed.

Outdated Policies

• DiscoverPageContextEnabled  - Allowed control over Discover access to page content for AAD profiles.
• EnforceLocalAnchorConstraintsEnabled  - Determines whether the built-in certificate verifier should enforce constraints encoded in trust anchors loaded from the platform trust store.
• SiteSafetyServicesEnabled  - Previously allowed users to configure site security services.

The release notes are here.

What's new in Chrome 128

Browser version: 128.0.6613/.85

Isolated Web Apps

This feature extends existing PWA (Progressive Web Apps) and Web Packaging installation technologies to provide greater protection against web server hacking and compromise. Currently, support for the Isolated Web Apps option is limited by administrator policy on ChromeOS devices in an enterprise environment.

Support for standardized CSS Zoom

Previously, the browser supported this option in a non-standard format, but now it is fully compliant with the specifications. This change greatly simplifies the development of responsive websites and improves compatibility across different browsers.

Performance and API

Various component performance improvements and new Attribution Reporting API features, support for the CSS Ruby-align property functionality, Ruby support with line-breaking capabilities, Promise.try option handling, and WebAuthn hints.

Other changes

Extended HDR support for WebGPU (available through experimental browser options).

The announcement is here.

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