Edge is getting a much-improved Apps settings page for PWAs

Unlike Edge Legacy, which Microsoft buried earlier this year, Edge Chromium works much better with progressive web apps (PWA). The browser can automatically detect when a website has a PWA, and allows installing it with a single click. Users can even turn regular websites into apps to pin them to the taskbar for quick access.

Microsoft Edge has a dedicated setting page where users can manage installed web apps. In the current stable release, that page is somewhat bland. All you can access there is just a list of apps and a button to remove them.

Microsoft is now working on a much-improved settings page for PWAs in the Edge browser. The latest versions of Microsoft Edge Canary have a new flag that enables a fresh experience with several quality-of-life improvements for those using progressive web apps.

The redesigned Apps page in Microsoft Edge provides users with tons of new options. You can now switch between the grid and list view and sort apps by name, install time, or recently used. Besides, you can find quick links to pin a PWA to the taskbar or the Start menu. The new Apps page lets you check permissions and info about each web app in your browser, manage cookies, and tracking prevention. Overall, it feels more modern and mature compared to what we currently have in the stable channel.

If you want to check out the new Apps page in Microsoft Edge, here is how you can enable it. Before proceeding, update Microsoft Edge Canary to the latest version.

How to enable the new Apps page in Microsoft Edge Canary?

1. Launch the Edge browser.
2. Type or copy-paste the following into the address bar: edge://flags/#edge-apps-page-refresh.
3. Select Enabled from the drop-down menu for the Refreshed edge://apps user experience flag.
4. Now, restart Edge.
5. Once Microsoft Edge turns back on, go to edge://apps to check out the new page.

Note that the flag is currently available in Microsoft Edge Canary only. Expect it to hit the Dev channel in the coming weeks.

In case you missed it, Microsoft recently changed how the browser manages extensions icons on the toolbar in Edge, fixing one of the most annoying extension-related bugs in the browser.