Continuum for Phones, available on select Windows 10 Mobile devices, allows customers to connect their phone to a monitor, projector, or TV for a full-sized desktop experience, powered by their phone. Because Microsoft Edge is built on the Universal Windows Platform, Microsoft Edge in Continuum is able to provide a full desktop browser experience.
Let’s walk through a quick overview of how Continuum works and a few key differences between Microsoft Edge running in Continuum and on a PC.
Using Continuum on Windows 10 Mobile
Continuum allows Windows 10 Mobile users to have a PC-like experience when connected to an external display and a mouse and keyboard. When connected (via a wired dock or via Bluetooth and Miracast), Universal Windows Apps like Office and Microsoft Edge will adapt their interface and behavior to provide a desktop-like experience tailored to mouse and keyboard input.
Microsoft Edge takes full advantage of the Universal Windows Platform to provide a complete desktop-like experience in Continuum — when the device is connected to a larger display, Microsoft Edge turns into a desktop browser, adapting the interface and rendering characteristics to match Microsoft Edge on PCs.
In fact, Microsoft Edge in Continuum is nearly indistinguishable from its PC twin, which is a fun party trick when presenting at events or in meetings!
To enable an experience that’s as true to the desktop equivalent as possible, there are a couple of important things to keep in mind.
One rendering engine
Because Microsoft Edge uses the same engine across all Windows 10 devices, the rendering behavior is the same across Windows 10 devices, including Windows 10 Mobile devices. The only differences are due to certain device-specific qualities – for example, codec support may be different on phones due to missing hardware acceleration, and Flash is not supported on Windows 10 Mobile. Because Windows 10 Mobile has a different background model, RTC is also currently not supported. Finally, Windows 10 Mobile does not support Flash in order to provide a modern, touch-focused, and power-efficient experience appropriate for a mobile device. Because of this, Flash is not supported in Microsoft Edge in Continuum.
Details for web developers
Developers in general won’t have to give any special consideration to Microsoft Edge in Continuum. By design, it will behave like a desktop client, including sending a desktop User-Agent string.
As always, we recommend that you don’t try to detect based on the User Agent string — if you use responsive design and feature detection, your site should just work on Continuum. However, for some cases, including analytics or to provide a specifically tailored experience, developers may wish to detect when Microsoft Edge is running in Continuum.
In Continuum, Microsoft Edge changes a few tokens to make sure it gets desktop markup:
Microsoft Edge UA (Mobile)
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows Phone 10.0; Android 6.0.1; Microsoft; <Device>) AppleWebKit/<Rev (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/<Rev> Mobile Safari/<Rev> Edge/<Rev>
Microsoft Edge UA (Continuum)
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; ARM) AppleWebKit/<Rev> (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/<Rev> Safari/<Rev> Edge/<Rev>
Microsoft Edge UA (Desktop)
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/<Rev> (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/<Rev> Safari/<Rev> Edge/<Rev>
The revision numbers will, as in all browsers, change regularly as Microsoft Edge is updated, to ensure modern markup is received.
Independent scroll
Running desktop sites on phone is challenging, so we’ve made optimizations in the Anniversary Update to tailor performance to provide a more desktop-like experience. On PCs, Microsoft Edge offloads scrolling from the UI thread to provide a more fluid scrolling experience during page load/painting. In the Anniversary Update, this same feature is now supported in Continuum, even when scrolling via the mouse or keyboard. This results in a smoother experience even while the page is loading or painting.
Switching from mobile to desktop
Microsoft Edge will recognize when a phone switches into Continuum and any sites opened after the switch will render using desktop behavior, including the desktop UA string.
If a tab is open to a mobile site, and the device switches to Continuum, the tab will be sustained. If the tab is refreshed, and it isn’t a mobile-specific URL, it will reload in a desktop view. This ensures that users do not lose unsaved changes (such as a partially-filled form) on a site while switching from the phone to Continuum.
We’re committed to making Continuum as close to the desktop experience as possible without adding any additional overhead for Web Developers – try it out on a Windows 10 Mobile device and let us know what you think! If you have questions or are curious how your site looks in Continuum, reach out to @MSEdgeDev on Twitter, and we’d be happy to help.
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New Video Series This Week on Windows Highlights Windows 10 Anniversary Update
The Windows 10 Anniversary Update begins rolling out today for customers around the world. The Anniversary Update is full of features and innovations that will bring new experiences with Windows Ink*, Cortana**, gaming and more. To give you an overview of new features that are rolling out in the update, check out the video below. It’s a part of a new weekly series we are piloting called This Week on Windows, where we’ll bring you the latest in Windows news, apps, and tips from experts here at Microsoft.
Feature highlights in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update
Windows Ink brings the power of Windows to the tip of your pen
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Available for the first time in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Windows Ink lets you quickly and easily take notes, sketch on a screenshot or draw out an idea. Smart sticky notes can help you remember common tasks like reminding you of flight times or offering you directions using Maps. You can learn more about Windows Ink in this blog post here.
Improvements to security with Windows Defender and Windows Hello for apps and websites
The Anniversary Update brings new improvements to Windows Defender, our free anti-malware service that includes an option to automatically schedule periodic quick scans of your PC to help make sure your PC is safe and update to date. New Windows Hello* features make it easy for you to use the same easy, yet strong, security of Windows Hello with Windows apps and Microsoft Edge. To learn more about the security improvements coming in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update visit this blog post.
Increased power efficiency with Microsoft Edge and the arrival of extensions
The Anniversary Update includes even more power saving improvements to Microsoft Edge to give you the most out of your PCs battery life. Also available with the Anniversary Update Microsoft Edge Extensions are coming to the Windows Store, such as Pinterest Pin It Button, Amazon Assistant, AdBlock, Adblock Plus and LastPass. These extensions will help you personalize your browsing experience even further.
Cortana helps you be more productive
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With the Anniversary Update Cortana will be available above your lock screen so you can do things like ask questions, play music from your PC or set a reminder without unlocking your device. Cortana can save and recall key information across your devices, like your frequent flier number or where you parked at the airport. You can also add photos to make your reminders visual, like a photo of a bottle of wine you enjoyed at a restaurant. To learn more about Cortana in the Anniversary Update visit this blog post.
Gamers stay connected and enjoy more games
With the Anniversary Update, Cortana is now available on Xbox One in the U.S. and U.K. With Cortana, gamers can expect more from voice commands on Xbox. In addition to more commands and greater accuracy with natural language and text dictation, Cortana provides the ability to use a headset or Kinect. You’ll be able to use Cortana to find great new games, see what your friends are up to, start a party, accomplish common tasks, turn on your Xbox One if you’re using Kinect, and more. We’ll continue to build more Cortana features over time as part of our vision to have Cortana be your personal digital assistant for gaming. Gamers can also enjoy the Anniversary Update on the new Xbox One S that is available starting today. To learn more about what the Windows 10 Anniversary Update means for Xbox visit Xbox Wire.
Windows Store is a one-stop shop for play and work
With the Anniversary Update, we’re bringing together the best of Windows and Xbox. You can access your favorite apps, games, movies, music and more in the Windows Store including games only for Windows 10 and Xbox. The new store simplifies the shopping experience and will feature a new look, higher quality content, subscription offerings, bundles and pre-orders. With Xbox Play Anywhere, shoppers can pre-order their favorite games before launch, then play on either their Windows 10 PC or Xbox One the day of availability. This gives gamers more options of where to play their favorite games.
New innovations for the modern classroom
Customers can enjoy a range of new education features in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, including faster, simpler set up with all new tools to help educators get up and running quickly and the “Take a Test” app that creates a browser-based, locked down environment for more secure online assessments. To learn more about what education features customers can enjoy in the Anniversary Update, visit this blog post.
Try the new Skype Preview with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update
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Skype Preview for Windows 10 PCs has been redesigned for Windows 10 and will come installed automatically with the Anniversary Update. You’ll be able to use all your favorite Skype features: talk over 1:1 and group video calls, say hello with 1:1 and group chats, call mobiles and landlines at low rates, share photos, share files, use emoticons, and add Mojis. To get started, once you have the Windows 10 Anniversary Update on your PC, open the Start menu and you’ll see “Skype Preview” in your list of apps. Click to launch or pin it to your taskbar or start for even faster access. To learn more about the great new features you can enjoy with Skype Preview in the Anniversary Update head over to the Skype Blog.
Finally, the Windows 10 Anniversary Update is our most reliable update yet, and since the November update last year we’ve made significant improvements to help your PC work better and last longer. For example, through our Windows Insider Program, we are seeing an average 20% improved boot speed. And your battery will last even longer as we’ve made more than 150 improvements in battery life functionality.
The Windows 10 Anniversary Update begins rolling out today, if you don’t want to wait for the update to roll out to you automatically and would like to manually get the update, check out this blog post.
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The Hidden Microsoft Edge Features You Didn’t Know About
It’s hard to switch browsers when we’re comfortable with what we’re used to -- but Microsoft Edge features are sure to make that switch worthwhile. Continue reading and access the video resources to get the most out of your new (and soon to be favorite) browser.
Microsoft Edge is the new browser available in Windows 10. Here is a video that provides an overview of features you may not know about!
And in case you’re interested in other Edge details, here’s research that shows how Edge is faster than Chrome, how it’s incredibly secure, and how Cortana can help you with your web browsing experience.
Microsoft is still working on the new Universal Skype experiences for Windows 10
Earlier this year, Microsoft revealed that the company is working on a new, universal Skype experience for Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile. Microsoft announced that the company will be delivering the new Universal Skype experiences for Windows 10 “later this summer” as a preview. So, summer has just ended – where’s the new Universal Skype experiences? Well, it seems like the folks over at Redmond are still working on the new experiences.
We’ve reached out to Microsoft asking for an update on the Universal Skype experience, and a Microsoft spokesperson told us:
“We want to make sure Skype built into Windows 10 is the best experience possible, so we’re taking some more time to make sure it’s ready for users. In the meantime, you can continue to use Skype for Windows desktop, Skype for Windows Phone and Skype for Web on Edge.”
Making the Internet even more useful with Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge is a next-generation web browser that allows you to find more information on whatever you’re searching for and presents it to you in a more useful format. Microsoft Edge will debut as part of Windows 10 on July 29th, and will provide new ways to interact with the Internet.
It’s easier to see what Microsoft Edge looks like in action than describe it, so check out this short video about some of its features:
Microsoft Edge turns the Internet into something you can interact with, share with friends, and communicate more clearly. Whether you need to meet someone at a restaurant, do some shopping, or just about anything else, Microsoft Edge makes it possible.
