In April of this year, Microsoft announced Performance mode for Edge to help optimize the performance of the browser while saving battery and hardware resources. The Redmond giant has since renamed the feature “Productivity mode” in recent updates. If you want to speed up your Windows PC while browsing the web, here’s how to turn on the new Productivity mode in Microsoft Edge.
Use Productivity Mode in Microsoft Edge (2021)
Microsoft is currently testing Productivity mode on Edge’s Canary channel. Therefore, you may not see the feature right away in the stable version of the browser. I used Edge Canary version 93.0.939.0 for this demonstration on a laptop running Windows 11. Meanwhile, here’s how to enable and use Productivity Mode (formerly Performance Mode) in Edge.
What is Productivity Mode in Microsoft Edge?
Productivity mode is a new feature in Edge that helps improve performance. When you enable productivity mode, browser minimizes power usage to save battery life By reducing the load on CPU and memory resources. Microsoft warns that video playback may be less smooth and animations may slow down when using productivity mode.
Also, when productivity mode is enabled, Microsoft automatically Inactive tabs to sleep after 5 minutes, provided you have sleep tabs enabled in Edge. Specifically, Edge will respect the trigger time of your previous sleep tabs when not in Productivity mode.
Enable Productivity Mode in Microsoft Edge
1. Open Edge and Settings page by clicking on the horizontal three-dot menu in the upper right corner.
2. Then, “System and performance” tab from the left sidebar. Under the “Optimize Performance” section, Turn on “Productivity mode” toggle to enable the feature.
Customize Productivity Mode in Edge
You can choose to customize the Productivity mode to configure when the activity starts. You have three options to choose from. Edge lets you keep productivity mode always on, active when your computer is unplugged or unplugged, and when the battery dies.
To change the productivity mode triggers, click the dropdown below the button and choose the setting that suits your use case.
Now, jumping into Settings every time you want to customize the Productivity mode can feel like a chore. Therefore, Microsoft has already added a solution for this. You can get a new Performance Tab in the toolbar to access the productivity mode settings. Here’s how to do this:
1. Go Settings -> Appearance. Scroll down to find the “Show performance button” and turn it on.
2. Now, a new heartbeat icon in the toolbar. Click the “Performance button” to quickly change productivity mode settings.
Disable Productivity Mode in Microsoft Edge
If you’ve tried the productivity mode and found it’s getting too aggressive in your workflow, you can always choose to disable it. Follow the steps below:
To disable productivity mode in Edge, open Settings from the horizontal three-dot menu in the top right. Next, go to: System and performance -> Productivity mode, and disable the toggle.
Try Productivity Mode to Improve Performance in Edge
This is how you can use Productivity mode in Edge to improve the performance of the browser in Windows 10 or Windows 11. You should also check out our article on how to use sleep tabs in Microsoft Edge to put inactive tabs to sleep for more performance. improvements. For more such tips, check out our article on the best Microsoft Edge tips and tricks.
