Microsoft Edge Version 109 is Out With New Text Prediction Feature
- Laurent Giret
- Jan 13, 2023
-
0
Microsoft Edge version 109 is now available on the Stable channel. This update brings a new text prediction feature, and it also adds support for account linking between a personal Microsoft account and a work or school account.
“To help you write faster and with fewer mistakes, Microsoft Edge provides word and sentence predictions for long-form editable text fields on web pages,” Microsoft explained in the release notes. Text prediction in Edge is currently only supported in English for users in the US, India, and Australia, and Microsoft plans to expand it to more languages and regions in the future. This feature can also be turned off by IT admins using Group Policy.
Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox
Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!
"*" indicates required fields
As for the new account linking feature launching with Edge 109, its main purpose is to allow Edge users to earn Microsoft Rewards points while being signed in in the browser with a work or school account. Once a work or school account has been linked to a personal Microsoft account, users can earn Microsoft Rewards points by doing searches in Bing or the Windows search box.
Account linking needs to be enabled by IT admins, then users can link their accounts from Profile preferences in Microsoft Edge Settings, the Microsoft Start Management Experience, and Bing Identity Control. Microsoft Rewards points have been Microsoft’s main carrot to push more people to use Bing, but the upcoming integration of ChatGPT features could finally change that.
Microsoft Edge 109 is also the last version of the web browser to support Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. Microsoft dropped support for the two operating systems earlier this week, and the company is now recommending users upgrade to Windows 10 and Windows 11 as soon as possible.
Google also released Chrome version 109 earlier this week, which is also the last Chrome version to support Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. This new release introduces Material You Theming on the desktop, which provides Windows and macOS an easy way to change their Chrome theme by simply changing the background image on the new tab page.