Microsoft Edge exclusively had this Windows 11 feature for 10 years that Chrome finally got

Chrome gains Netflix UHD (4K) support on Windows 11, but it still trails Edge's media features. Meanwhile, Mozilla Firefox has even more to do.

Recently, Mozilla cautioned that an upcoming Windows 11 26H2 change could hamper the default user choice for browsers. While the firm certainly has a point, it is also true that in several aspects, like the richness of the feature set, Firefox can lag.

For example, the browser finally received HDR support, nearly a decade after Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome, which means you can finally enjoy HDR content on spaces like YouTube and others. Hopefully, though, with the new release cadence and the redesign and roadmap, we will see Firefox getting to new features quicker.

Surprisingly perhaps, Microsoft Edge also managed to maintain a massive lead on Google Chrome as well in case of another media feature, despite both of them being based on Google's Chromium engine. If you are wondering, back in 2016, Microsoft announced 4K support for Netflix on Edge. While that was an impressive thing, no one at the time probably imagined that a browser as popular as Chrome wouldn't have it for so many years after. This reminds me of another key security feature Google Chrome lacks that others have had for many years.

Finally, though, Google joined Microsoft on the list of officially supported browsers to support Netflix in Ultra HD (4K) on Windows 11. Sometime earlier this year, Netflix updated its support page to include Google Chrome. A user on X, saurax, noticed this earlier this week:

Unsurprisingly, there was no announcement, as Google probably did not want the media and people to know that its browser finally got 4K support nearly a decade after Microsoft's.

You will need Chrome version 117 or newer to support Netflix 4K. Also, videos encoded in HEVC (H.265) may require Microsoft's HEVC Video Extensions to be installed on Windows before they can be decoded properly. Of course, you must fulfill the other requirements too:

• A Netflix plan that supports watching in Ultra HD (4K) with video playback quality set to Auto or High.

• A steady internet connection speed of 15 megabits per second or higher.

• A 4K 60Hz built-in screen, or 4K 60Hz TV or external display with an HDCP 2.2 compatible connection.

• Windows 11 operating system with the latest updates installed.

   

If you are wondering, Mozilla Firefox still does not support 4K Netflix and is limited to 1080p or Full HD. Hopefully, we will see it join too now that the world's most popular browser has it.

Interestingly, this is not the only media feature that Google has been playing catch-up to Edge. The former still does not support Dolby Vision and Dolby Digital Plus codecs, both of which work only on Edge on Windows 11/10, and has been doing so since 2015.

Source: Netflix (link1, link2)

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Posted Monday 27 July 2026 at 8:20 am AEST (my time).

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