Microsoft restores previously removed Windows 11 visual effects in Edge

Microsoft recently released Edge 138 in the Stable Channel, and to Windows 11 users' surprise, the update quietly removed the fan-favorite Mica material. While users quickly discovered a way to bring it sort of back, the temporary solution is a bit wacky and far from what we used to have. Now, Microsoft has decided to make a U-turn and bring Mica back.

As was dicovered by a user on Reddit, the latest Edge Canary updates now let you once again enable the Mica material. It still requires enabling a flag, but now, it works as it should, unlike the Stable release, where enabling it does nothing. Once enabled, you will get a translucent tab strip and context menus, which look much better and are in line with the rest of Windows 11's design.

Unfortunately, as of right now, Mica is only available in Edge Canary. Dev, Beta, and Stable still lack the material, even with the flag enabled. If you have Edge Canary installed on your system and want to get Mica back, here is what to do:

1. Update Microsoft Edge to the latest version by heading to edge://settings/help.
2. Go to edge://flags and find the "Show Windows 11 visual effects in browser" flag.
3. Set the flag to "Enabled."
4. Restart the browser.

Edge will apply Mica to multiple surfaces automatically, but you can now also toggle it off or on in settings, which were recently updated to WebUI 2.0 for much faster performance. Go to Settings > Appearance > "Show Windows 11 visual effects in browser." Note that changing this option requires a browser restart.

Microsoft is not communicating this change, so at this point, there is no guarantee that Mica will make its way back to more stable channels. For now, though, you can enjoy this material in the Canary Channel, just keep in mind that it is the least stable and can be prone to bugs and instabilities.

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