Edge for Android Workspace Sync & Ad Blocking
Chrome on Android is passable but not satisfying, so after comparing options I eventually chose Edge as my main browser. I do not particularly like Edge’s UI, but its feature set is relatively complete. As for performance, people generally think Chrome is faster, but in daily use I can barely feel the difference.
Other browsers have similar implementations for ad blocking and extension support. Edge only added extension support in its 2024 updates, so it was relatively late. I chose Edge partly because of Microsoft’s ecosystem.
Based on my own usage habits, here is an incomplete comparison of browsers:Browser(Android) Edge Chrome Vivaldi Ad blocking ✅ ❌ ✅ (slightly better than Edge) Sync Workspaces ✅ ❌ ✅ Sync TabGroups ✅ ✅ ✅ Address Bar Position Bottom/Top Bottom/Top Bottom/Top Monet color extraction ❌ ✅ ✅ Extension support ✅ ❌ ❌
I often see people on Xiaohongshu or Xiaolvshu Coolapk complain that Chrome cannot move the address bar position. It can be configured in Chrome Canary now, but the setting is hidden.
- In Chrome flags, find
bottom barand set it to enable. - Set the address bar position in settings.
Browsers such as Via and Kiwi may have better extension support. I have not used them deeply, so I will not compare them here.
| Browser(Desktop) | Edge | Chrome | Vivaldi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vertical Tab | ✅ | ✅ (introduced in 2026) | ✅ |
| Custom CSS | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Split Screen | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Command Palette | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
Block AD
The steps are as follows. The entry point is also fairly hidden:
Settings -> Privacy and Security -> Protection report -> Ads blocked -> Settings -> block ad
Chrome on Android does not have built-in ad blocking. It can be implemented with a third-party app, but ad-blocking apps usually conflict with proxy tools. Without root, it takes some work to figure out how to make them coexist.
The Edge extension marketplace now supports ad-blocking extensions.
Sync
Enable edge://flags/#edge-android-workspace in edge://flags to sync workspaces across devices.
Microsoft’s axe team has removed Edge workspace sync. Only tab group sync is supported now.
Chrome’s sync is also good enough, but Edge has the extra workspace feature.
Edge removed edge://flags/#edge-android-workspace in a recent update. The latest version that still keeps this flag is 137.0.3296.92, and you can download the old version from the link below: