Windows 10 'Sets' is a new feature that allows apps and web pages to be grouped together under one tabbed window. But Sets is about a lot more than just tabs.

Late last week, Microsoft released a new Insider Preview build of the next major Windows 10 update coming later this year that includes an early version of a new feature called "Sets". It essentially takes the tabbed browsing interface found in Microsoft Edge and bolts it on top of normal apps, allowing the user to group both apps and websites under a single tabbed window. This is an interesting play for an OS called "Windows," but that's because Sets isn't just about grouping apps together under one window; it's about Microsoft Edge and the future of Windows itself. There are a lot of layers to Sets. For starters, it brings a new user interaction model to Windows that lets users sync entire groups of apps and web pages across devices. More importantly, however, it integrates Microsoft Edge into the workflow of millions of people without them necessarily noticing. This is important, because the majority of people today use Chrome, and refuse to even try and use other browsers, out of habit if nothing else. Best VPN providers 2020: Learn about ExpressVPN, NordVPN & more That's a real problem for Microsoft and its Edge browser. The mindset of many is if it's not Chrome, it's not an option. If Microsoft wants to invest in things like Windows 10 S, and in the long run, Windows Core OS, it needs to shake people's dependency on Chrome, and simply building a good browser isn't enough. That's where Sets comes in. Integrating Edge into your workflow

The beauty of Sets is that the tabbed interface hooks directly into Microsoft Edge. When you press the new tab button, just like you would in a normal browser, it takes you to a dedicated Start page, housed in Microsoft Edge. From here, you can launch not only apps but websites, too, just like in a normal browser. Microsoft is making this new tab page a portal to everything, locally or on the web, with shortcuts to recently opened apps, documents, and web pages. Sets is an important gateway to a version of Windows 10 that's truly modern. If Microsoft can alleviate the need for Chrome, it can finally innovate and push forward a more modern version of Windows 10 build on Windows Core OS. Building a modern version of Windows is seriously important for Microsoft. If Windows is to remain relevant, it needs to modernize. It needs to shake the dependencies it has on 20-year-old legacy software and components, and build an OS that is flexible enough to run on the smallest or biggest of form factors, and even on form factors that don't yet exist. With Windows Core OS, this project is already underway. Microsoft is testing the waters with a "streamlined" version of Windows 10 called Windows 10 S, which is locked to the Store and as such, doesn't have apps like Chrome available to the user. Windows Core OS is the next step in that idea, except this time the OS really does become streamlined. The biggest legacy app in use today is Chrome, by a wide margin. If you remove the need for Chrome, Microsoft is more able to move forward in its modernizing of Windows, and also take back some of that browser market share. Infrastructure is important