New weekly build of Microsoft Edge Dev Build 76.0.167.0 now available, but you may want to give it a miss: Update - Fixed

Microsoft has just released a new update for the weekly Dev build of the new Chromium-powered Edge browser, taking it to Build 76.0.167.0.

The release brings a large number of improvements to the browser, but also reportedly a bug which causes the browser to fail to launch after being updated:

We are currently investigating an issue with our latest Dev branch update that appears to stop some users from launching the browser after updating. We will provide an update as soon as we know more, or once a solution is found. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

— Microsoft Edge Dev (@MSEdgeDev) May 23, 2019

If you are not daunted by this, these are the improvements the update brings:

• The built-in translator has now rolled out to everyone. We’d appreciate it if you’d let us know how it works on your sites in your language. Just use the send feedback smiley button.
• Dark mode, which many of you have enabled manually via a configuration flag, is now on by default for everyone. To see Microsoft Edge in dark mode, you will need to change your Windows or macOS system settings.
• Keyword search for the address bar is now enabled. When you begin to type the “keyword” for a search engine into the address bar, you will be reminded that you can press tab to search using that engine. You can also type the entire keyword and press space to enter keyword search mode. If you continue typing and press enter, you will navigate directly to search results for that search engine. You may also see search suggestions from that engine as you type. Keyword search is available for all search engines you install or which are automatically detected for you as you browse. To manage search engines, open Settings, then Privacy and services, then Address bar, then Manage search engines. Here you can add or delete search engines AND customize the keyword used for them.

Some other improvements:

• Added a “Close Microsoft Edge” option in the “Settings and more” menu
• Improved dark theme support in Browser Task Manager
• You can now tab to address bar icons which indicate blocked site permissions
• Apps now appear in the same order on the apps menu and the apps page
• Updated the keyboard focus rectangle so that it’s more clearly visible

Some of the bug fixes in this release include:

• Fixed an issue that was causing high CPU usage while the browser was idle.
• Fixed an issue where extensions couldn’t alter video playback speed.
• On the download page, individual download cards no longer change height as you tab through them.
• Removed the “Unknown” option from the language dropdown menu in the translator
• Fixed an issue where encrypted video only appears as a black screen.
• Fixed an issue where clicking on menu items sometimes doesn’t do anything.
• Fixed a crash when enabling sync.
• Fixed a crash during the first run experience.
• Fixed an issue where the Settings page crashes due to a corrupted user profile.
• Fixed a crash when opening Settings while in a guest browsing session

Users in the weekly Dev channel can update their browser by visiting the About Edge page in the Browser Settings.

Update: Microsoft has identified the issue and is working on a fix to be pushed soon. In the meantime if you are affected by the failure to launch issue the following fixes may be helpful:

A) Uninstall Microsoft Edge Dev from Apps & features (under Settings/Apps/Apps & features) and reinstall it from https://www.microsoftedgeinsider.com/en-us/download. When you do, you’ll be back on last week’s Dev channel build 76.0.159.0.

B) Wait for 24 hours and try launching Microsoft Edge Dev again. Microsoft is releasing a new build with a fix to the Dev channel, and it will be automatically deployed to your device without having to take any action.  In the meantime, you can download and use the Microsoft Edge Canary channel (same link as above) until the Dev channel is updated.

Update 2: 24/5/2019 Microsoft released 76.0.167.1 to the Dev channel which included all of the fixes and improvements in 76.0.167.0, and a fix for the bug which caused it not to launch.  Update by Checking for Updates in the Settings section of the app.