It"s a new week, which means Microsoft has released a new build of its Chromium-based Edge browser to those in the Edge Insider program using the Dev channel. The new update brings the browser version to number 76.0.167.0, and it includes a handful of significant additions.
Most notably, the dark mode most people have been waiting for is now enabled by default, as long as you have enabled it in your operating system"s settings. Additionally, the built-in translator is now available to everyone. Here"s what"s new:
- 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.
In addition to new features, the new version also brings a bunch of improvements to the general functionality of the browser. These include better support for the new dark theme in the browser task manager, and a new button to close the browser from the menu, for some reason.
- 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
- 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
Despite all the fixes, Microsoft has sent out a warning that you may be unable to open the browser after the update. The team is investigating the issue:
Just as we"ve seen for the past couple of weeks, the leaked Edge Beta channel has received its own update, which only increases the minor build number to 75.0.139.20. It"s been over a month and a half since the new Edge browser began public testing, and no Beta builds are officially available yet, so it should be happening sooner rather than later.
Update: Microsoft has pulled the Dev channel update from its servers while it"s working to release a new build to fix the problems users have been having. We"ll update this post with any news as it comes.
Update 2: Microsoft has identified the issue and is rolling out a fix today. Version 76.0.167.1 should now be available for users in the Dev channel.