Microsoft has just released new build of Windows 11 for Windows Insiders on the Dev and Canary Channels. Build 26090 has widget improvements, SMB changes and other improvements.
UPDATE: Here is my hands on video
Widgets
The Widgets board has changes to the navigation bar down the left hand side enabling you to switch between your widgets and the news feed.
SMB
The latest server message block (SMB) protocol changes include updates for SMB over QUIC, signing, and encryption. Administrators can now disable the SMB over QUIC client using Group Policy or PowerShell. Additionally, successful SMB over QUIC client connection events are logged in the event log. Auditing for SMB signing and encryption support is also introduced, allowing administrators to monitor third-party clients or servers lacking SMB encryption or signing support. Auditing settings can be configured using PowerShell or Group Policy, with events logged accordingly for analysis.
Here are the other changes, fixes and known issues with the build:
Changes and Improvements
[General]
The build watermark at the lower right-hand corner of the desktop is not present in this build and will return in future Insider Preview builds. This is part of our normal process for preparing Windows 11, version 24H2 for release to customers later this year – but does not mean we’re done. Windows 11, version 24H2, will be this year’s annual feature update.As mentioned here, Windows 11 will have an annual feature update cadence that releases in the second half of the calendar year.
[Copilot in Windows*]
You can ask Copilot in Windows (in preview) for help ten times when you sign in to Windows using a local account. After that, you must sign in using a Microsoft account (MSA) or a Microsoft Entra IDaccount (formerly Azure Active Directory (Azure AD)). To sign in, use the link in the dialog that appears in Copilot in Windows. If you do not sign in, some Copilot features might not work. To learn more, see Welcome to Copilot in Windows and Manage Copilot in Windows.
[Settings]
The redesigned version of the Delivery Optimization settings page under Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Delivery Optimization that was first introduced in Build 25987 has been reverted to the previous design starting with Build 26085. We plan to bring back this redesigned settings page in a future flight after fixing some bugs. Thanks to Insiders for all the feedback on this!
Fixes for known issues
[General]
Fixed an issue which was causing video stutters in some apps (and possibly impacting FPS in some games) in the previous flight.
[Taskbar & System Tray]
Fixed an explorer.exe crash that was impacting taskbar reliability.
[File Explorer]
Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see File Explorer unexpectedly using the previous design and have no tabs in the latest builds.
[Task Manager]
Fixed an issue where Task Manager was holding onto process handles sometimes, leading to processes not stopping when you closed apps if you’d had Task Manager open.
[Windowing]
Fixed an underlying issue which was causing the bottom half of secondary monitors to be unusable sometimes in recent builds (app windows wouldn’t maximize to that area).
Fixed an explorer.exe crash which was happening for some Insiders recently when dragging windows.
Known issues
[General]
[IMPORTANT NOTE] We are investigating reports that some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels are stuck on Build 26040 or Build 23620. The investigation is ongoing, however if you are impacted by this and really want to get onto the latest build in the Canary or Dev Channel today – you can download the latest ISO here and do a clean install and opt your device back into flighting in the Canary or Dev Channels.
[NEW] We’ve seen some Insiders report that shutdown is still not working on their PCs after Build 26085 and are working on a fix.
[Copilot in Windows*]
Voice access does not work reliably with the updated Copilot in Windows experience that introduces the ability for Copilot to act like a normal application.
Using Windows Ink to write in Copilot will not work with the updated Copilot in Windows experience that introduces the ability for Copilot to act like a normal application window.
When Copilot in Windows is docked and resized to a large width, Copilot does not always fill the width of the panel. Resizing Copilot usually fixes this issue.
With the updated Copilot in Windows experience that introduces the ability for Copilot to act like a normal application window, you may not be able to bring focus to the “…” or refresh buttons within Copilot when using a keyboard (ex: by using tab to cycle through buttons).
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