Changes in Beta Channel builds and updates are documented in two buckets: new features, improvements, and fixes that are being gradually rolled out for Insiders who have turned on the toggle to get the latest updates as they are available (via Settings > Windows Update*) and then new features, improvements, and fixes rolling out to everyone in the Beta Channel. For more information, see the Reminders section at the bottom of this blog post.
Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*
[Input]
- We are trying out a new experience to improve the discoverability of the emoji and more panel in Windows 11 with the introduction of a new system tray icon on the taskbar. With this new system tray icon, you can easily express yourself by using emojis, GIFs, Kaomoji etc. across all apps and surfaces in Windows in addition to using the WIN + . keyboard shortcut which is also now shown on the emoji and more panel. This new system tray icon for the emoji and more panel shows can be changed by right-clicking on the icon to go to taskbar settings page.
Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*
[File Explorer]
- Building on our commitment to improve File Explorer accessibility, this release adds more text scaling support in various warning and error message dialogs for text scaling (via Settings > Accessibility > Text size).
- Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer Home to crash for some Insiders in the previous flight.
[Windowing]
- Fixed an issue where the Snap Bar at the top of the screen was unexpectedly showing corners on the side closest to the screen.
[Settings]
- Fixed an issue where the storage count in Settings > System > About wasn’t correct in some cases.
[Other]
- Fixed an issue for Insiders using the ability to resume OneDrive files, which could result in your mouse frequently showing a spinning icon.
Known issues
[Start menu]
The following are known issues for Windows Insiders with the new grid and category views on the All” page in the Start menu:
- There’s sometimes a delay in app icons showing in grid and category views after installing an app.
- When right-clicking on an app, the “Start settings” context menu flashes before the app’s context menu appears.
- Windows Tools related apps are broken out into folders instead of being in one single app.
[File Explorer]
- We’re working on the fix for an issue causing File Explorer to be very slow to close for some Insiders when closing using the X button. This may also impact the other title bar buttons.
Snipping Tool Update (version 11.2501.7.0)
We are rolling out an update for Snipping Tool to Windows Insiders in the Beta and Release Preview Channels (in addition to the Canary and Dev Channels already) that introduces trim! With trim, you can adjust the start and end times of your screen recordings to cut out any unnecessary video snippets from your video.
To get started, record a new screen recording with Snipping Tool. Open the recording in the app and select the new Trim button at the top of the window to enter the trim feature. Use the grabbers to move and select new timepoints for the start and end times of your screen recording. Press the Apply or Cancel button to save or discard your changes. You can also re-enter trim to undo or adjust any trimmed portions.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Snipping Tool.
Reminders for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel
- Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel on Windows 11, version 23H2 will receive updates based on Windows 11, version 23H2 via an enablement package (Build 22635.xxxx).
- Many features in the Beta Channel are rolled out using Control Feature Rollout technology, starting with a subset of Insiders and ramping up over time as we monitor feedback to see how they land before pushing them out to everyone in this channel.
- For Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel who want to be the first to get features gradually rolled out to you, you can turn ON the toggle to get the latest updates as they are available via Settings > Windows Update*. Over time, we will increase the rollouts of features to everyone with the toggle turned on. Should you keep this toggle off, new features will gradually be rolled out to your PC over time once they are ready.
- Features and experiences included in these builds may never get released as we try out different concepts and get feedback. Features may change over time, be removed, or replaced and never get released beyond Windows Insiders. Some of these features and experiences could show up in future Windows releases when they’re ready.
- Some features in active development we preview with Windows Insiders may not be fully localized and localization will happen over time as features are finalized. As you see issues with localization in your language, please report those issues to us via Feedback Hub.
- Because the Dev and Beta Channels represent parallel development paths from our engineers, there may be cases where features and experiences show up in the Beta Channel first.
- Check out Flight Hub for a complete look at what build is in which Insider channel.
Thanks,
Amanda & Brandon
