Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3430 (KB5036992) to the Beta Channel.

REMINDER: All Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel will now be on the same build (Build 22635.xxxx) via an enablement package. 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 (shown in the image below) 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 device over time once they are ready.

Going forward, we will document changes in Beta Channel builds 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 and then new features, improvements, and fixes available to everyone in the Beta Channel.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*

[Copilot in Windows*]

• Starting with Build 22635.3286, we began rolling out a new experience for Copilot in Windows that helps showcase the ways that Copilot can accelerate and enhance your work. We’re making an improvement to this experience. Now when you copy both text or image files, the Copilot icon will change appearance and animate to indicate that Copilot can help. When you hover your mouse over the Copilot icon, it will provide a menu of actions that you can take, such as creating a similar image or analyzing an image. If you select an action on the menu, it will launch Copilot with the action ready-to-go.

[Windows Share]

• We are beginning to roll out again the ability to share directly to specific Microsoft Teams Channels and group chats directly within the Windows share window if you’re signed in with a Microsoft Entra ID. This originally rolled out with Build 22635.2776 but was temporarily disabled to fix some issues.

Known issues

[General]

• We are investigating an issue where Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work after installing this update.

[Widgets]

Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel who have the new position for the Widgets entry-point on left-aligned taskbars may see the following known issues:

• Swipe invocation for Widgets may not work if taskbar is center-aligned instead of left-aligned.
• Unpinning Widgets from the taskbar may not work if taskbar is center-aligned instead of left-aligned.
• The Widgets board is incorrectly positioned when Copilot is in side-by-side mode.
• Turning on/off Widgets in taskbar settings may refresh the taskbar.

About the Beta Channel

The Beta Channel is the place we preview experiences that are closer to what we will ship to our general customers. 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. However, this does not mean every feature we try out in the Beta Channel will ship. We encourage Insiders to read this blog post that outlines the ways we’ll try things out with Insiders in both the Dev and Beta Channels.

*Getting new features: 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 device over time once they are ready.

**Availability of Copilot in Windows: Copilot in Windows in preview is being rolled out gradually to Windows Insiders in select global markets. The initial markets for the Copilot in Windows preview include North America, United Kingdom and parts of Asia and South America. It is our intention to add additional markets over time.

Important Insider Links

• Want to learn how we made Windows 11? Check out the Inside Windows 11 website to hear and meet our makers from Engineering, Design and Research to share their insights and unique perspectives throughout this journey.
• You can check out our Windows Insider Program documentation here.
• Check out Flight Hub for a complete look at what build is in which Insider channel.

Thanks,
Amanda & Brandon

Source: Windows Blog
—

Seven years after Ninja Theory’s initial release of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, the studio is gearing up to fully reveal a sequel to Senua’s story, built with the same love and care, but expanding on the debut in every conceivable way.

In the run up to its May 21 launch on Xbox, PC and Game Pass, Xbox Live will be bringing you the story of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II from inside the studio itself, as well as stories and insights from Hellblade’s creative leads.

“This is Ninja Theory’s ultimate form, filled with industry-leading talent, groundbreaking technology, and one of the most unique approaches to game development you’ve ever seen to fulfil the ultimate goal – the pursuit of true immersion,” says Danielle Partis.

Head over to Xbox Wire to dive right in.

.

Source: Windows Blog
—

The latest addition to Razer’s lineup of gaming laptops, the new Blade 18 (2024) delivers groundbreaking advancements, including an 18” 4K 200Hz display and next-generation Intel Thunderbolt 5 connectivity. 

Building on the success of the award-winning Blade 16 and Blade 14 unveiled at CES 2024, the Blade 18 sets a new benchmark for gaming and creative work with its desktop-grade performance, housed within a sleek anodized aluminum unibody form factor. 

The Blade 18 offers gamers and creators ultra-high-definition visuals at breakneck refresh rates. At the heart of the device is the Intel 14th Gen Core i9-14900HX. With 24 cores and the ability to unlock overclocking through Razer Synapse, it offers processing power for the most intensive tasks, from demanding AAA gaming to professional content creation. 

As for graphics performance, the Blade 18 is a powerhouse in the gaming laptop market, supporting up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 graphics and unlocking 175W Full Total Graphics Power. 

And the inclusion of Thunderbolt 5 technology provides next-gen connectivity, allowing users to connect multiple high resolution gaming displays, high speed storage and all-in-one docks, through Bandwidth Boost, up to 120 Gbps, three times more bandwidth than the current leading connection protocol. 

Additionally, the immersive color experience extends beyond the device’s display. With Dynamic Lighting support now available for Windows 11, the Razer Chroma ecosystem gets even bigger, giving users the ability to control the RBG lighting on their Razer Chroma devices as well as participating third-party devices. And Razer laptops also come with one month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, giving players access to hundreds of high-quality games on PC, console and cloud games. 

Visit the press release to find out more about the Razer Blade 18, available now for $3099.99 (USD).  

Source: Windows Blog
—

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100 to the Canary and Dev Channels.

The Canary and Dev Channels receiving the same builds is only temporary. During the times in which the Canary and Dev Channels are on the same builds (e.g. Build 26100), the window is open for Insiders in the Canary Channel to switch to the Dev Channel. In the near future, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed so make your choice on which channel to be in soon!

NOTE: Some features may begin rolling out to the Canary Channel first before the Dev Channel even if the two channels have the same build.

What’s new in Build 26100

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• [REMINDER] 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 preparing Windows 11, version 24H2 for releasing 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.

Fixes for known issues

[General]

• Made another fix to address the issue causing shutdown and hibernate to not work in the latest builds.
• Fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders seeing error 0x80240067 when trying to download app updates from Microsoft Store or Windows updates in Settings in the latest builds.

[Copilot in Windows*]

• With the updated Copilot in Windows experience that introduces the ability for Copilot to act like a normal application window, we have fixed the issue that prevented the ability to bring focus to the “…” or refresh buttons within Copilot when using a keyboard (ex: by using tab to cycle through buttons).

[Windowing]

• Fixed a DWM crash impacting some Insiders in the latest flights (this could result in you seeing your screen flash black).

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.

[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.

For developers

You can download the latest Windows Insider SDK at aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk.

SDK NuGet packages are now also flighting at NuGet Gallery | WindowsSDK which include:

• .NET TFM packages for use in .NET apps as described at aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk
• C++ packages for Win32 headers and libs per architecture
• BuildTools package when you just need tools like MakeAppx.exe, MakePri.exe, and SignTool.exe

These NuGet packages provide more granular access to the SDK and better integration in CI/CD pipelines.

SDK flights are now published for both the Canary and Dev Channels, so be sure to choose the right version for your Insider Channel.

Remember to use adaptive code when targeting new APIs to make sure your app runs on all customer machines, particularly when building against the Dev Channel SDK. Feature detection is recommended over OS version checks, as OS version checks are unreliable and will not work as expected in all cases.

Reminders for Windows Insiders

• The Canary and Dev Channels receive builds with features and experiences that 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.
• Many features in the Canary and Dev 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 these channels.
• As the Canary and Dev Channels receive the same builds, some features may begin rolling out to the Canary Channel first before the Dev Channel.
• While the Canary Channel is now on Windows 11, version 24H2, this is just temporary. At some point in the future, the Canary Channel will jump ahead to receiving new builds not matched to any specific release in a higher build series.
• To get off the Canary or Dev Channel, a clean install of Windows 11 will be required. As a reminder – Insiders can’t switch to a channel that is receiving builds with lower build numbers without doing a clean installation of Windows 11 due to technical setup requirements.

• The desktop watermark shown at the lower right corner of the desktop is normal for these pre-release builds.

• Check out Flight Hub for a complete look at what build is in which Insider channel.

• Copilot in Windows* in preview is being rolled out gradually to Windows Insiders in select global markets. The initial markets for the Copilot in Windows preview include North America, United Kingdom and parts of Asia and South America. It is our intention to add additional markets over time.

Thanks,
Amanda & Brandon

Source: Windows Blog
—

We are beginning to roll out a preview version of the Photos app built with the Windows App SDK (WASDK) to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels on Windows 11. This change moves Photos to the latest Windows app development platform, with modern UI and other quality and performance improvements.

All the current Photos app features and functionality is still present in this version. However, given the extensive changes, this version may be a little rough around the edges as we continue to polish the experience. To get this experience, Windows Insiders on Windows 11 in the Canary and Dev channels can update the Photos app to version number 2024.11040.1002.0.

We appreciate your comments and suggestions, so please share your feedback with us!

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Photos.

To learn more about Windows App SDK, please visit: Build desktop Windows apps with the Windows App SDK – Windows apps | Microsoft Learn.

Thanks,
Mala Srivatsa, Senior Product Manager – Windows Photos

Source: Windows Blog
—

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3420 (KB5035953) to the Beta Channel.

REMINDER: All Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel will now be on the same build (Build 22635.xxxx) via an enablement package. 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 (shown in the image below) 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 device over time once they are ready.

Going forward, we will document changes in Beta Channel builds 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 and then new features, improvements, and fixes available to everyone in the Beta Channel.

New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*

New position for the Widgets entry-point on left-aligned taskbars 

We’re beginning to roll out a new position for the Widgets entry-point on left-aligned taskbars. The taskbar entry-point will move to the left of the systems tray and will be wider so you can see richer content from Widgets on your taskbar. When you launch the Widgets board, it will fly out from the right side instead of the left side.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*

[File Explorer] 

• In response to feedback from Windows Insiders, drag-and-drop files with your mouse functionality between breadcrumbs is now available in the File Explorer Address Bar. We are beginning to roll this out today, so not all Insiders in the Beta Channel will see it right away.

[Windows Share]

• Users will be able to now generate QR codes for URLs and cloud file links through the Windows share window to seamlessly share webpages and files across their devices. To try this out in Microsoft Edge, just click the share button in the Edge toolbar and choose “Windows share options”.

• To prevent accidentally closing the Windows share window, clicking outside the Windows share window will no longer close it. To close the Windows share window, just press the close button at the top right corner.

[Windows Backup]

• If you have both Personalization and Other Windows settings toggled on under Settings > Accounts > Windows backup, many of your sound settings (including chosen sound scheme) will be backed up which can be restored via the Windows Backup app.
• We’re beginning to roll out the ability to sign-in with your Microsoft account (MSA) directly within the Windows Backup app to save backups to your account.

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue causing File Explorer to crash on launch for a small number of Insiders in the previous flight.

[Multiple Desktops]

• Fixed an issue where the option to set a different wallpaper on each desktop wasn’t working.

[Search]

• Fixed an issue which could potentially result in no app results showing in search anymore.

[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.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to everyone in the Beta Channel

[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 ID account (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.

[Lock screen]

• This update adds Weather and more to your lock screen. Stay informed and efficient with dynamic updates that bring finance, traffic, and sports to your Lock screen, alongside weather. The card design has been improved with acrylic blur, card size, spacing, and font optimizations.To turn on this feature, go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. To learn more, see Personalize your lock screen. Note this feature might not be available to all users because it will roll out gradually.

Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel

• New! This update affects Windows Hello for Business. IT admins can now use mobile device management (MDM) to turn off the prompt that appears when users sign in to an Entra-joined machine. To do this, they can turn on the “DisablePostLogonProvisioning” policy setting. After a user signs in, provisioning is off for Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices.
• New! This update improves the Remote Desktop Session Host. You can now set up its “clipboard redirection” policy to work in a single direction from the local computer to the remote computer. You can also reverse that order.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels The app labels in the taskbar sometimes do not have the correct length, which cuts off the label text. This occurs when this setting is set to “When taskbar is full” or “Never.”
• This update addresses an issue that affects certain Neural Processing Units (NPU). They do not show in Task Manager.
• This update addresses an issue that affects a network resource. You cannot access it from a Remote Desktop session. This occurs when you turn on the Remote Credential Guard feature and the client is Windows 11, version 22H2 or higher.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC). It prevents a stop error that occurs when you apply more than 32 policies.
• This update addresses a deadlock issue in CloudAP. It occurs when different users sign in and sign out at the same time on virtual machines.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Group Policy service. It fails after you use exe to apply an audit policy to the system.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Settings app. It stops responding when you use it to remove Bluetooth devices.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Notepad. It fails to print to certain Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) printers when you use a print support app.
• This update addresses an issue that affects dsamain.exe. When the Knowledge Consistency Checker (KCC) runs evaluations, it stops responding.
• This update addresses an issue that stops some apps and features from being available. This occurs after you upgrade to Windows 11.
• This update affects MSIX applications. It helps their UI to localize correctly for all languages when you upgrade your OS.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ) PowerShell module. It does not load.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the existing AppLocker rule collection enforcement mode. It is not overwritten when rules merge with a collection that has no rules. This occurs when the enforcement mode is set to “Not Configured.”
• This update addresses an issue that affects Transport Layer Security (TLS), version 1.3. It causes Azure App Services to fail. This occurs when the web server attempts to connect to a third-party Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the touch keyboard and the candidate window for the Japanese and Chinese Input Method Editors (IME). They do not show after you come out of Modern Standby. To learn more, see Microsoft Japanese IME and What is Modern Standby.
• This update addresses an issue that affects some wireless headphones. Bluetooth connections are not stable. This occurs on devices that have firmware from April 2023 and later.
• This update addresses an issue that affects USB audio. It fails on some processors. This occurs after you pause, play, or resume from sleep.
• This update supports DST changes in To learn more, see Interim guidance for Kazakhstan time zone changes 2024.
• This update supports DST changes in To learn more, see Interim guidance for Samoa DST changes 2021.
• This update supports daylight saving time (DST) changes in Greenland. To learn more, see Greenland 2023 time zone update now available.
• This update supports daylight saving time (DST) changes in To learn more, see Interim guidance for DST changes announced by Palestinian Authority for 2024, 2025.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Secure Launch. It does not run on some processors.
• This update addresses a reliability issue. It affects a Virtual Remote App product when you use a custom shell to open it.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Containers that you create or deploy. Their status does not progress past “ContainerCreating.”
• This update makes Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA) profiles up to date for some mobile operators.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the COM+ component. Some applications that depend on it stop responding.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the time service. You can configure it using mobile device management (MDM) or a Group Policy Object (GPO). But the Windows Settings app does not match what you have configured.
• This update addresses an issue that occurs when you use LoadImage() to load a top-down bitmap. If the bitmap has a negative height, the image does not load and the function returns NULL.

Known issues

[General]

• We are investigating an issue where Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work after installing this update.

[File Explorer]

• [NEW] Using Shift + F10 will unexpectedly open Show More Options in the File Explorer context menu in this build.

[Widgets]

Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel who have the new position for the Widgets entry-point on left-aligned taskbars may see the following known issues:

• [NEW] Swipe invocation for Widgets may not work if taskbar is center-aligned instead of left-aligned.
• [NEW] Unpinning Widgets from the taskbar may not work if taskbar is center-aligned instead of left-aligned.
• [NEW] The Widgets board is incorrectly positioned when Copilot is in side-by-side mode.
• [NEW] Turning on/off Widgets in taskbar settings may refresh the taskbar.

About the Beta Channel

The Beta Channel is the place we preview experiences that are closer to what we will ship to our general customers. 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. However, this does not mean every feature we try out in the Beta Channel will ship. We encourage Insiders to read this blog post that outlines the ways we’ll try things out with Insiders in both the Dev and Beta Channels.

*Getting new features: 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 device over time once they are ready.

**Availability of Copilot in Windows: Copilot in Windows in preview is being rolled out gradually to Windows Insiders in select global markets. The initial markets for the Copilot in Windows preview include North America, United Kingdom and parts of Asia and South America. It is our intention to add additional markets over time.

Important Insider Links

• Want to learn how we made Windows 11? Check out the Inside Windows 11 website to hear and meet our makers from Engineering, Design and Research to share their insights and unique perspectives throughout this journey.
• You can check out our Windows Insider Program documentation here.
• Check out Flight Hub for a complete look at what build is in which Insider channel.

Thanks,
Amanda & Brandon

Source: Windows Blog
—

Our mission is to build one of the most powerful, beautiful, simple, and open web rendering engines in the world, and we are excited to announce that mission takes another step forward today, with Babylon.js 7.0.

Babylon.js 7.0 is a celebration of a year’s worth of new features, optimizations, and performance improvements that unlock new capabilities for web developers everywhere.

So, let’s dive in and see what new goodness awaits you.

Procedural Geometry (Node Geometry)

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that Babylon.js now features procedural geometry. We call it “Node Geometry.” An advanced system that allows you to create procedural geometry using a non-destructive node tree system.

If you’re already familiar with Babylon’s Node Material and the Node Material Editor (NME), then you’ll feel right at home in the Node Geometry Editor. This simple to use tool lets you assemble a non-destructive geometry tree, allowing you to create anything from tiny geometric variations to entire procedural worlds/landscapes.

Procedural geometry offers the ability to create complex geometry at run/build time. This means that the end-user doesn’t have to download large 3D assets. Instead, the local machines/devices can use the CPU to create those assets. This means rather than requiring your web visitors to download hundreds of MBs worth of 3D assets, they can instead download a few KBs worth of Node Geometry data and allow their own machine to create the geometry. This adds a tremendous layer of flexibility for creators to offer the perfect loading/performance optimization for their unique web experience!

There’s really no better way to experience all that Node Geometry will offer other than for you to dive in and try it out yourself!

Try it out yourself: Node Geometry Editor

Check out a demo: https://aka.ms/babylon7NgeDemo

Learn more: https://aka.ms/babylon7NgeDoc

Global Illumination

Empowering web creators to conjure up more beautiful and immersive experiences is a foundational part of the Babylon Mission. With Babylon.js 7.0, we are excited to introduce support for basic Global Illumination. This highly desired and advanced feature allows Babylon.js scenes to render even more lifelike experiences by allowing light and shadows to “bounce” around environments in a way that much closer matches reality.

Global Illumination represents a major advancement in web rendering and, just like everything that comes with Babylon.js 7.0, is completely free and open source. To truly appreciate the beauty this adds to scenes, you just need to check it out.

Global Illumination demo: https://aka.ms/babylon7GIDemo

Learn more here: https://aka.ms/babylon7GIDoc

Gaussian Splat Rendering

Gaussian Splatting is a new technique to capture and display volumetric data using Neural Radiance Fields, point clouds and billboards. In more simple terms, it’s an advanced way of allowing people to capture and display the real world with a level of unmatched visual fidelity and performance.

Babylon.js 7.0 adds support for rendering Gaussian Splats on the web, across all devices, running at 60 fps!

Try it out: https://aka.ms/babylon7GSplatDemo

Learn more here: https://aka.ms/babylon7GSplatDoc

Ragdoll Physics

Babylon.js 7.0 builds on the momentum (see what we did there?) of Havok physics support in Babylon, by adding support for ragdoll animation. This allows any skeletal rigged asset to collapse and flop around with limp lifelessness at the push of a button. What are you waiting for? Try it out!

Try it here: https://aka.ms/babylon7RagdollDemo

Learn more here: https://aka.ms/babylon7RagdollDoc

Those are just some of the main features of Babylon.js 7.0, there is much more! Tune in for next posts and learn more about WebXR, glTF and animation advancements, up to the incredible contributions from the community.

Source: Windows Blog
—