insider preview

Microsoft has quietly given the Run dialog — the tiny Win+R prompt that’s been part of Windows for three decades — its first substantial visual overhaul, replacing the stark Win32 modal with a roomier, Fluent‑style overlay in recent Windows 11 preview builds. Background For many power users and...

Microsoft is quietly testing a modernized Run dialog (Win+R) in Windows 11 that replaces the decades‑old compact prompt with a roomier, Fluent‑styled overlay that surfaces recent commands, shows app icons for matched results, and — importantly — is being rolled out as an opt‑in experience in...

Microsoft is quietly modernizing one of Windows’ most enduring power‑user tools: the Run dialog (Win+R) is receiving a Fluent‑style visual refresh and a handful of functional tweaks in recent Insider previews, turning a decades‑old compact box into a roomier, more discoverable launcher that...

Microsoft’s latest Insider experiment for File Explorer promised to make the most‑used Windows UI surface feel faster — but early tests and community reports show the background‑preload approach trades a small, persistent RAM cost for only modest launch gains while leaving the deeper interaction...

Microsoft’s console‑style Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) — the controller‑first, full‑screen Xbox PC app shell that debuted on the ROG Xbox Ally — is now available more broadly and can be enabled on many Windows 11 machines, either through the supported Insider path or via community unlocks...

Microsoft’s attempt to make File Explorer feel instant by preloading parts of it in the background has produced a predictable trade‑off: a modest, measurable improvement in first‑open responsiveness paired with a non‑negligible memory cost — and crucially, it doesn’t fix the deeper causes of...

Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 Insider experiment preloads parts of File Explorer to shave milliseconds off the “cold‑start” delay, but early hands‑on testing shows the optimization delivers only a modest perceptual improvement while adding a measurable memory cost and leaving the deeper causes...

Microsoft’s latest Insider experiment — preloading a lightweight instance of File Explorer at sign‑in to shave milliseconds off the first open — reads like a pragmatic triage, but testing and community reports show it fixes the cold start symptom without addressing the deeper performance...

Microsoft’s latest Insider preview brings a pragmatic — if limited — fix for one of Windows 11’s most visible annoyances: preloading File Explorer to make the first window appear faster, but early hands‑on tests show the improvement is modest and comes with a measurable memory cost. Background...

Microsoft’s recent preview tweak for File Explorer — an optional background preload that warms part of explorer.exe at boot — does exactly what it promises: the first folder open after sign-in is noticeably snappier. But the change is a pragmatic patch, not an architectural cure, and it exposes...

Microsoft has quietly begun testing two pragmatic fixes that aim to make File Explorer in Windows 11 both faster to open and easier to use: an optional background preloading mechanism that keeps a lightweight Explorer process warmed for near‑instant launches, and a streamlined right‑click...

Microsoft has begun previewing the Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) on a wider set of Windows 11 PCs — rolling the console‑style, controller‑first shell that shipped on Xbox‑branded handhelds into the Windows Insider Preview for laptops, desktops, and tablets. This staged expansion surfaces in...

Microsoft has quietly extended its console‑style Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) beyond handheld exclusives, making a controller‑first, full‑screen Xbox shell available as a preview on a broader set of Windows 11 PCs through the Windows Insider and Xbox Insider programs. Background / Overview...

Microsoft has quietly begun testing a background “preload” for File Explorer in Windows 11 that keeps a lightweight portion of the application resident so the first click opens near‑instantly, and the change is shipped in Insider Preview Build 26220.7271 (KB5070307) with a user-facing toggle...

Microsoft has quietly begun testing two deliberate, low‑risk experiments that aim to make File Explorer feel faster and less cluttered: an optional background preloading mechanism that warms parts of Explorer before you open it, and a reworked right‑click context menu that groups seldom‑used...

November’s Insider preview wave quietly reshaped several core parts of Windows 11 — from a console‑style gaming shell and a modern, VSS‑based rollback tool to a tidier File Explorer, smarter on‑device dictation, and even a convenience tweak to the Microsoft Store — all arriving in build...

Microsoft has quietly pushed another round of changes to Notepad on Windows 11 — and this time the little text editor has gained two features that explain why some users now worry it’s drifting away from its minimalist roots: native table support and streaming AI writing tools. The changes are...

Microsoft has quietly layered a console-style front door onto Windows 11: the Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) offers a controller-first, full‑screen shell that can boot to the Xbox PC app, trim desktop overhead, and change how you start, browse and switch games on devices from handhelds to...

Microsoft’s newest Windows 11 Insider preview tightens two long-running screws on File Explorer: an optional background preloading mechanism that promises snappier launches on lower-powered devices, and a reworked right‑click menu that tucks less‑used actions into a new Manage file flyout and...

Microsoft has quietly begun preloading File Explorer in the background on Windows 11 as part of an Insider test — a pragmatic, reversible experiment designed to erase the familiar “cold‑start” pause and make opening folders feel instantaneous on a wider range of hardware. The change appears in...