Hello Windows enthusiasts! The latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23440 is now available to Dev Channel users. Released on April 19, 2023, this build includes a variety of new features, improvements, fixes, and notable changes designed to enhance your Windows 11 experience. Below, we'll dive into the key updates and their relevance for users.
## Key Updates in Build 23440
### Start Menu
The Start Menu has received a new recommendation feature to provide users with quick access to release notes for Windows Insider Preview builds. This feature can be adjusted under Settings > Personalization > Start.
### Taskbar & System Tray
Two notable changes:
- Hide Time and Date: Users can now hide the time and date on the system tray by right-clicking on the tray clock and selecting "Adjust date and time."
- Network Troubleshooting: A new option to diagnose network problems is available by right-clicking on the network icon in the system tray.
### Search on the Taskbar
A new hover behavior for the search box aims to create a more engaging search experience by invoking the search flyout when you hover over the search box gleam. Note: This feature has been temporarily disabled as of 4/20 due to an issue but will be reintroduced in upcoming builds.
### Windows Spotlight
The icon for Windows Spotlight on the desktop has been updated. Users can enable this by right-clicking on the desktop, choosing “Personalize,” and selecting the Windows Spotlight theme.
## Fixes and Improvements
### Taskbar & System Tray
- Improved taskbar reliability by fixing several explorer.exe crashes.
- Updated Widgets invocation logic to prevent accidental opening when brushing the mouse over the Widgets icon.
### File Explorer
- Resolved issues with the context menu opening far from the mouse click, blurry icons after DPI changes, and the "New" button in the command bar not displaying items.
### Search
- Fixed a bug where the cursor was incorrectly displayed in the search box with Arabic display language.
### Input
- Improved recognition of a hardware keyboard by the touch keyboard.
### Notifications
- Resolved an issue where 2FA codes in parentheses were not being recognized properly.
### Live Captions
- Enhanced language recognition support for ARM64 devices, among other fixes.
## Known Issues
### Search on the Taskbar
Some users may not see the search box or settings to adjust the search box after updating. This issue is being addressed.
### File Explorer
Users with Gallery in File Explorer may experience:
- Double-click requirement for initial load.
- Live updates and filtering currently disabled (requires Refresh workaround).
- Thumbnail performance and memory usage improvements are in progress.
### Live Captions
- Certain languages incorrectly indicate speech recognition support yet lack full support for live captions.
- Caption performance may be inconsistent in non-English languages.
## Developer Updates
The latest Windows Insider SDK is available for download, with SDK NuGet packages flighting for improved integration in CI/CD pipelines. Remember to use adaptive code and feature detection when targeting new APIs.
### Dev Channel Insights
The Dev Channel has been rebooted, moving users to the new Canary Channel if they were previously on 25000 series builds. The new Dev Channel will receive 23000 series builds, offering long lead work and features that may never be released to general customers.
For the full details of Build 23440, refer to the complete Windows Insider Blog post.
Stay tuned for more updates and share your feedback with us!
Source: Microsoft and the Windows Insider Blog
