Introduction
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26040 is now available in the Canary Channel, offering users an early look at upcoming features and enhancements. This build introduces several new features, fixes, and improvements aimed at enhancing user experience and productivity.
New Features in Build 26040
- Instant Access to Mobile Photos: Users can now effortlessly access and edit their recent photos and screenshots from an Android mobile device in the Snipping Tool on their PC. Notifications for new images captured on the Android device will be instantly displayed on the PC, enhancing cross-device photo management.
- Voice Clarity: The Voice Clarity feature, powered by AI technology, enhances the audio experience on Windows. It cancels echo, suppresses background noise, and reduces reverberation in real-time. Voice Clarity is compatible with communication-focused apps like Phone Link and WhatsApp, ensuring clearer online communications.
- Updated Windows Setup Experience: A redesigned Windows OS Media Setup offers a cleaner and modern design, maintaining support for clean OS installation features, including unattended support. Users can experience the refreshed setup design by downloading the ISO for Build 26040 and performing a clean install on their PC or in a Virtual Machine.
- USB 80Gbps Support: The latest generation USB standard, USB 80Gbps, is now supported on select devices powered by Intel Core 14th Gen HX-series mobile processors. This update doubles performance to 80Gbps, enabling advanced displays, storage, and connectivity options while maintaining backward compatibility with older USB and Thunderbolt peripherals.
- Enhanced Narrator Image Consumption: Narrator now offers improved image navigation commands and enhanced text recognition within images, including handwriting. Users can leverage Narrator to navigate images, access image descriptions, and benefit from an improved image consumption experience.
Improvements & Fixes
- The Task Manager icon has been updated to align with the design of other icons in Windows 11.
- Windows Share enhancements now allow sharing links directly to WhatsApp, Gmail, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
- Enhanced nearby sharing speeds on the same network, making sharing files more convenient.
Known Issues & Feedback
- Users may experience issues with playing games, display freezing on multi-monitor configurations, and video streaming app content playback.
- Various improvements to Narrator, Magnifier, Input settings, and more to enhance accessibility and functionality.
About the Canary Channel
The Canary Channel offers early access to platform changes and major Windows updates requiring extensive testing before release to customers. Builds in the Canary Channel are rapidly released with limited documentation and validation, serving as a testing ground for upcoming Windows features.
Published Date
Fri, 26 Jan 2024 18:03:45 +0000.
Conclusion
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26040 in the Canary Channel showcases Microsoft's commitment to enhancing user experiences, introducing innovative features, and addressing feedback from the Insider community.