Windows 11 Dev Channel 26220.6682: Emoji 16.0, Narrator Upgrades, Copilot Click to Do

Microsoft has pushed a focused Insider Preview to the Dev Channel that quietly bundles three small-but-important shifts: Emoji 16.0 support in the Windows emoji panel, targeted accessibility upgrades to Narrator, and Copilot-related refinements to Click to Do — all delivered with the compact enablement-package model for Windows 11 25H2 in build 26220.6682 (KB5065782) on September 12, 2025.

Background / Overview​

Windows 11’s development cadence now relies heavily on incremental enablement packages and controlled feature rollouts. Builds in the Dev Channel act as a proving ground for features that may — or may not — reach broader channels depending on telemetry and Insider feedback. The release of Build 26220.6682 (KB5065782) continues that pattern: lightweight, targeted updates aimed at polishing AI integrations and accessibility before a wider release.
The build is not a major feature milestone; instead it’s a refinement flight. That makes it important to focus on what changed, who will see it first, and what the real-world impact is for users, accessibility advocates, and administrators planning deployments.

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What’s included in Build 26220.6682 (KB5065782)​

The update centers on four user-visible areas:

• Emoji 16.0 glyphs added to the Windows emoji panel (a curated, seven-item set).
• Click to Do (Preview) improvements and a new Copilot prompt box on Copilot+ PCs.
• Narrator improvements that address reading, navigation, and table/list handling.
• Xbox controller behavior refinement — a short press for Game Bar, a long press for Task View, hold to power off.

Each of these changes is small by itself, but together they reflect Microsoft’s current priorities: polishing AI integrations, tightening accessibility, and smoothing everyday input flows.

Why this matters now​

The Dev Channel is where Microsoft iterates on Copilot-enabled experiences and accessibility tooling ahead of broader rollouts. For users already on 25H2 or experimenting in the Dev channel, this build is a signal that Microsoft is continuing to mature on-device AI features while maintaining a close eye on accessibility quality. For administrators and edge-case users, the controlled rollout approach means gradual exposure and a likely staggered timeline for wider availability.

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Emoji 16.0: a small curated set lands in the emoji panel​

What was added​

Windows 11’s emoji panel in this build expands to include a curated set of Emoji 16.0 glyphs. The new set added to the panel includes:

• Face with Bags Under Eyes
• Fingerprint
• Root Vegetable
• Leafless Tree
• Harp
• Shovel
• Splatter

These seven glyphs were selected to represent a range of categories — faces, objects, nature, and symbols — and appear in the emoji panel for Insiders enrolled in the Dev Channel toggle for 25H2.

Real-world behavior and compatibility​

The addition shows Microsoft’s continuing support for the Unicode emoji cycle and Fluent emoji design language. However, be aware of two practical realities:

• Platform support is gradual. New emoji glyphs can be available in the OS emoji panel or system fonts while third-party apps and web browsers still need to adopt font updates or rendering support. That can produce inconsistent display: some apps will render the new glyphs immediately, others may show fallback glyphs or empty boxes until they receive font/renderer updates.
• Design choices can differ from the Unicode sample set. Microsoft uses Fluent design for Windows emoji, and the visual choices here may vary from other platforms.

Note: early reports indicated mixed application rendering behavior during the initial rollout. That is consistent with staged OS font and renderer updates and not unique to this release.

Impact for users and communicators​

For everyday users, Emoji 16.0 brings new expressive options to conversations and documents without requiring external keyboards or add-ons. For designers and communicators, the controlled, selective rollout means you should test the appearance of new glyphs across commonly used apps (email clients, browsers, Office apps) before relying on them in wide communications to ensure recipients will see the intended symbol.

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Click to Do (Preview) and Copilot prompt box: local suggestions and UX polish​

Overview of Click to Do changes​

Click to Do — Microsoft’s contextual Copilot integration available on Copilot+ PCs — receives several refinements in this build:

• A Copilot prompt box in the Click to Do context menu lets you type a custom prompt that is sent to Copilot along with selected screen content.
• Suggested prompts appear below the text box, powered locally by an on-device model, and are intended to speed up common AI-driven tasks for English, Spanish, and French text selections.
• New animations for the right-edge gesture provide clearer visual feedback when invoking Click to Do.
• New and popular action tags are surfaced to help users discover common Copilot actions.

These changes aim to make Copilot interactions more discoverable and faster without forcing users into a separate app workflow.

Local vs cloud processing: privacy and latency trade-offs​

The build notes call out that suggested prompts are powered locally by an on-device model for certain scenarios. That distinction matters:

• On-device processing minimizes the amount of data sent to cloud services for certain prompt-suggestion tasks, improving latency and offering a stronger privacy posture for the suggestion generation step.
• However, the Copilot response itself — especially for actions that require search, image generation, or web access — may still rely on cloud services. The exact data flows depend on the specific Click to Do action and Copilot configuration on the device.

Administrators and privacy-minded users should evaluate Click to Do behavior in their environment to confirm what content is transmitted off-device and whether organizational policies require any additional controls.

UX and discoverability​

The added prompt box and suggested prompts in Click to Do lower the barrier to trying AI actions on selected text or screen content. New animations make the gesture feel more intentional. Those are welcome incremental improvements that increase the utility of Copilot in day-to-day workflows.

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Start menu: Copilot prompt examples in Recommended​

Microsoft is experimenting with small UX nudges in the Start menu by showing Copilot prompt examples in the Recommended section. This is a subtle way to educate users about what they can ask Copilot directly from the Start experience — for example, generating images or producing short text outputs.
The approach is lightweight and non-disruptive: a few example prompts can help users form useful queries without forcing a larger UI change. Because this is an experimental, controlled rollout, the experience may vary across machines and regions.

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Narrator: focused accessibility improvements​

What changed​

This build brings a suite of improvements intended to make Narrator more robust and predictable when reading documents:

• Smoother voice feedback — reduced pitch spikes when announcing headings and grammar/spelling errors, particularly with Natural Voices.
• Footnote navigation — better navigation to and clear announcements of footnote numbers.
• Reliable continuous reading — continuous reading no longer stops unexpectedly for long passages.
• Comment and focus tracking — Narrator now better preserves focus when moving between document content and the comments pane.
• List and table handling — consistent list announcements, full list-item reading when line-wrapped, and improved table navigation commands.
• New navigation keystrokes to jump to the beginning/end of rows or columns in table scan mode, and clearer boundary announcements to avoid accidental edits.

Some Release Preview channel notes for sibling builds also added a Braille Viewer for refreshable braille displays, giving additional output options for users of assistive hardware.

Why these changes matter​

Narrator improvements are not cosmetic: they directly affect usability for people who rely on screen readers to create and consume content. Better table navigation, unbroken continuous reading, and coherent list announcements reduce cognitive load and make document work more efficient.

Caveats and rollout​

These accessibility improvements are rolling out in stages. While many users will benefit immediately in Dev and Release Preview channel builds, broad availability on stable channels may lag. Testers should validate Narrator behavior in the specific apps and workflows they need — especially in complex Office documents with tables, footnotes, and threaded comments.

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Xbox controller behavior: small tweak, big convenience​

The behavior change​

For users who game on Windows with Xbox controllers:

• A short press of the Xbox button continues to open Game Bar.
• A long press now opens Task View, making it quicker to switch tasks or desktops without reaching for the keyboard.
• Pressing and holding the Xbox button still powers down the controller.

This mapping aligns controller ergonomics with common multitasking flows: a long press to bring up Task View is a thoughtful, low-friction addition for users who switch between games and other windows frequently.

Practical implications​

The tweak improves multitasking ergonomics for game sessions and captures a small but useful behavior that will feel natural to many users. It’s the sort of convenience improvement that benefits hybrid workflows where gaming and content work overlap.

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Stability, known issues and rollout mechanics​

Known issues called out in the build​

The release notes highlight several known issues Insiders should be aware of:

• Click to Do on primary displays via right-edge gesture may show swipe visuals on the wrong screen.
• Media controls may fail to display on the lock screen in some cases.
• Windows Studio Effects could cause camera preview failures with certain external webcams.
• Localization and accessibility inconsistencies are possible because some preview features are not fully localized.

These issues are typical of controlled rollouts: Microsoft surfaces functionality early to gather feedback and iterate.

Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR) and the Dev toggle​

Features in this build are delivered using Controlled Feature Rollout and require the Dev Channel “get the latest updates as they are available” toggle to be enabled for early exposure. That means:

• Not every Dev Channel device will see every feature immediately.
• Some features are hardware-gated (for example, Copilot+ PC requirements).
• Regional and regulatory limitations may delay rollouts (EEA and China exclusions were specifically mentioned for certain Click to Do changes).

Administrators and Insiders should expect staggered exposure and should use the Feedback Hub (WIN + F) to report issues and observations.

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Security, privacy, and compliance considerations​

Copilot and data flows​

Click to Do’s Copilot prompt box and suggested prompts introduce more tightly integrated AI workflows. Important considerations:

• Suggested prompts are partially generated locally, reducing initial telemetry exposure. But many Copilot actions ultimately require cloud services for knowledge retrieval or image generation.
• Organizations should classify what types of content (sensitive, regulated, or personal) are safe to send to Copilot. For regulated data, deferring to enterprise governance controls is recommended.
• IT admins should confirm whether Copilot data governance and tenant-level controls are configured for their environment before enabling broad user access.

Emoji additions and font updates​

Emoji additions are delivered as glyphs in system fonts and the emoji panel. While this is not a security risk, coordinated updates for fonts and renderers can affect third-party app rendering. For enterprise imaging, test font/renderer compatibility with critical business applications before broad deployment.

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Testing checklist for enthusiasts and administrators​

For Insiders and IT teams wanting to evaluate this build, use this short testing checklist:

• Enable the Dev Channel toggle under Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program if you want early exposure.
• Verify emoji rendering across your common apps (Outlook, Word, Edge, Teams). Note any fallbacks or missing glyphs.
• Try Click to Do on a Copilot+ PC: select text, invoke the right-edge gesture, and test the prompt box and suggested prompts in English/Spanish/French.
• Test Narrator on complex Word documents — footnotes, lists, tables, and comments — to observe improvements and any remaining issues.
• Plug in an Xbox controller and test short press vs long press behavior for Game Bar and Task View.
• Report issues and usability feedback via Feedback Hub (WIN + F).

This approach helps capture real-world compatibility, accessibility behavior, and any unexpected regressions before adopting changes widely.

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Strengths: what Microsoft got right here​

• Accessibility-first polish — The Narrator fixes are measurable and address real-world pain points like broken continuous reading and inconsistent list/table announcements.
• Pragmatic Copilot evolution — Click to Do’s prompt box and local suggested prompts strike a practical balance between discoverability and privacy by moving suggestion generation on-device where possible.
• Low-risk, high-utility tweaks — The Xbox controller mapping and Start menu prompt examples improve day-to-day ergonomics without altering core workflows.
• Controlled rollout model — Using CFR and the Dev toggle reduces blast radius and allows Microsoft to iterate quickly with real user telemetry.

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Risks and potential downsides​

• Fragmented experience across apps: New emojis can appear in the panel but still not render in browser or web apps until those apps receive updates, creating inconsistent visual communication across recipients.
• Privacy ambiguity for Copilot actions: Even with on-device suggestions, many Copilot actions still require cloud access. Users and admins must be clear about what content is safe to process.
• Regional and hardware gating: Some features are restricted by region or hardware (Copilot+ PCs), which can frustrate Insiders expecting parity across devices.
• Preview instability: Known issues (gesture visuals on the incorrect display, lock screen media control problems) highlight the need for careful testing before wider adoption.

Where claims or behaviors could not be independently verified at scale — for example, app-by-app emoji rendering across all major browsers at the time of rollout — this article flags that uncertainty. Expect variability while the rollout ripples outward.

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Recommendations and practical guidance​

• For individual Insiders: Enable the Dev Channel toggle if you want to experience the features early, but back up important work and be prepared for small regressions.
• For caregivers and accessibility testers: Prioritize Narrator testing in your core productivity apps to verify that the fixes meaningfully improve workflows for screen-reader users.
• For IT administrators: Test the Copilot Click to Do flows with representative sensitive data scenarios to ensure corporate governance controls are adequate before enabling Copilot features broadly.
• For communicators: Don’t rely exclusively on newly added emoji glyphs in wide communications until you’ve confirmed consistent rendering for recipients.

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What to watch next​

• Broader rollout to Beta and stable channels. Features that land smoothly in Dev and Release Preview typically expand to Beta and ultimately to general availability. Keep an eye on subsequent builds and Flight Hub details.
• Application adoption. The speed at which major apps (browsers, Office apps, messaging clients) pick up updated renderers and fonts will determine how quickly Emoji 16.0 becomes reliably usable in multi-platform communications.
• Copilot governance tooling. Microsoft’s enterprise controls and tenant-level Copilot governance will evolve. Watch for administrative tools that clarify data residency and telemetry options.
• Emoji 17.0 and the Unicode roadmap. Microsoft’s cadence for adopting future emoji sets will likely continue, but rollout mechanics and design choices will influence cross-platform consistency and user expectations.

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Conclusion​

Build 26220.6682 (KB5065782) is an archetypal Dev Channel update: compact, purposeful, and user-facing in modest ways. The addition of Emoji 16.0 is a welcome visual refresh for casual expression; the Narrator improvements are a substantive accessibility win; and the Click to Do plus Copilot prompt enhancements show Microsoft continuing to invest in on-device AI convenience while grappling with privacy and rollout complexity.
These are not blockbuster changes, but they matter. They each reduce friction in everyday interactions — from switching tasks on the fly with an Xbox controller, to getting more consistent spoken feedback when editing documents, to composing a quicker Copilot prompt without context switching. The controlled rollout approach is sensible, but it also means that real-world consistency will arrive gradually. Users and administrators should validate the behaviors that matter to them, and accessibility advocates should continue to stress-test Narrator across the full spectrum of productivity scenarios.
Small, focused updates like this one are the connective tissue that shapes daily Windows experiences. For anyone tracking Windows 11’s AI and accessibility direction, this build is another steady step toward tighter Copilot integration and more mature assistive tools.

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Source: Windows Report Windows 11 KB5065782 Preview update for 25H2 & 24H2 brings Emoji 16.0 support