In this article, we will talk about the latest Preview Build for Windows 11 26H2 in the Dev Channel, which is the Build 26300.8493.
These 26300 series builds will contain many of the same features and improvements as the 26220 series builds that will continue to be released in the Beta Channel. Over time, Microsoft will be making behind-the-scenes platform changes in each build so they may have different known issues because of those changes. These Builds are previewing Features that will be part of Windows 11 26H2, the Big Annual Release for 2026.
New Movable Taskbar
- You can now change the position of taskbar on your screen. In Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar Behaviors, you can select the side of the screen you want your taskbar on: bottom, top, left, or right. In these other positions, tooltips, flyouts, and animations will still come from the taskbar, and most customization settings like small taskbar and never combine taskbar icons will work with all locations.
- Support for touch gestures, Search box, and Ask Copilot in alternate locations is in progress. Auto-hidden taskbar and touch optimized taskbar are not yet supported.
New Smaller Taskbar
- Microsoft is introducing a smaller taskbar for users who want to maximize screen space, especially on smaller devices. While the default taskbar remains unchanged, this setting provides a more compact experience with smaller icons and a reduced taskbar height, giving you more room for your apps. Core elements like Start, Search, and the system tray scale appropriately to stay aligned and consistent.
- To change your taskbar size, go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors > Show smaller taskbar buttons. When set to Always, both the icons and the taskbar height become smaller.
New Widgets Changes
- As they continue to make Widgets feel less distracting, Microsoft made a small but meaningful visual update to taskbar badging. For those that have taskbar badging on, the badge color will now match your Windows accent color instead of always appearing red, reducing the sense of urgency that something needs your immediate attention.
- Microsoft is also testing out quieting down a user’s experience based on their level of engagement. For example, a user who highly engages with Widgets likely has their settings set to a state that works best for them, as compared to a user who barely engages with it and would benefit from having the experience quieted down with taskbar badging turned off as it is for new users who experience it as quiet by default.
New Windows Search Box
Files and apps more reliably appear ahead of web suggestions when your content is a stronger match
New Voice Access and Voice Typing
Fluid Dictation is now available in Spanish & French for Windows Insiders! It makes voice-based dictation smoother and smarter by automatically correcting grammar, punctuation, and filler words as you speak, reducing the need for manual editing. This experience is powered by on-device small language models (SLMs) to ensure fast and private processing. You can try out fluid dictation from Windows voice access or Voice typing (Win +H).
New Startup Animation
Microsoft is introducing consistent solid (donut) spinners across key Windows scenarios including Boot, Logon, Restart, Shutdown, and Update. This update replaces legacy spinner visuals to deliver a more cohesive and modern experience aligned with Windows design standards. Users will now see a unified spinner behavior with corresponding status text (e.g., “Restarting”, “Working on updates”, “Welcome”) across these flows, improving perceived reliability and visual consistency.
New Logon Performance
This flight contains the first of a set of optimizations to improve logon performance that we expect to flight in the Windows Insider Program over the next few months.
New Desktops Switch Reliability
Improved reliability when switching between multiple desktops.
New Simple Service Discovery Protocol Improvement
This update improves the reliability of Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP) notifications to help prevent the service from becoming unresponsive.
New DISM Command Improvement
Improved reliability of running dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth command.
New PC Sleep Improvement
Improved reliability of PC remaining asleep if it had been asleep prior to an update
File Explorer Fix
Fixed an issue in the previous flight where Properties wasn’t invoking correctly for the Recycle bin and some other scenarios.
Run Box Fix
Fixed an issue where the refreshed Run dialog didn’t navigate through your history if you pressed the up / down arrow keys on first launch.
Known Issue
Resetting your PC may get stuck when using “Reset this PC.” To complete the reset successfully, choose the cloud download option (Cloud PBR) instead of local.
For more information about this Build, you can check this article from the Microsoft Blog.
For a more in-depth presentation of the New Build, you can watch the video below from the youtube channel.
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