In this article, we will talk about the latest Preview Build for Windows 11 26H2 in the Dev Channel, which is the Build 26300.8687.
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 Windows Update
- As announced in the Windows Update announce blog, Microsoft is now bringing a new unified update experience to reduce the number of reboots you see per month. We are starting by coordinating driver, .NET, and firmware updates to align with the monthly quality update, reducing the update experience to a single monthly restart. See the blog for more information.
New File Explorer Improvements
- Middle click to open a folder in a new tab is now supported in the Address Bar and the Home page for a more consistent and efficient tabbed navigation experience across File Explorer.
- Improved screen reader announcements for conflict resolution dialog (“Which files do you want to keep?”) when moving / copying files.
- Made some more improvements to how File Explorer responds to increased text scaling.
New Search Changes
- Finding apps is more forgiving. Search is better at handling typos, dropped letters, extra letters, and partial words for apps. Queries like “utlook” can still find Outlook.
- Settings results are improving. We’ve made ranking improvements to help more relevant settings appear higher in results.
New Taskbar Improvements
- Improved reliability of loading the system tray area of the taskbar.
- Fixed an issue where tooltips might unexpectedly appear on top of the Start menu icon in the taskbar when using the taskbar in an alternate position. Also fixed a few other visual polish issues when using the taskbar with small icons.
New Windows Setup
- The digital safety of users and supporting families is central to how we think about the Windows experience. We’re improving information on parental controls and their availability during Windows setup, so families can more easily understand available protections and make informed choices from the very beginning.
New Input Changes
- Update: The emoji panel (Windows key + period (.)) now uses GIPHY as the GIF provider, delivering a smoother GIF browsing and sharing experience following the deprecation of Tenor.
- Fixed an issue which was causing the mouse cursor to potentially move in the wrong direction in recent Insider builds on secondary monitors when set to portrait mode.
New Remote Recovery Management
- Adding recovery remote management plug-in for extending WinRE management capabilities for MDM providers
Audio Fix
- Fixed an issue resulting in audio not working for some Insiders after the latest flights.
Settings Fix
- Fixed an issue impacting the reliability of Settings > Apps > Installed Apps after the latest flights.
General Reliability Fix
- If you were experiencing freezes in the previous flight when interacting with search, Notepad, or certain other scenarios, that should be resolved now.
New Dark Mode Dialog in Task Manager
- When using dark mode, if you open “Run new task” from Task Manager it will now show in dark mode too.
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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