Microsoft rolls out tablet-optimized taskbar in Windows 11 to everyone in the Beta channel

There's a combo deal of builds for Windows Insiders today, as Microsoft is not only rolling out Windows 11 build 25231 in the Dev channel, users in the Beta channel are getting their own update, too. Since the Beta channel is split into two branches, some users will be getting build 22623.875, and others will be getting build 22621.875. The former has new features enabled, while the latter has them turned off by default.

For users running build 22623, the big news with this build is that the tablet-optimized taskbar that's been in testing with a limited subset of Insiders for a while is now available to everyone in the Beta channel running this build. This is similar to what happened with the Dev channel build released today. However, unlike the Dev channel, users in the Beta channel may not see the new system tray experience just yet - that one is still rolling out gradually. Additionally, the Task Manager button that was added to the context menu on the taskbar is also now available to everyone on build 22623.875.

Screenshot of the context menu when right-clicking the taskbar in Windows 1, showing Task Manager as an option

Aside from this, there are a couple of fixes exclusive for Windows 11 build 22623.875, which include the ability to expand the taskbar by swiping up with a pen. For users with the new system tray enabled, there's also a fix for a problem where the hidden icons panel on the system tray might block context menus opened after it.

As usual, some fixes are applicable to both build 22623.875 and build 22621.875, and you can find those below:

New! We enhanced the backup experience when using your Microsoft Account (MSA). Some devices might notice visual treatments for this enhancement. This is available to a small audience initially and deploys more broadly in the months that follow.
We fixed an issue that might affect some types of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) connections. These connections might have handshake failures. For developers, the affected connections are likely to send multiple frames followed by a partial frame with a size of less than 5 bytes within a single input buffer. If the connection fails, your app will receive the error, “SEC_E_ILLEGAL_MESSAGE”.
We stopped the start of daylight saving time in Jordan at the end of October 2022. The Jordan time zone will permanently shift to the UTC + 3 time zone.
We fixed an issue that affects transparency in layered windows. This occurs when you are in High-Definition remote applications integrated locally (RAIL) mode.

And finally, there are also some known issues in this build, most of them related to the tablet-optimized taskbar. The full list is below:

[General]

We’re looking into reports that audio stopped working for some Insiders in recent Beta Channel builds.

[Tablet-optimized taskbar]

The taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture.
The taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture.
When using the bottom right edge gesture to see Quick Settings, the taskbar sometimes stays stuck in the expanded state, instead of dismissing to collapsed state.

If you're in the Beta channel, you can check for updates right now in the Settings app to get Windows 11 build 22623.875 or 22621.875. If you're on the latter branch and you want to get the new features, simply check for updates again after installing today's update, and you'll see an update that enables the features and changes your build number to 22623.

Source: Microsoft