Summary
- New Windows 11 Insider builds are now available for download.
- The Dev Channel is getting build 23612, and the Canary Channel 26020.
- The Dev Channel build includes a richer weather experience on the lock screen and bug fixes.
- Canary Channel includes extended languages, multi-display support, and custom commands for voice access, as well as other changes and bug fixes.
Microsoft is back from holiday vacation and that means there are new Windows 11 builds available for download. In the Dev Channel, it is build 23612. This first release in 2024 brings a richer weather experience on the lock screen and a few other changes and bug fixes, too. The Canary Channel, meanwhile, is getting build 26020, which carries just a few features related to voice access. If you're downloading either build, here's what you need to know.
Windows 11 Dev Channel build 23612
The highlight of this release is the weather experience on the lock screen. Now, when you hover over the weather icon on the bottom of the lock screen, you should see more dynamic information about the weather itself. Clicking on tapping on the weather card will open the full forecast in MSN weather. You don't have to do anything to see this if you've already enabled it under Settings > Personalization > Lock screen > Lock screen status. Some of the other changes in this release can be seen below. There's not much to it, other than bug fixes, and extended languages, multi-display support, and custom commands for voice access.
- We have extended voice access to support other languages such as French (France), French (Canada), German, Spanish (Spain) and Spanish (Mexico).
- You can now use all voice access features on multiple displays, including number and grid overlays which were previously unavailable on any display other than the primary one.
- We are introducing voice shortcuts or custom commands to enable you to create your very own command. This is currently available if you use voice access in English.
- Fixed an issue which was causing the text input indicator to appear floating when you opened Start menu.
- Made a change to help fix an issue which could cause the spacing between your desktop icons to become extremely wide.
- Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when opening the context menu in file explorer if multiple files were selected.
- We fixed the issue causing a loading delay when the Microsoft Start feed is reenabled.
- We fixed the issue causing the Widgets Board to not automatically close and reopen when enabling or disabling feeds.
- Announcements from the Microsoft Start feed are still shown on the taskbar after the feed is hidden.
- Keyboard navigation from settings subpages back to the top-level Settings page is broken.
- Incorrect spacing and fonts used in some settings pages.
Windows 11 Canary Channel build 26020
Windows 11 Canary Channel build 26020 is a little less interesting. It brings the same extended languages, multi-display support, and custom commands for voice access seen in Dev channel. Also in this build are natural Voices Previews in Narrator, a new energy saver icon, changes to the print queue, nearby sharing, and Windows Share. Here's the changelog.
- For PCs that are plugged in and do not have batteries (such as desktop PCs), when you turn on energy saver, we are trying out a new energy saver icon that is shown in the system tray to indicate energy saver is on. For PCs with batteries, there is no change to the experience, and you will continue to see the leaf icon overlayed on top of the battery icon in the system tray. As a reminder, battery saver is now energy saver with extended capability as of Build 26002.
- We have added the ability to pause and resume print jobs in print queue for printers under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners. This allows you to pause printing when maintenance is required for your printer such as replacing a printer cartridge.
- The Windows share window will now only show apps under “Share using” that are tied to the account you are signed into Windows with – either Microsoft account (MSA) or Microsoft Entra ID (previously Azure Active Directory).
- The Windows share window now supports sharing with WhatsApp under the “Share using” section.
- We are introducing the ability to quickly give your device a more friendly name to identify sharing to and from with nearby share under Settings > System > Nearby sharing.
- Fixed an issue causing Settings to crash when navigating to Power & Battery in the previous build.
- Fixed an underlying issue causing the details pane in File Explorer to unexpectedly take keyboard focus sometimes.
- Copilot will no longer rearrange or push your desktop icons when launched.
- Fixed an issue where uncombined taskbar icons were cutting off the title instead of adjusting with the title length.
- Fixed an issue causing Steps Recorder to not launch in the last couple builds.
- We fixed the issue causing a loading delay when the Microsoft Start feed is reenabled in Widgets.
- We fixed the issue causing the Widgets Board to not automatically close and reopen when enabling or disabling feeds.
If you're concerned about known issues with either of these builds, the Dev Channel just has one where when first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time. On the Canary Channel, some games might not work correctly, and the point queue might show errors saying it can't find the app when opened. Microsoft is also looking into an issue where you might not be able to open the Settings app.