Microsoft has unveiled a new build of Windows 11, specifically tailored for the members of the Windows Insider Program in the Dev Channel. The latest iteration, designated as build number 26120.1340 under KB5040557, introduces a variety of features aimed at enhancing user experience and energy efficiency on personal computers.
New Features and Enhancements
The update brings a series of changes and improvements, gradually being rolled out to the Dev Channel with a toggle option for users to enable or disable features as they see fit.
- [Input] The Settings menu has been updated to include a new option under Bluetooth & Device > Mouse, allowing users to turn off enhanced mouse pointer precision. Additionally, a new feature for changing mouse scrolling direction has been introduced.
- [Voice Access] Enhancements have been made to the spelling and corrections experience in voice access. Users can now dictate characters at a faster speed and enjoy greater editing flexibility through various dictation commands, including selection, deletion, and text navigation.
- [Energy Saver] For laptop users, a notification will prompt them to plug in their device when the battery level drops to 20%, provided the Energy Saver setting is set to “Always On.”
- [Settings] A new energy recommendation feature has been introduced, suggesting the deactivation of HDR to conserve energy on PCs equipped with HDR displays. This can be found under Settings > Power & battery > Energy recommendations.
Visual aids accompany these updates, highlighting the new toggles for enhanced mouse pointer precision and the HDR energy recommendation within the Settings interface.
Fixes and Known Issues
Alongside new features, this build also addresses several issues that have been reported by users:
- [Settings] A fix has been implemented for a flickering issue in the “Let desktop apps access your location” section under Privacy & Security > Location.
However, users should be aware of some known issues:
- [General] Windows Insiders joining the Dev Channel on PCs running Windows 11, version 24H2 Build 26100.xxxx will notice “(repair version)” next to the latest Dev Channel build in Windows Update. This indicates that an in-place upgrade will occur to bring the PC up to date.
- Adding additional languages or optional features may encounter an error, specifically error 0x800f081f.
- [Windows Sandbox] Users may experience a failure to launch Windows Sandbox, resulting in error 0x80370106.
- [Task Manager] There are reports of Task Manager crashing when navigating between different pages, as well as issues with the Performance page graphs not displaying the correct colors in dark mode.
Additionally, there is an ongoing effort to resolve a problem affecting text suggestions for the hardware keyboard, where unexpected concatenation occurs upon selection.
For those interested in a deeper dive into the specifics of this build, the full blog post is available for review.
