Windows 11 has calmed down a lot since its original release, but Microsoft continues to test new features and tweaks to the operating system in its Insider Preview program. So far this month, builds have focused on bug fixes and UI tweaks, but a few notable changes are noteworthy enough to call out.
This week’s build, version 22598, is relatively low on user-visible changes. One is that “a limited number of Windows Insiders” performing clean installations will have their wallpapers set to rotate Windows Spotlight images by default. The second change is that Microsoft is experimenting with 4K backgrounds via Spotlight. There’s also a new album-centric view for artist pages in the redesigned Media Player app.
Last week’s preview, build 22593, brought some changes to File Explorer and some window management improvements. The default view for new File Explorer windows is now called “Home”, although the available content does not change much. Folders can still be pinned to your start window, but the “Quick Access” label has been moved from the navigation sidebar to the main window, and “pinned” files are now called “Favorites” to make them more consistent with the markup used in OneDrive and Office.
Andrew Cunningham
When you bring up the Snap Layouts pop-up window using the Win + Z keyboard shortcut, the preview structure also marks each layout option with a number, making it easier to select a layout from the keyboard without moving your hand to your mouse or trackpad.
These preview builds of Windows 11 also begin to actively recommend that you enable the memory integrity security feature and show you a notification when it is off (as it will be on all but the latest Windows 11 PCs by default). As we have written, the memory integrity function (also called HVCI) runs best on newer CPUs that support a function called mode-based execution control (MBEC). But even with MBEC support, you may notice a minor performance penalty for games and other CPU-heavy tasks. Activating it on a regular laptop or desktop computer you primarily use for work is an easy call, but the trade-off could be more noticeable for a gaming PC or workstation that needs all the CPU power it can get.
Activating the memory integrity function do not want to be a prerequisite for installing or upgrading Windows 11 on these PCs, and the warning prompt may be rejected. If you are running Windows 11 on a PC with an unsupported CPU, this is probably best does not to activate the memory integrity function. Running it on older processors without MBEC support can have a much more noticeable performance penalty.
Andrew Cunningham
The last few Windows 11 Insider updates have been released for the Dev and Beta channels. The two will eventually split again; The Dev channel will receive more experimental and less stable features, and the Beta channel will be a place to experiment with likely public Windows features. Dev channel users who would like to switch to the more stable beta channel are encouraged to do so now, while both channels are still receiving the same builds.
Some of the new tested features in the Insider Preview channels are likely to wait for Windows 11’s next major service update, which will be released sometime this fall. Other, especially bug fixes, “may find its way to” updates for Windows 11 21H2, the current public version of Windows.