Microsoft releases Windows 10 build 21301 to Dev channel with touch keyboard improvements

It""s Wednesday, and Microsoft is back on schedule for releasing a new Windows 10 Insider Preview build. Today"s build is 21301, and it"s available in the Dev channel.

There"s actually not much that"s new in today"s build. In fact, the only things listed under new features are some improvements for the touch keyboard, something that Microsoft seems to keep trying to get right. Here"s the full changelog:

Improving the touch keyboard design

Building on the design changes already live in the Dev Channel, Windows Insiders will start to notice some more refinements rolling out for the touch keyboard based on their feedback. Those refinements include:

  • When undocking the keyboard, it now switches to the Small keyboard layout, and you can easily move the keyboard around using the gripper region at the top of the keyboard.
  • Small and split layouts will now feature an updated symbol’s view based on the default layout.
  • The settings menu now has a nested structure for improved clarity and less clutter.

Finally, we have a new password feedback icon to the left of the space bar for when you are in a password field and would like to turn on visual key press feedback on the touch keyboard.

Some Insiders may also see updates to the default keyboard layout on 12” or larger screens with the keyboard having a more traditional keyboard layout featuring an ESC, Tab, and Windows key and other small tweaks.

One thing we heard from our customers is that the candidate bar can feel cluttered and hard to quickly process. To reduce the cognitive overload we will be displaying 5 candidates maximum and centering them into position above the keyboard.

As you can see, there"s nothing crazy here. As usual, you can grab the build through Windows Update. If you"re not on the Dev channel yet, you can sign up via the Windows Insider Program tab in Settings.

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