Microsoft just released a new Windows 11 build for members of the Insider Program in the Beta Channel today. The company also released a new build for members of the Dev Channel, but they shouldn"t get too excited.
In this updated blog post, Microsoft says:
We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 26100.268 (KB5036908) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. This update is designed to test our servicing pipeline and is the same as the April 2024 security update released earlier this month for Windows 11, version 23H2.
In other words, there are no new features, improvements, or bug fixes in the build.
While Microsoft has not confirmed it, it"s looking like it is skipping a week to update the members of the Canary Channel in the Insider Program. Microsoft released a Canary Channel update last week that brought back the build watermark on the desktop. It also included some improvements to the Widgets button on the taskbar. Developers also got the ability to "send notifications to the taskbar button with their custom dashboards for the Widgets board."
In addition to today"s Beta Channel update and the Dev Channel servicing update, Microsoft released new non-security preview updates for both Windows 10 and Windows 11.
The big and controversial new feature in the Windows 11 update is the "Recommended" part of the Start menu, which will begin to show apps that Microsoft believes users may want to check out. Many users are not liking this new feature, which are basically ads inside the Start menu for apps. We have already shown how these "ads" can be turned off in the Start menu.
The Windows 10 non-security preview update includes new Microsoft Account notifications, Widgets lock screen improvements, and more. It also is the first Windows 10 update that will use technology from Windows 11 to reduce its overall download size.