Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Microsoft has started testing a new feature that will allow you to interact with a smartphone connected using the Connect to Phone app directly from the Start menu in Windows 11. The feature is currently available to some Insiders on the Beta channel in build 22635.3790, but you can enable it manually.

Microsoft has released a new preview of Windows 11 version 23H2  Build 22635.3790 (KB5039307) to Windows Insiders on the Beta channel. Besides several fixes, it adds close integration of the Phone Link app with the Start menu. So you can now directly manage your connected smartphone from the Start menu in Windows 11.

Microsoft is rolling out a new Photos app with several improvements made to the image viewer and media import. The are available with app version 2024.11060.20004.0 to insiders on the Dev and Canary channels.

Microsoft is rolling out a new build of Windows 11 24H2 to the Release Preview channel. The build 26100.994 comes via the KB5039304 update, and brings with it several fixes.

Microsoft has converted Copilot into a standalone app pinned to the taskbar. The new app is gradually rolling out to Windows 11 Insiders on the Beta and Release Preview channels, and to Insiders running Windows 10 on the same channels. The new Copilot is now a web app like ones you can run with Edge and Chrome PWA. This allows moving and resizing it like a regular Windows app.

Microsoft has released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26241 to the Canary Channel. The update enables file drag-n-drop to File Explorer's address bar, makes file selection and taskbar button flashing more prominent, and also includes some fixes.

The Windows Insider team has suspended the roll-out of Windows 11 build 26236 on the Canary channel. This information now appears in the official blog post published on June 12, 2024. The company promises that the Canary channel will again receive updates in the near future.

Every month Microsoft issues cumulative updates for supported Windows versions to address vulnerabilities, fix bugs, and add new features. However, sometimes things go wrong. Microsoft has confirmed a number of issues that you may face after installing recent cumulative updates.

Microsoft has warned about a bug that causes Windows 10 apps to display an "Open With" dialog box with the notification "How do you want to open this file?". It appears when you right-click on the app icon in the taskbar and select one of the available direct actions from that menu.