Windows 11 comes with a pair of default background images known as "Bloom". The images are of the two color schemes to fit the light and dark themes, respectively. Microsoft is about to change the defaults and please users with stunning images that will change automatically. Windows 11 may start using Windows Spotlight by default instead of the static image.
Microsoft is already testing the change with Insiders in the Dev channel. The latest release, Build 22598, applies Windows Spotlight as the desktop background.
This new experience is limited to two specific group users. The first one are whose who did a clean install of build 22598. For that purpose Microsoft released official ISO images.
Windows Spotlight is also set as the default desktop background for users who never bothered to change the wallpaper. So, if you used the OS with its stock desktop background image, it may surprise you with impressive landscapes, professional night life shots and other creativity after upgrading to build 22598.
When set as the desktop background, Windows Spotlight places an extra icon. If you double-click it, it will open Microsoft Edge with Bing describing the object shown in the wallpaper. As you could already guess, there is no option to use your default web browser or another search engine.
The right-click menu for the Spotlight icon includes options to change the image, learn more about it on Bing, and rate it. Actually, there is nothing new here. All these options were available for several years on the lock screen in Windows 10.
Another thing Microsoft is testing is the 4K wallpaper support for Spotlight. With quickly growing popularity of displays with such a high resolution it has become mandatory for Microsoft to ship 4K images. They play well with modern monitors and TVs.
After testing the default wallpaper change with Insiders, Microsoft may roll out it to the stable version of Windows 11. The company will analyze the collected feedback and telemetry. However, there is no guaranty that it will land into production. Microsoft may find some bug or another reason to stop using Spotlight as the default Desktop background.
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