The release of the 22H2 platform update for Windows 11 is getting closer: Microsoft has released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22581 not only in the developer channel, but also in the beta channel. The short amount of time with the same build status also allows Windows Insiders to switch between the beta and developer channels.

Among other things, Windows 11 offers some new features with 22H2. Some, but not all, Windows Insiders receive experimental edits to results when using the Windows Search box. On tablets, there is an auto-collapsed taskbar that only shows icons with critical status instead of all icons and program icons. In addition, so-called “Live Subtitles” serve as part of the settings for easier operation to create automatically transcribed text (subtitles) from sound.

Of course, the build also fixes bugs. Optical fixes have been made, for example, to Win32 system tray icons and the “Show hidden icons” option, which now also match the rest of the taskbar when the keyboard is in focus and when the mouse is moved about him. There were also some issues with using the wrong character sets for window titles in the taskbar preview of applications on non-English systems.

Known bugs

Various other bug fixes are described. Microsoft in a blog post. Known bugs in the new version can also be found there. On 2-in-1 devices that can use the auto-collapsed taskbar, for example, sometimes it doesn’t automatically collapse when you launch an app or click away from the taskbar. Also, not all parts of the code are wrapped yet, so they would check the height of the taskbar, which can cause widgets to overlap, for example.

In File Explorer, opening suggested results after entering search terms doesn’t always work. Regarding OneDrive, there are still some bugs to fix, the company writes. Recently pinned widgets may appear in the wrong place on the widget board, but this is fixed after 30 minutes.

In some full screen applications, such as video players, “Live Subtitles” are not always visible. Or if the subtitles are placed at the top, buttons like window size in the window title bar are not accessible. More details on the known issues can be found in the blog post.

Those interested can sign up for the Windows Insider program in the Windows Update settings and thus access the beta version. However, since it is still plagued with some bugs, it should not be used on production systems.

(DMK)