Microsoft has just pushed out a compiled version of Windows 11 Build 25217 to Insider testers in the Dev channel. It’s still part of the 22H2 branch though, as it seems that Sun Valley 3 development, known as “23H2”, has been cancelled in favour of a major new Windows release every three years. If all goes well, Microsoft could make it official sometime in 2023.
Screenshot (via Pure Info Tech)
First, Microsoft mentioned in the changelog that developers can get the latest Insider previews from the Dev channel, and start building and testing third-party widgets via WinAppSDK 1.2 (preview 2).
“As part of WinAppSDK 1.2 (preview 2), we are pleased to announce support for third-party widgets.
The Windows team has been working hard to bring the widget board, first introduced in Windows 11, to a wider audience of developers.
The third-party widget platform included in the next release will allow developers to create widgets for their packaged Win32 applications and launch native testing on the widget board in Windows 11.”
Simplified Chinese – Input method recommendation box (Bing recommendation words in second place)
Secondly, Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25217 includes a number of input-related changes and fixes.
"I'm trying to introduce some changes so that users can easily type fresh, popular and trending words using Simplified Chinese. Related improvements include cloud suggestions and integrated search suggestions, with the former adding the most relevant words from Bing searches to the candidate window of the input method. We have also updated the back-end logic to provide better and fresher suggestions."
Bing Search Suggestions – Candidate Box Extension Interface
As for the integrated search suggestions, they provide similar content and other suggestions that you see on the Bing search page.
You can insert relevant suggestions as text or jump to Bing to search.
V-button / bubble tip box on the right
If you are interested, you can click on the V-button on the right. Initially, however, this feature may be limited to some Insider testers.
If you have any feedback, please submit it in the Feedback Centre under Input & Language → Text input.
Some Insider testers will also have the opportunity to experience a new video calling app (Chat).
When the Chat app is opened from the taskbar, the focus is automatically brought to the user to instantly preview the video status and view the contact list.
The app makes it easier than ever to initiate personal video calls through Microsoft Teams.
Live contacts who are not in the Microsoft Teams address book can now also share call links via SMS or Email and have conversations in the main Chat app.
Microsoft is then rolling out an update to the Microsoft Store, with improvements including great games in Game Pass.
"When looking for a game in the Store, it's now clearer that it's 'available through Game Pass', as well as current pricing. The new version also features an updated button design on the game details page and a new section to give users an idea of what's included in their subscription. The Microsoft Store's repository experience has also been enhanced with simplified options and improved performance."
If you have enabled the “Taskbar Optimised for Tablets” on your device, you will also receive the following experience improvements.
"● Fixes an issue that could cause tasks to crash when they should be expanded when running without a window on the desktop. ● Fixes an issue that could cause widgets/notification centres (separately) to overlap with the taskbar or appear to be truncated when using left and right edge gestures. ● Fixes an issue with the tablet-optimized taskbar that caused the explorer.exe process to crash when switching applications/entering overflow floating controls."
Known issues.
"● Taskbar sometimes flickers when switching between desktop/tablet stance. ● Or longer than expected to transition to a touch-optimised version. ● When using the bottom right edge gesture to view 'Quick Settings', the taskbar sometimes stays in the expanded state and does not revert to the collapsed form."
