Microsoft today pushed the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22581 version update to the development channel, and also pushed it to the Windows preview experience members in the Beta channel. That is, now the Dev and Beta channels receive the same version.
Beta channel testers can now try out new features like Live Captions, Start Menu Folders, a redesigned Task Manager, a tablet-optimized taskbar, and more. IT House learned that today’s version comes from the Nickel branch, and it also provides support for some experimental features for Dev users.
If you check for updates now, you may detect the “Windows 11 Insider Preview 22581 (NI_RELEASE)” build, which is a minor version of Nickel’s fork but also includes all the improvements and features related to Sun Valley 2 (22H2).
At the moment, Build 22581 is not a major release, there are very few improvements for the Beta version, and most of it has appeared in the Dev version before.
In today’s release, Microsoft’s Windows 11 tablet-optimized taskbar has been rolled out to all users. For example, when you change the way you hold the tablet, the system can automatically adapt to the screen orientation, and this tablet-optimized feature doesn’t work on a PC.
In addition, the boundary line of the Windows 11 taskbar has now also been extended to the entire taskbar section for everyone to see. That said, Microsoft has now fixed the bug (strange line) that appeared above the Windows 11 taskbar.
Also, Microsoft is bringing a better design to win32-based system tray icons, so when you mouse over the icon, you’ll see a modernly designed hover bar. In addition, Microsoft has also updated the “Show Hidden Icons” feature to match the new Windows 11 taskbar design.
It’s worth mentioning that Microsoft seems to have disabled the “drag and drop pin/unpin” feature now, and you can now right-click on the taskbar and manage icons from the taskbar settings (taskbar settings). Also, if you like simplicity, Microsoft has a new optional feature for you to completely remove the hide icon button.
In this release, Windows 11 also offers a new experimental feature that helps you more easily discover content on the web in Windows Search. After the update, Windows Search will attempt to display more web content in search results or on the home page to help users discover and quickly view web content.
In terms of bug fixes, Microsoft fixed the “window title in a language other than English and an incorrect font is causing it to not work properly”. In addition, the updated Windows 11 drag and drop operation now also supports auto-hiding the taskbar; if you drag something onto the taskbar, unsupported items will appear as “X” with rounded corners.
In addition, Microsoft has updated the right-click menu to display “Move to Front” instead of “Move to Top” when you right-click on a pinned app. In addition to these bug fixes, Microsoft also updated the Clock app to fix an issue where it couldn’t update the Windows focus state.
How to install Windows 11 Build 22581
- Open the Windows Settings page.
- Find the Windows Insider Program after you sign up for the Beta Program.
- Make sure Channel is set to Dev or Beta. Of course, Win10 users must upgrade to Win11 first.
- Click Check for Updates.
- Select Download and Install.
- Click Restart Now.