Microsoft launched a new Windows 11 system in June last year, Microsoft announced at the time that only one major version update will be released each year. So there will always be some people who worry that they need to wait 12 months for new features.
So, are we going to wait until Windows 11 version 22H2 to get some new features? Not necessarily, WindowsLatest said that Microsoft will release a new feature of Windows 11 22H2 in advance: the desktop focus (Spotlight) feature.
At present, Windows 11 is more modular than Windows 10, so Microsoft can provide some detailed updates for existing features (such as Windows settings) in addition to major feature updates. For example, Windows feature experience packs and cumulative updates can proxy a small amount of new Feature support.
Microsoft has released WSA (Windows Subsystem for Android) on top of feature updates, which are expected to come with the 22H2 major release in the fall. Microsoft updated the 22000.706 (KB5014019) release preview version of Win11 last week and launched the desktop focus function designed for the 22H2 version, such as automatically changing the wallpaper for you every day.
In short, Spotlight is an interesting feature that Microsoft has added to the lock screen since the release of Windows 8. You can use Bing’s gallery to automatically change the background of the lock screen, and you can also view information about related images.
Because this feature is very popular among users, some people have managed to extract the Bing image saved in the Windows lock screen focus as the desktop wallpaper, and even developers have specially developed a small plug-in that automatically saves the lock screen focus background image.
Microsoft seems to have listened to user feedback for a long time and is adding Spotlight support to the desktop with Windows 11 Build 22000.706, and users don’t need to wait until Windows 11 22H2 is online to use this feature.
Of course, this update is currently limited to a release preview, but it will start rolling out to all users in the stable channel in a few days, so stay tuned. Microsoft previously stated that Spotlight is a feature exclusive to Windows 11 22H2, but Microsoft seems to have gradually added or expanded existing features beyond the 22H2 update through cumulative updates.
As shown in the picture above, you can turn on this feature via “Settings > Personalization > Background > Personalize Your Background”. You just need to select “Windows Spotlight”, then Microsoft will use Bing wallpaper to automatically change the desktop background for you.
Microsoft notes that this feature works the same way Windows Spotlight already works on the lock screen. You can learn more about the current background image through the associated icons. You only need to click the camera icon in the upper right corner of the desktop, and the related Bing page will pop up, so as to see the information corresponding to each background image.
Microsoft will also automatically enable Windows Spotlight (or a clean install of Windows 11) on the desktop for new devices by default. Of course, you can always disable the feature from Settings if you don’t like it.