New Windows 11 Insider build adds surprising features

As the year comes to an end, Microsoft is slowing Windows 11 development, but in the first half of December, the company released several preview builds with improvements through the Windows Insider Program.

In addition to the changes rolled out during the last half of November, the software giant has made previews of versions 25H2 and 26H1 available in the previous two weeks.

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on-device registry (ODR).

In addition, Microsoft has released two AI connectors, including File Explorer and Windows Settings.

The File Explorer Connector allows agents to connect to File Explorer to manage and manipulate local files with the user’s consent.

On Copilot+ PCs, this feature can perform searches using natural language to find the exact file based on description, metadata, and content, and it can even search for images using image classification.

The Windows Settings Connector allows users to find and change settings as well as navigate directly to a specific settings page on Copilot+ PCs.

Unified Update Orchestration Platform, which allows developers to build a more consistent and predictable update experience through the Settings app.

Windows 11 App Updates

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

If a developer decides to implement this new orchestration, you’ll be able to check for and download updates for the application on the “App Updates” page in Settings > Apps. However, the application will continue to download updates from the developer’s server, not from Windows Update, but it will automatically check for updates based on the user’s activity.

In the Beta and Dev Channels, during the month of December, devices also received the new Windows MIDI Services, a new MIDI API, Service, and SDK for the operating system.

As part of this new experience, Windows 11 gets full support for WinMM MIDI 1.0 and WinRT MIDI 1.0, in-service translation, enabling any API to use any MIDI 1.0 or MIDI 2.0 device.

Furthermore, there’s a new loopback and app-to-app MIDI support, and Microsoft is pushing improvements and bug fixes.

separate downloads.

Windows 11 build 28020.1362 expands the Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) to more handheld gaming devices in the Canary Channel.

The feature has been designed to make the gaming experience more like a console experience.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

On your handheld device, you can enable the feature in Settings > Gaming > Full screen experience and turn on the “Enable full screen experience on startup” toggle switch.

As part of the latest preview build in the Canary Channel, the Settings app is getting the same AI agent already available on Copilot+ PCs to help users find and change settings.

In addition, on the Home page, the “Recommended settings” card will now show inline agent actions for the most recently modified settings.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

Furthermore, in the latest release of Windows 11, the AI agent isn’t getting any new features, but the company is expanding the feature to more languages, including German, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Hindi, Italian, and Simplified Chinese.

Devices in the Canary Channel have received dark mode enhancements for File Explorer, meaning that now you’ll find more elements using the dark color scheme.

For example, the dark mode experience now expands to dialogs for copy, move, delete, progress bars, charts, confirmations (such as skip, override, and file selection), and error messages.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

If you’re installing the latest preview in a Copilot+ PC, you’ll also notice that the placeholder in the search box now makes it clear that search now uses AI, and you can use natural language to search for files and folders.

On the Home page, when you hover over a file, the app displays a new inline menu with options such as “Open file location” and “Ask Copilot.”

We have already seen these changes in other channels, but it’s not until build 28020.1362 that Microsoft is bringing these changes to the Canary Channel.

Although the company didn’t mention it, you can now enable the “MAX_PATH” option in the “Advanced” settings page to remove the path limitations for traditional file and folder functions.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

Finally, Windows 11 build 26220.7523 rolled out with an updated version of File Explorer that includes support for Windows People Card (WPC), which adds the ability to display people icons with their information in the Activity column of Home, Recommended, Favorites, and Recent.

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This feature has been available before, but it was limited to commercial customers. Now, Microsoft is bringing it to users with a Microsoft account configuration.

In the “Bluetooth & devices” section, Microsoft is finally integrating the features to manage mobile devices into the Settings app.

In the past, from the “Mobile devices” page, you had to open an external page to access the features once your phone was linked to your computer, but now, that’s no longer the case.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

On the page, you’ll find another page (usually with your phone brand and model) that lists all the available features, including the ability to remove the mobile device from your account.

In the “Advanced” section, there’s a new entry to access the “Virtual Workspaces” page that allows you to manage virtually every virtualization feature in the operating system. For example, you can enable or disable Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform, Windows Sandbox, and more.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

This integration means that you no longer have to manage these features from the legacy “Windows Features” page.

Microsoft continues its quest to port Control Panel features to the Settings app, and with the release of build 28020.1362, the company added two new settings: “Keyboard character repeat” and “Cursor blink rate.”

The Keyboard character repeat feature is available on Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Keyboard, and the options include character repeat delay and rate, and there’s an option to preview the changes.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

Accessibility> Text cursor, you’ll find the Cursor blink rate setting with a slider to control the blink rate and a preview to test the changes.

Cursor blink rate setting

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Quick Machine Recovery feature has been available for computers enrolled in the Canary Channel, but in the latest update, the company is changing the behavior.

Configure Quick machine recovery

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Starting with this release, the feature will be enabled by default on Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro (unless the device is managed). Also, the feature will run only once. If the solution isn’t found during the first scan, the user will be directed to the Windows Recovery Environment to select additional troubleshooting steps.

As a result of the changes, the settings page has been updated. After enabling the feature, you only need to turn on the “Automatic check for solutions” option.

The default configuration of the feature is to run the scan once, but you can decide how often the computer should reboot to look for solutions.

Windows Studio Effects is no longer limited to your built‑in camera. Microsoft is extending support to more camera hardware, giving you the same polished, professional look across more setups.

On Copilot+ PCs, you can now use Studio Effects with a second camera, such as a USB webcam or your device’s rear camera.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

These features can be enabled on Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras, select the webcam, and then click the “Edit” button for the “Advanced camera options” setting.

Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Starting with build 26220.7523 in the Dev and Beta Channels, Windows 11 adds a new “Ask Copilot” toggle switch on the “Taskbar” settings page that lets you replace the Windows Search experience with Copilot in the Taskbar.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

If you opt in to the feature, you can enhance your search experience with AI for searching files, settings, and apps. You can also access other AI tools like Copilot Vision and Voice, and through this experience, you can also invoke other AI agents, something that’s not possible with the traditional search feature.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

Microsoft notes that Ask Copilot can search and present results, but it doesn’t have access to your data.

Agentic OS vision for Windows 11.

The feature allows agents to show as apps in the Taskbar, providing live updates of tasks in progress while they run in a secure environment.

Taskbar with AI agent

(Image credit: Microsoft)

The company is also preparing to release the Researcher in Microsoft 365 Copilot, an agent that can conduct research and generate reports.

The company says the agent will gradually roll out to commercial customers in the coming weeks.

Agent Launchers, a new framework designed to register AI agents in the operating system once and make them discoverable and launchable from compatible experiences.

When you invoke an agent, it opens its dedicated chat interface, enabling an interactive, context-aware workflow in which the agent can ask clarifying questions, retain context, and take actions to complete tasks.

Also, registered agents can surface in supported entry points such as Ask Copilot on the Taskbar, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and other compatible applications.

Microsoft 365 Copilot already uses this framework to expose built-in agents such as Analyst, focused on data insights, and Researcher, designed to create structured, in-depth reports.

For developers, the framework offers flexibility and control. Agents can be registered statically during app installation or dynamically at runtime.

Narrator has a new personalization feature that lets you decide exactly how interface elements are announced as you navigate apps. Instead of relying on a fixed speaking order, you can now choose which properties Narrator reads aloud for each control type, such as buttons, checkboxes, links, sliders, and text fields, and reorder or omit details to better match your preferences.

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Customization is available through “Narrator key + Ctrl + P,” where you can select, deselect, and reorder spoken properties per control type.

On Copilot+ PCs, Microsoft adds a natural language input box that lets you describe changes in plain language, such as asking Narrator not to announce selection or position information. Changes apply consistently to that control type within the current app, and you can preview how announcements will sound before saving. A reset option is also available to restore default behavior at any time.

Starting with the latest preview in the Dev and Beta Channels, the operating system introduces a new and easier setup process to get started with Voice Access.

The new wizard guides you through downloading the correct speech model, selecting the preferred microphone, and providing an overview of how to use the feature.

According to the company, the Windows Insider Program will no longer receive any more builds until January of next year.

What are your thoughts on the latest improvements coming to Windows 11? Let me know in the comments.