Windows 11 26H1: all the new features coming in the latest version of Microsoft's OS
Microsoft has distributed build 28000.2597 of Windows 11 26H1 within the Release Preview channel, accompanied by trial versions 26100.8942 and 26200.8942. The update package refines the user experience across multiple components of the operating system, particularly focusing on stability, device management, and flexibility in delivering system patches.
Among the most significant innovations, the rewrite of the controls for Windows Update stands out, integrating a calendar selection to postpone the download of updates for up to a maximum of 35 days, allowing users to choose a specific end date. At the same time, the estimate of the percentage of progress during installation has been made more accurate, and the procedure for cleaning temporary files post-update has been revised to optimize disk space.
On the artificial intelligence front, users with a PC Copilot+ gain the ability to completely uninstall the local module dedicated to image generation, providing greater control over resident memory components. The user interface registers direct functional refinements.
The Widget panel abandons the automatic opening when hovering over the taskbar icon, requiring explicit interaction to display the tabs. In File Explorer, hovering over recent documents in business or school accounts shows quick shortcuts to access the file location or directly interact with Copilot. At the same time, the launch speed of the resource management and the mounting of disk images have received performance enhancements, accompanied by fixes for paths containing quotation marks and for managing favorites on OneDrive.
The Start menu improves the persistence of saved display preferences and keyboard navigation, introducing an identification badge in the user account space to show the status of Microsoft subscriptions. On the peripheral and connectivity front, the Enhanced Sign-in Security architecture of Windows Hello has been extended to ensure compatibility with external fingerprint readers on supported desktops and laptops.
The Bluetooth module receives specific integration with Apple AirPods and Beats Studio Pro headphones while maintaining synchronized mute status between the operating system and connected hardware. Phone Link modifies the management of outgoing calls, which remain on the phone's speaker during dialing and switch to the PC only at the moment of answering.
The infrastructure dedicated to accessibility introduces options for applying full-screen color filters against eye strain and allows for manual adjustment of the zoom percentage in the system magnifier. Power management and sleep or hibernate settings are uniformly applied across all consumption profiles, restoring the ability to define the exact threshold for automatic energy-saving activation. Several corrective interventions complete the build, addressing timezone synchronization, DHCP service stability in Modern Standby, and shared memory reliability in Remote Desktop sessions.