The next major feature update for Windows 11 will bring a new taskbar, new emojis, and changes to the Settings menu, and plenty more.
The new features and improvements are now available in preview form via the Build 26100.7918 and 26200.7918 test versions, which are open available to Windows Insiders on the Release Preview Channel.
Taskbar speed test
Microsoft is adding built-in access to the network speed test on the Windows 11 taskbar, which you can access by right-clicking on the network icon in the taskbar.
The speed test opens in your default browser and measures LAN, Wi-Fi, and mobile connections. This feature helps you check your network performance and troubleshoot problems.
Incidentally, Microsoft recently acknowledged that it will be making the taskbar more flexible with more placement and sizing options. That change isn’t in this update, though. We’ll have to wait for that one.
More emojis
When it comes to emojis, Windows 11 users can look forward to Emoji 16.0. Among other things, this update brings a fingerprint emoji, a harp emoji, and a shovel emoji to Windows computers. These new emojis are accessible via the Windows 11 emoji window.
Webcam settings
You can now control the pan and tilt of supported webcams in the Settings menu. The controls can be found under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras in the Basic settings section for the selected camera.
Sysmon security
We previously reported on Microsoft adding one of its best security tools natively to Windows 11. That tool is called Sysmon and it’s now available in this preview update, though it’ll be disabled by default.
Other notable features
Other new features in this preview update include backup and restore functions, Quick Machine Recovery, WebP images usable as desktop backgrounds, and a bunch of other smaller additions. Check out the official Windows Insider blog post for more details.
Windows expert Zac Bowden at Windows Central expects the new features described above to be available to all Windows 11 users in the coming weeks. It’ll probably come with the optional cumulative update towards the end of February.
