Hello Windows Insiders,
Today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26080 to the Canary and Dev Channels. We are releasing ISOs for this build – they can be downloaded here.
Insiders in the Canary Channel will receive Build 26080.1 while Insiders in the Dev Channel will receive Build 26080.1100 (KB5037133) as we test delivery of a full build and a servicing update at the same time. There is no difference between the two of these as Build 26068.1100 does not include any additional code.
Two important notes:
The Canary and Dev Channels receiving the same builds is only temporary. During the times in which the Canary and Dev Channels are on the same builds (e.g. Build 26080), the window is open for Insiders in the Canary Channel to switch to the Dev Channel. At some point in the future, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed.
NOTE: Some features may begin rolling out to the Canary Channel first before the Dev Channel even if the two channels have the same build.
What’s new in Build 26080
Updates to Microsoft Teams in Windows 11
Starting with Windows 11, version 24H2, Teams users will get access to a preview experience of the new, unified Microsoft Teams experience on Windows. In this preview, Microsoft Teams will be available as a single application, enabling users to seamlessly switch between multiple cloud environments, tenants, and account types across personal and work. This new, unified application will soon be rolled out to commercial customers as well, through the normal update process. To add or access additional accounts, select your profile picture at the upper right corner of Teams when you sign into Teams.
We received consistent feedback from personal and work users: you prefer a single Teams app that allows you to easily access and switch between personal and work accounts. This update lets you use one app for all kinds of Teams accounts.You can join any Teams meeting with ease. In upcoming builds, when you are joining a meeting, you can select the account you want to use. You will also be able to join a meeting without signing in.
Notifications have been improved, showing which Teams account they belong to. In addition, personal notifications have more details, giving clear and easy actions from the notification banner.
You can now launch personal and work accounts simultaneously with separate icons on the taskbar. We listened to users about their communication needs in various aspects of their lives and how they want to use Teams. The feedback was clear that a multi-window experience is preferred.
Other things to know:
Improvements to Copilot in Windows* now rolling out to more Windows Insiders
We have been trying out a new runtime for Copilot in Windows* that allows you to manage more settings via Copilot, including accessibility-focused settings, and use Power Automate Desktop through Copilot! We are now rolling out these Copilot in Windows improvements to more Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel (which first began rolling out on 2/20) and beginning to roll these improvements out to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
More built-in capabilities via Copilot in Windows
Try asking Copilot to turn on Narrator or Live Captions, turn on battery saver, show you available networks, even empty your recycle bin or clean up your storage. Here’s the full list of things you can ask Copilot to do!
New with this update:
Try accessibility features:
Already live, now on the new runtime:
Introducing Power Automate via Copilot in Windows
Power Automate is a low-code automation solution that is part of the Power Platform. We’re excited to introduce the Power Automate plugin in Copilot in Windows. This first release of the plugin offers automation features for Excel, PDF manipulation and file management.
To use the plugin, download or update Power Automate Desktop to the latest version from the Microsoft Store. Currently plugins are only accessible if you are signed in to Copilot in Windows with a Microsoft account.
After you have Power Automate installed and you activate the plugin in the plugins section in Copilot in Windows, you can ask for tasks such as:
Do you want to share your feedback on the Power Automate plugin or do you have other automation scenarios that you would like us to support? Feel free to contact us: [email protected].
[The rollout continues for these Copilot in Windows improvements to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels today, so the experience isn’t available to all Insiders just yet.]
FEEDBACK: Because of an issue with our feedback pipeline, please do not use the in-line feedback form that opens from thumbs up/down for these actions right now, and instead file feedback about using these in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Copilot in Windows.
Changes and Improvements
[Copilot in Windows*]
[Taskbar & System Tray]
[File Explorer]
[Windows Update]
For developers
You can download the latest Windows Insider SDK at aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk.
SDK NuGet packages are now also flighting at NuGet Gallery | WindowsSDK which include:
These NuGet packages provide more granular access to the SDK and better integration in CI/CD pipelines.
SDK flights are now published for both the Canary and Dev Channels, so be sure to choose the right version for your Insider Channel.
Remember to use adaptive code when targeting new APIs to make sure your app runs on all customer machines, particularly when building against the Dev Channel SDK. Feature detection is recommended over OS version checks, as OS version checks are unreliable and will not work as expected in all cases.
Reminders for Windows Insiders
Before you update your machine, visit the Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26080 (Canary and Dev Channels) | Windows Insider Blog today to view full details on new features, general changes, improvements, known issues and much more!
