Windows

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are beginning to roll out an update to the Paint app for Windows 11 to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels (version 11.2304.17.0). This update includes a good set of changes and improvements we think the community will enjoy! With this update, we are introducing support for dark mode in Paint. By default, Paint will adapt to your system theme preferences, but you can change this option yourself on the brand-new settings page. Paint in dark mode showing a drawing of a cat. We are also rolling out improvements to the zoom controls as well to give you more flexibility and control over the view of your content on the canvas. The classic presets are still available, but you can now also zoom in...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.1830 and Build 22631.1830 (KB5026443) to the Beta Channel. Build 22631.1830 = New features rolling out. Build 22621.1830 = New features off by default. REMINDER: Insiders who were previously on Build 22624 will automatically get moved to Build 22631 via an enablement package. The enablement package artificially increments the build number for the update with new features getting rolled out and turned on to make it easier to differentiate from devices with the update with features off by default. This approach is being used for the Beta Channel only and is not indicative of any changes or plans for final feature rollouts. Insiders who landed in the...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23471 to the Dev Channel. What’s new in Build 23471 Add Phone Photos in File Explorer Gallery Accessing your phone’s camera roll from your PC is an important everyday task that is now easier with File Explorer Gallery. There is a new button in the Command Bar titled “Add Phone Photos” that will help with setting up your PC to be ready to show these photos in Gallery. Clicking this button today will open a URL with a QR code that you can scan with your phone to get started. Add Phone Photos option on the command bar in File Explorer. NOTE: We previously mentioned needing to opt into OneDrive’s Insider Program to get a version of the OneDrive sync client that...

We are excited to introduce Dev Drive! A new storage volume optimized for developer workloads that delivers performance, security, and control. Dev Drive is built on the Resilient File System (ReFS) and combined with the new performance mode capability of Microsoft Defender Antivirus, provides up to 30% better performance for overall build times compared to current, in-market Windows 11 (22H2). Performance and Security We received feedback from developers that slow file io performance was disruptive to their workflow. In response, we analyzed the file system to understand where the bottlenecks were. Benchmarks were created across multiple end-to-end developer scenarios and across multiple languages. We then made optimizations to the...

The Windows Package Manager team has been working on several things we’re sure you will be very excited about. If you’ve been following the WinGet blogs, you’re already familiar with package management on Windows. We’ve got some goodies in store for you like package pinning, our new PowerShell module, and running WinGet in the system context. We’ve gotten lots of feedback on how WinGet has been a game changer in terms of time saved, convenience, and simplification when setting up a new Windows PC. WinGet configuration takes things to the next level! WinGet configuration Save time and skip the manual effort of setting up a new machine or onboarding a new project by using this unattended, reliable, and repeatable mechanism. Remove the...