Windows 11’s May Optional Update Lands on the Release Preview Channel

The May optional update for Windows 11 is now available on the Release Preview Channel ahead of its release in the last week of the month. This update enables shared audio on two Bluetooth LE audio accessories, the ability for multiple apps to access the camera stream at the same time, and more.

Most of the new features included in today’s KB5089573 update for Release Preview Insiders will be rolling out gradually. They were also previously introduced on the Dev (now Experimental) and Beta Channels.

Here are the main additions you should know about:

Shared audio: This new feature allows two people with Bluetooth LE audio accessories to listen to the same audio together. It can be enabled from the Quick settings panel on the taskbar from the taskbar.

NPU usage in Task Manager: On Windows 11 PCs with NPUs, Task Manager now offers optional NPU and NPU Engine columns on the Processes, Users, and Details pages, along with NPU Dedicated Memory and NPU Shared Memory optional columns on the Details page.

Multi-App Camera support: It’s now possible for multiple Windows apps to access your camera stream at the same time.

Magnifier improvements: The accessibility feature now provides clearer and more consistent announcements when working with a screen reader.

Microsoft noted in the release notes that this should also speed up app launches and “core shell experiences such as Start menu, Search, and Action Center.” It also brings under-the-hood changes to improve download performance and bandwidth usage on the Microsoft Store.

This is a bit surprising, but Microsoft is also making a first 26H1 build available to download on the Release Preview Channel. However, this build (28000.2173) is just playing catch-up with this month’s Patch Tuesday update for non-Insiders. I don’t really see the point of this release, especially as Microsoft previously said that Windows 11 version 26H1 will only ship on new devices. So far, that’s just upcoming Copilot+ PCs powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon® X2 Series chips.

Because Windows 11 version 26H1 is just a “targeted release” to support specific device hardware and silicon, Microsoft also said before that this version of the OS “will not be able to update to the next annual feature update in the second half of 2026.” Devices running Windows 11 version 26H1 will “have a path to update in a future Windows release,” but what this means in practice is still unclear at this time.