Microsoft Releases Windows 11 Canary Build 27871

Microsoft has just released the Windows 11 Insider build 27871 on the Canary Channel. The new bits bring back the Phone Link sidebar to the Start Menu, which is now also available to non-Insiders. Microsoft previously paused the rollout of this feature on the Canary Channel, and the latest version that’s rolling out today adds mobile notifications grouped by apps, a screen mirroring option for supported Android phones, and iCloud memories support for iPhone users.

This new build also enables Energy saver management via Microsoft Intune for IT pros. This is a feature Microsoft previously made available on other Insider channels last month, and it’s likely coming to Windows 11 version 24H2 next week with this month’s Patch Tuesday update.

One notable addition in today’s Canary build 27871 is a taskbar tweak to make apps that need attention more visible. These apps will now show a wider “needy state” pill under their icon in the taskbar, as you can see in the picture below.

With today’s build, Microsoft also fixed the issue causing virtualization apps to fail to run when Virtualization Based Security is enabled unless the “Windows Hypervisor Platform” Windows optional component is installed on the system. The company also fixed the bug where tapping the View button in File Explorer with touch would crash the app.

Yesterday, Microsoft also released two new 24H2 builds for the Dev and Beta Channels. Highlights include a new Draft with Copilot in Word text action for Click to Do (only on Copilot+ PCs), as well as a new Windows Backup-based PC migration experience on the Dev Channel.