New Windows 11 Dev and Beta Builds Are Available for Insiders

Microsoft is once again wrapping up the week with two new Windows 11 preview builds for Insiders on the Dev and Beta Channels. And as often with these builds, the new bits only include minor changes that will roll out first to Insiders who chose to get the latest features as soon as they’re available in Windows Update.

The Dev Channel build 26120.2222 introduces a new way to launch apps as an admin: It works by holding Shift and CTRL when clicking on a jump list item in Start menu or taskbar. This change will roll out gradually to Dev Channel Insiders, and Microsoft also started testing it on the Beta Channel two weeks ago.

With today’s Dev Channel build, Microsoft also fixed an issue causing windows to unexpectedly move around after waking from sleep on PCs with multiple monitors. The company also acknowledged a new Narrator bug causing the accessibility to crash on launch when using one of the app’s natural voices. Narrator users are invited to either skip this build or switch to another voice to stop the crashes.

For Beta Channel testers, today’s build 22635.4445 adds a New Folder option in the context menu when right-clicking locations in the navigation pane. Microsoft also fixed various taskbar and File Explorer issues in this build, as well as another bug causing Snipping Tool screenshots to be distorted on certain displays.

Earlier this week, Microsoft also released the Windows 11 Canary Build 27744, which improves app emulation on Qualcomm-powered Copilot+ PCs. The company also started rolling out new generative AI features in Paint and Notepad to Insiders on the Canary and Dev Channels.