Microsoft Releases August 2026 Patch Tuesday Updates

Microsoft has just released the August 2026 Patch Tuesday updates for all supported versions of Windows 11. The KB5121000 update for the version 26H1 of the OS brings the new Screen tint accessibility feature, the “quieter” Widgets experience, and the ability to pause Windows Updates for up to 35 days, which were all previously rolled out to Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2 last month.

The KB5121003 update for Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2, however, includes new gesture controls for PCs with precision touchpads, Windows Update improvements, and more. You can see the highlights below; keep in mind that these features will be rolling out gradually.

New gesture controls for precision touchpads: On PCs with precision touchpads, there are new controls for adjusting the baseline speed for scroll and zoom gestures and enabling accelerated scrolling for faster navigation through long documents in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad.

Windows Hello improvements: Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS) now supports peripheral fingerprint sensors.

Widgets improvements: Taskbar notification badges now use the Windows accent color instead of appearing red. To reduce distractions on the Lock Screen, the Weather widget will now be the only one to be shown by default.

Windows Search improvements: This update improves app search and Settings relevance to better handle typos and partial names for finding installed apps and relevant settings.

Voice Access improvements: The Voice Access accessibility feature now supports Voice Isolation to reduce interference from other speakers and background noise.

Windows Update improvements: This update improves calculation of update progression in Windows Update Settings. It also improves clean-up logic to optimize system performance after installing an update.

Power improvements: This update restores the ability to set a threshold for when the energy saver feature should enable within Settings > System > Power & Battery.

On the security front, Microsoft is now fixing many more vulnerabilities across Windows components, Office apps, and more thanks to its use of AI. The security experts at the Zero Day Initiative mentioned a total of 398 CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) that have been addressed this month, with 62 of them rated ‘Critical’, and just one ‘Important’ flaw that’s being actively used by attackers to execute code at system level.