New Beta Channel Build of Windows 11 Arrives with a Few Minor New Features
- Paul Thurrott
- Sep 12, 2023
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The further we get into September, the weirder it gets: Microsoft today delivered a Windows 11 build to the Windows Insider Program’s Beta channel, build 22631.2338, that adds a few minor new features and other changes.
They are:
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Focus session widget. This new feature arrives with an update to the Clock app and lets you start and stop focus sessions from Widgets. Don’t worry, not everyone will see it right away because Microsoft “plans to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.”
Microsoft Teams – Free. As promised, Microsoft has removed the Chat icon from the Windows 11 Taskbar and is now pinning the renamed “Microsoft Teams – Free” app there instead. You can unpin it normally. Which everyone will do.
More in-box apps can be uninstalled. Starting with this build, the Camera, Cortana, Photos, and People apps can be uninstalled. (Why Cortana is still installed is unclear, since it’s non-functioning now.)
More File Explorer fixes. The new File Explorer in Windows 11 version 23H2 is incredibly buggy, and so it’s not surprising that this build, like the last, includes various fixes related to this app.
Tons of other fixes. By my rough count, this build contains roughly 25 other (non-File Explorer) bug fixes.