Windows Insiders Are Getting Big Windows 11 In-Box App Updates

Microsoft is now documenting the Windows 11 in-box app updates it’s making through the Windows Insider Program ahead of their release to the public in stable.

I believe this is new, and you can find descriptions of the latest set of updates to Calculator, Camera, Clock, Media Player, Paint, Photos, and Sound Recorder on the Windows Insider Documentation Hub on the Microsoft Learn website: In the navigation bar on the left, expand “Release notes for apps” to see them.

Among the changes available now in the Experimental, Experimental (26H1), and Experimental (Future Platforms) channels are:

• Calculator is getting more accurate square-root results, more readable text in high-contrast themes, a fixed layout for right-to-left languages, and reliability updates.
• Camera is gaining zoom slider improvements, front camera support improvements, more video resolution choices, QR link improvements, and smarter default settings.
• Clock has an incredible range of new features, some of which include timer improvements, the ability to disable the daily goal in Focus, a new 15-minute snooze option, and a lot more. This is available.
• Media Player is getting custom captions, an indexing banner in the play queue, playlist improvements, bug fixes, and reliability improvements.
• Paint is getting a very long list of updates like a “snappier” toolbar with layout adjustments and performance improvements, adjustable eraser transparency, cleaner stamp brush strokes, selection improvements, reliability improvements, and a lot more.
• Photos is picking up AI watermarking, small image and pixel art viewing improvements, scanned text improvements, a crash bug fix, and easier keyboard navigation.
• Sound Recorder is getting a live waveform display for Bluetooth microphones, easier deleting, bug fixes, and more.

It’s not yet clear when these app updates–or some major Windows 11 changes, like those coming to Start, Taskbar, and Widgets–will arrive in stable. But I assume app updates will move more quickly than system updates, so it shouldn’t be long. And I likewise assume we will see more of these types of app updates in the Insider Program soon.