It’s Patch Tuesday and There Are Some Changes

It’s the second Tuesday of October, so Microsoft has released monthly quality updates for all supported Windows 11 versions. That means we’re seeing the first-ever Patch Tuesday update for Windows 11 version 26H2, but it also means we’re seeing the last Patch Tuesday update for Windows 11 version 24H2 (Home and Pro), which is exiting support this month.

Windows 11 versions 24H2, 25H2, and 26H2 are both getting cumulative update KB5127648 today, and this will upgrade the system to Windows 11 build 26100.9711, 26200.9711, or 26300.9711, respectively. New features and other changes include:

• File Explorer improvements to the preview pane, Home page, Details pane, and more
• Emoji 17.0 support
• New Tips widget
• Personalization improvements, including support for DIB image files as wallpaper and lots of fixes
• Open apps maximized, a new Accessibility setting that will open all apps maximized when enabled
• Precision touchpad improvements, including single-finger scrolling and automatic scrolling
• Copilot key configuration improvements so that you can remap the key to the Right Ctrl or Context Menu key in addition to previously available settings
• Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) improvements, including remote management plug-in support
• Windows Backup changes, with PC-to-PC migration no longer supported

Windows 11 version 26H1, which is currently available only on Windows 11 on Arm-based PCs that shipped this year with the latest (Qualcomm, RTX Spark) silicon, is getting cumulative update KB5127646 today. This will upgrade the system to Windows 11 build 28000.3231 and add the following new features and changes:

• New Taskbar with top, left, right, and bottom positioning and small and normal sizes
• New Start menu with Recommended renamed to Recent and the three main display areas independently configurable
• New Windows Search with a simplified home page (no Search highlights) and the ability to disable web and Store suggestions in search results
• File Explorer performance improvements and touch scrolling support
• Progress indicator updates across Windows 11 that are more modern and consistent
• Administrator Protection is available but not enabled by default
• Get Started app improvements with App install, Site pinning, and Theme pages for personalizing Windows 11