At its Windows 11 and Surface event, Microsoft showed off its improved Search experience. The new Search is faster, more efficient, and has a streamlined design that should be easier to scan.
The streamlined Windows Search is about more than finding files or apps, though it can do that. Search can perform tasks, such as switching your PC to dark mode or changing the volume of your computer.
Whether you're more interested in the performance improvements or the new features, there's reason to install the latest builds of Windows 11 that shipped to the Experimental channel and the Experimental channel (26H1). Insiders in those channels can now test the refreshed Search experience with limited support for inline actions.
Microsoft's engineers must have been excited about Windows after its big event, because five Insider builds were released yesterday. Two of them include the refreshed Windows Search. Here's everything that's new across all of the builds.
Windows Search (Experimental, Experimental (26H1))
- New Windows Search experience with inline actions: We're beginning to roll out a new Windows Search experience built on WinUI 3 that is faster, more efficient, and features a streamlined design that makes results easier to scan. We're also introducing inline actions, allowing you to quickly complete tasks directly. Turn on dark mode or Bluetooth, adjust your screen brightness, mute your device, or arrange windows from Windows Search.
- We're improving how Windows Search understands what you're looking for, including better matching for typos and synonyms. We'll continue fine-tuning these improvements over the coming weeks. For more information detailing the new changes, check out the Windows Insider Blog.
- English is the only supported language for this initial release.
- After upgrading to this build, restart your device before the New Windows Search Experience feature flag is visible.
Battery status widget (Experimental)
- As part of our continued commitment to making Widgets more useful for everyday moments, we're introducing the Battery Status widget for Insiders on newer builds. This widget provides a unified view of battery levels for your PC and peripheral devices, helping you quickly assess power status without hunting through multiple UI locations. Add it by going to Widgets board > Add widgets > Battery Status.
Narrator (Experimental (26H1))
- Read and explore math equations with Narrator (see full description in release notes)
Kerberos enhancements (Experimental)
- IAKerb is now enabled by default for Windows client. IAKerb is a Kerberos extension that allows Windows authentication to succeed in scenarios where traditional Kerberos can't be used because a direct connection to a domain controller is unavailable. This extension helps reduce reliance on NTLM while improving compatibility for modern authentication scenarios. For additional background, implementation details, and early preview information, see Reducing NTLM Dependency: IAKerb and LocalKDC in Windows Insider Preview.
Task Manager (Experimental)
- Task Manager is expanding process grouping to allow apps to combine otherwise separate background processes into a single unified category rather than relying solely on traditional parent-child trees. This makes an app's resource usage easier to understand. Microsoft Defender is the first app to use this capability.
Windows Update (Experimental)
- Fixed the issue causing some Insiders with Windows Sandbox enabled to get error 0x80073712 when attempting to install the latest updates.
Security (Experimental)
- We've updated the security key PIN entry experience, removing the "other user" icon for a clearer sign-in experience.
Taskbar (Experimental)
- Fixed an issue impacting some Insiders recently, which was causing the taskbar app window previews to become slower and noticeably lag over time.
Taskbar (Experimental (26H1))
- Improved underlying state persistence of taskbar settings related to multiple monitors across monitor connections and disconnections.
Settings (Experimental)
- Removed the backplate from the Settings icon when UAC is invoked from within Settings.
File Explorer (Experimental)
- Added support for font preview and installation in the File Explorer and desktop context menus.
Other (Experimental)
- Fixed an issue with msmpeg2ac3dec.dll which was leading to some apps and games crashing recently.
General (Experimental (Future Platforms))
- Symbols were missing for our previous flight. They should be available for this one.
Widgets (Beta)
- As part of our continued commitment to making Windows calmer and higher quality, we’re updating the default lock screen widget experience for Insiders on newer builds. With this change, Weather will be the primary widget shown on the lock screen, reducing recommended widget content and making the experience feel more focused. We're also giving users more control of personalizing the widgets on lock, curating the ones they find most useful for them. Users can access these settings by going to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen.
The new Search experience is the biggest change, but I'm also excited about the Battery Status widget that's now available to more Insiders. Microsoft has largely ignored widgets on Windows 11, so it's nice to see a useful one on its way.
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