Gallery view in File Explorer and the Microsoft Store AI Hub make their way to more Windows Insiders

(Image credit: Future)

What you need to know

Windows 11 Build 22621.2048 and 22631.2048 just shipped to Insiders in the Beta Channel.
The update adds a new gallery view to File Explorer that makes it easier to see your photos.
Microsoft has also begun testing its new AI Hub in the Microsoft Store among all Insiders.

Microsoft just released a pair of Windows 11 builds to Insiders in the Beta Channel. As is usually the case for the Beta Channel, two builds have been shipped. One of them, Build 22631.2048, has new features on by default. The other, Build 22621.2048, has new features disabled by default.

The update brings a new gallery view in File Explorer that makes it easier to access your photos. It also includes several fixes and general improvements.

In addition to all of the changes outlined below, Microsoft has begun testing its new AI Hub in the Microsoft Store with all Insiders. The AI Hub shows Windows 11 apps that utilize the power of artificial intelligence.

Build 22631.2048: What's New

We are introducing Gallery, a new feature in File Explorer designed to make it easy to access your photo collection. The set of content shown in Gallery is the same as what you’ll see in the All Photos view in the Photos app.

Build 22631.2048: Changes & Improvements

General

Windows Insiders on Build 22631 will see the versioning updated under Settings > System > About (and winver) to version 23H2. This denotes that Windows 11, version 23H2 will be this year’s annual feature update which will be delivered to customers similar to the most recent Windows 10 feature updates. As mentioned here, Windows 11 will have an annual feature update cadence that releases in the second half of the calendar year. For more information, see this blog post here.

Taskbar & System Tray

After updating to this build, the ability to end task when right-clicking an app on the taskbar may appear, however this feature currently does not work correctly and will be fixed in a future flight in the Beta Channel. The setting for it under Settings > System > For developers also currently does not show.

File Explorer

We have added the ability to tear out and merge tabs in File Explorer.

For Developers

We are moving the “For Developers” settings page from Settings > Privacy & security to now be under Settings > System.

Build 22631.2048: Fixes

Taskbar

Fixed an issue which could cause the taskbar to hang during initialization and not complete loading.

File Explorer

Fixed an issue which could lead to explorer.exe crashes when opening a folder containing .WEBP files.
Did some work to help address an issue where File Explorer might hang when browsing network shares.

Notification

Fixed an issue where you might unexpectedly see a suggestion to turn off notifications that you regularly interacted with.

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Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He's covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean's journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.