Microsoft is making it easier for users to connect Bluetooth devices to their Windows 11 PCs, starting with users running build 22563. Now, users can connect to Bluetooth devices directly from Quick Settings panel on the taskbar, instead of having to open the Settings app.

Until now, while there was a Bluetooth button in the Quick Settings panel, all it could do was either enable or disable Bluetooth connectivity. If you want to connect to a specific device, you'd have right-click the icon and go the Settings app to look for new devices or connect to known devices. Now, the Bluetooth button behaves similarly to the Wi-Fi button. Next to the icon, there's an arrow that lets you see a list of Bluetooth devices nearby and connect to them directly from the panel.

Windows 11 Quick Settings Bluetooth

Interestingly, this doesn't seem to be arriving in the form of an update you can download. Microsoft just says it's begun enabling the feature, so it's probably a server configuration change that's being rolled out now. This isn't a common strategy for Microsoft, since most features usually arrive in the form of a new build or an app update, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. It's almost more interesting to consider what other features Microsoft might remotely enable, like the new Windows 11 app picker we reported on earlier today.

Aside from the new Bluetooth connection panel, Windows 11 build 22563 includes some interesting new features, including a collapsable taskbar for tablets and new emoji. It's also the first build in a few weeks that's available for ARM64 PCs like the Surface Pro X. If you're coming from a previous build, you'll notice a lot more, including a bunch of new gestures for touchscreens that make Windows 11 much more tablet friendly. Those were added with build 22557, which wasn't available for ARM64 PCs due to a breaking bug.

Source: Microsoft