After an unusual week where we didn't get a new build of Windows 11 for Insiders, Microsoft is back at it again this week with build 22593. Just like the last one, this build is available in both the Dev and Beta channels of the Insider program. Despite being two weeks since the last build, this one doesn't include a ton of new features, and it focuses more on fixes and overall improvements. With that being said, there are some noteworthy changes.
For starers, in line with the new Windows 11 features announced yesterday, File Explorer now has a page called Home, which is the new name for the Quick Access page. Now, Quick Access is the name of the top portion of this page, where you can see your pinned folders. There's a new Favorites category under this, where you can pin files and documents for easy access at any time, and then a Recent category below that with access to files that were recently edited. As Microsoft highlighted, this category will also include OneDrive files, include those that are shared with you and edited by other people. What this build doesn't include, though, is the new File Explorer tabs that were also announced yesterday.
Microsoft has also added the Journal app, which was a Microsoft Garage project and now graduated to an officially-supported Microsoft app, to the pen menu on the taskbar. The app itself won't be installed by default, but you can access it quickly from there. This app allows you to take notes as you would on a real notebook, but you can also import PDFs to annotate them.
Other improvements include: The addition of 5-minute increments for focus session length options up to 30 minutes so you get a bit more granular control; a new memory integrity security feature in Windows Security that prevents malicious code from being injected into high-security processes; and the ability to quickly choose a Snap Layout after pressing Win + Z using a number on the keyboard. Microsoft has also updated the ADLaM and Pashto keyboards with some tweaks to the way certain characters are added.
As for what's still not in this build, Microsoft hasn't made any mention of the new full-screen Widgets page or the new video effects that were shown off during the April 5th event.
As we've mentioned, the focus of this build is on fixes and improvements, and there's a huge list of them. Microsoft addressed some reliability issues with the main explorer.exe process that may have caused crashes, but there's a lot more. For example, the design of Start menu folders has been tweaked so app icons are bigger and more visible.
Windows 11 build 22593 is available for Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta channels, but this isn't going to last forever. If you want to get onto a stable release of Windows 11, you'll need to switch to the Beta channel now, because the Dev channel will soon start testing future Windows 11 updates, and you'll only be able to go back to a stable version by resetting your PC.
Source: Microsoft