July 30, 2024—KB5040529 (OS Build 26100.1301) Preview

These might not be available to all users because they will roll out gradually.

• ​​​​​​[Emoji] New! This update adds support for Emoji 15.1. Windows supports Unicode symbol-like shapes for family groupings. But Windows will keep using people for them. Also, you can choose the right or left facing direction for some people emoji. The new emoji are:

  • Horizontal and vertical head shake

  • Phoenix

  • Lime

  • Brown mushroom

  • Broken chain

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​[Start menu] ​​​​​​​

  • New! The new account manager is on the Start menu. When you use a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows, you will get a glance at your account benefits. This feature also makes it easy to manage your account settings.

  • New! You can drag apps from the pinned section of the menu and pin them to the taskbar.

• [Windows Backup]​​​​​​​ New! Windows will now back up many of your sound settings (this includes your sound scheme). This only occurs if you turn on Remember my preferences and select the checkboxes for Personalization and Other Windows settings. To find these, go to Settings > Accounts > Windows backup. Then, you can use the Windows Backup app to restore those settings on a new device.

• [Lock screen] New! Sports, traffic, and finance content will appear along with weather. To turn on this feature, go to Settings > Personalization > Lockscreen.

• [File Explorer] New! You can now use your mouse to drag files between breadcrumbs in the File Explorer address bar. A breadcrumb shows the path to your current file location in the address bar. For example, there are three breadcrumbs in the path This PC > Windows (C:) > Program Files.

• [Settings] ​​​​​​​

  • New! This update adds a page to Settings > Accounts called Linked devices. On it, you can manage your PCs and Xbox consoles. This page only shows on Home and Pro editions when you sign in to Windows using your Microsoft account (MSA).

  • New! This update puts the “Add now” button in Settings > Accounts. When you select it, you can add a recovery email address if you have not added one for your Microsoft account yet. The button only shows if you sign in to your Microsoft account.

  • New! This update adds a new Game Pass recommendation card on the Settings home page. This home page shows on Home and Pro editions when you sign in to Windows using your Microsoft account. The card appears if you actively play games on your PC.

  • New! This update includes updated visuals for the “Rename your PC” and “Change date and time” dialogs to match the Windows 11 visuals.

• [Windows share]​​​​​​​

  • New! This update adds a feature that stops you from accidentally closing the Windows share window. Clicking outside of the window will no longer close it. To close it, select the close button at the upper-right corner.

  • New! You can now create quick response (QR) codes for webpage URLs and cloud files from the Windows share window. Select the share button in the Microsoft Edge toolbar and choose “Windows share options.” Then, you can share the URLs and files across your devices.

  • New! You can now send email to yourself from the Windows share window. You will receive the email at the email address that is in your Microsoft account.

  • New! You can directly share to specific Microsoft Teams channels and group chats in the Windows share window. To do so, you must sign in using a Microsoft Entra ID.

  • New! You can now copy files from the Windows Share window. Just click the new Copy button.​​​​​​​

• [Task Manager]

  • This update changes the units for DDR speed from MHz to MT/s.

  • Task Manager releases process handles more quickly when it stops a process.

  • This update makes Task Manager more reliable.

  • This update affects the sort order of processes in Task Manager. Performance is better when you change the order.

  • This update makes Task Manager more accessible by improving:

    • Keyboard focus

    • Tab key navigation

    • Text scaling

    • The readout of item names by screen readers

    • High contrast heatmaps and more.​​​​​​​

  • This update makes resizing the Task Manager window easier when you grab the top of its window.

  • Ejecting USB devices using the Safely Remove Hardware option fails. This occurs when Task Manager is open.

• [Widgets] ​​​​​​​New! The Widgets icons on the taskbar are no longer pixelated or fuzzy. This update also gives you a larger set of animated icons.