Patch KB5040529 is now in circulation in the Windows 11 environment and brings a significant series of new features that significantly improve the user experience. With this version, the platform reaches version 26100.1297 of 24H2 and does so by giving experts many of the features they had been requesting for some time.
Before you start checking to see if you have this update available, we'll tell you that, for the moment, it's only available to those who are part of the Windows Insiders program. These users can find the new version in the Release Preview Channel as usual. For the rest of us, the forecast is that these new features will be available with all the other 24H2 updates when this update arrives at the end of the year.
Changes in the taskbar
One of the best new features of this version of Windows 11 is the changes introduced to the taskbar. Since we left Windows 10 behind, we have seen how Microsoft struggled to please all users with the taskbar and, finally, it seems that they have made significant changes. First of all, they have changed the visual style of the icons that appear on the taskbar and that did not convince practically anyone. Microsoft has added more detail to them and has also incorporated some animations in specific cases.
Another change is that we will now have the opportunity to move applications that we have in the Start menu to the taskbar so that they remain present there in a fixed way. Although it is true that this is not a revolution, since it was present before Windows 11, it had not yet been included in the current version of the operating system.
Freedom on the lock screen
Microsoft has heard the criticism and has acted accordingly. Some time ago, the company started using the lock screen to put what its designers thought was most correct. And that did not please a good part of users. Therefore, it is positive to see that the company has backtracked on its decision and now allows us to customize this screen in the way we prefer.
In addition to being able to keep the elements that Microsoft had added, such as weather information, we also have the opportunity to put other widgets at will. For example, real-time traffic information or stock market status, among other things. The important thing is that you can choose what you want to see and so you won't have to come across information that doesn't interest you. In addition, it is also possible to opt for a minimalist design and disconnect these elements so that nothing appears.
Other news
The Task Manager is another element of Windows 11 that receives new features in this update. For example, the interface has now been customized so that memory performance can be seen not in Mhz but in MT/s, while changes have been made to accessibility. Among other things, it is now easier to change the size of the window and the text scaling has been modified. Not only that, but Microsoft has finally fixed the problem whereby you could not safely disconnect a USB device if you had the task manager open.
On another note, the sharing window is now more dynamic and allows, among other things, to create QR codes for the files you are going to share. It also has a new system for sending emails to yourself with the files in question.
Finally, Windows 11 is updated with the emoji 15.1 standard, navigation in File Explorer has been simplified and, among other things, security has been increased. Thus, we can now enter an email to restore our account in case we need to. All these changes will reach the end user before the end of the year along with other new features that will make version 24H2 possibly one of the best in recent times.
