Yesterday, Microsoft announced some changes to the Windows Insider Program, adding a Canary Channel to the arsenal, widely expected to be used to test features for Windows 12. In the meantime, however, Windows 11 rolls on, and today’s Dev Channel build 23403 (in the 23000 series, as opposed to 25000 series builds now moved to the Canary Channel) adds new features, as well as ones backported from the 25000 series of Dev Channel builds. Let’s dive right in:
Live Captions in more languages
23403 adds a number of languages to Live Captions, including “Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish and other English dialects.” These languages were first added in build 25300, which at the time was a Dev Channel build, but is now in the Canary Channel series.
File Explorer Access Keys
A new feature to File Explorer are Access Keys, one keystroke shortcuts to context menu commands. These keys are accessible via the Windows keyboard “Menu Key.”
File Explorer Recommendations
File Recommendations are coming to File Explorer Home for those signed in to an Azure Active Directory account such as a M365 Business plan, etc. “Files that are recommended will be cloud files associated with that account, either owned by the user, or shared with the user.”
Voice Access redesign
The Voice Access in-app command help page has been “completely renovated,” with descriptions and a search bar. These changes first came to Dev Channel build 25309.
Touch Keyboard Settings
Another 25309 feature, the Touch Keyboard Settings have been revamped.
Narrator support for Outlook
Coming first to English, and while there are no new features, 23403 adds the ability for updates to Narrator Outlook support via the Microsoft Store.
Multi-app Kiosk mode
Multi-app kiosk mode is a lockdown feature for Windows 11 that allows an IT administrator to select a set of allowable apps to run on the device, while all other functionalities are blocked. This enables you to create multiple different apps and access configurations for different user types, all on a single device.
In addition, there are also quite a few changes, fixes, and known issues, be sure to check out the Windows Insider blog post for more.
