Microsoft has announced the release of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557 to the Dev Channel Windows Insiders. The latest build brings in several new features and improvements. The noticeable change is that the name of the branch has been changed to NI_RELEASE. The company revealed that the branch in which they release builds to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel is irrelevant to the features and improvements included within them. The latest build will not be offered to ARM64 PCs. The Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557 ships with new features such as pinned apps, live captions, new Focus experience, new touch gestures, Quick Access improvements in File Explorer, and much more. The build also includes several improvements as well.
The Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557 enable users to create and curate folders in the pinned apps area of Start menu. You just need to drag an app on top of another to create a folder. You can add multiple apps to a folder, rearrange apps within a folder including removals of apps from a folder. Microsoft will add additional improvements like the ability to name and rename folders in the upcoming builds.
Do Not Disturb and Focus
The Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557 brings in Do Not Disturb, which can be used to silence notifications. Focus enables everyone to stay in the moment and minimize distractions on their PC. The Focus integrates with the Clock app for other focus tools such as a focus timer and calming music. You can configure rules to automatically activate Do Not Disturb by navigating to Settings | System | Notifications. You can also set priority notifications to keep track of calls, reminders, and specific apps.
After the installation of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557, you can start focus right from Notification Center including selecting the amount of time for each focus session. The Taskbar badging and flashing of apps in the Taskbar will deactivate immediately upon the start of a focus session. A focus timer will appear on the screen and do not disturb will activate. The Focus in Windows integrates with focus sessions in the Clock app. You can play calming music and will be able to view a task list from Microsoft To-Do. You will receive a notification, which implies that the focus time has been completed when the focus session ends. Moreover, you can personalize the focus experience b navigating to Settings | System | Focus.
Understanding Live Captions
The Live captions will be useful for deaf people who are able to understand audio by viewing captions of spoken content. The Captions are generated automatically from any content with audio and are displayed at the top or bottom of the screen or in a floating window. The caption window can be resized and caption appearance can be personalized by applying or customizing a caption style. The microphone audio can be included, which will be useful during in-person conversations. The catch is that Live Captions only provide support for English (US) content. The Live Captions can be activated by pressing the WIN+Ctrl+L keyboard shortcut. You can also activate from the Accessibility flyout under Quick Settings. The Live Captions will prompt for the download of the required speech model to enable on-device captioning when turned on for the first time.
Quick Access in File Explorer
The Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557 has introduced Quick Access in File Explorer. The Pinned files are displayed in a new section above Recent files in Quick Access. The pinned and recent files from office.com will be displayed in Quick Access for users who log into Windows with a Microsoft Account or Work/Education account. The changes that pin or unpin files hosted in Microsoft OneDrive, Microsoft SharePoint, and Microsoft Team will sync and reflect in office.com and office apps. The file activity updates from collaborators such as edits and comments and displayed in Tiles view and also visible in Details View.
In the next article, we will discuss other new features such as the ability to view OneDrive storage in File Explorer, new touch gestures, improved snap layouts, enhanced power settings, and other related improvements.
