As we move towards mid-August 2025, let’s take a fresh glance at the major advancements Microsoft has been making for Windows 11 within the Windows Insider Program‘s communication outlets.
So far, the company has offered five sneak peeks, a few of which belonged to versions 24H2 and 25H2, while others didn’t align with any particular update.
In the Canary Channel, we’ve seen:
- 27919
In the Dev Channel:
- 26200.5733
- 26200.5742
In the Beta Channel:
- 26120.5733
- 26120.5742
As a devoted follower, I’ve noticed an interesting pattern: at present, builds from the Developer and Beta Channels are quite similar, indicating that the majority of changes across versions tend to align. Microsoft has recently unveiled another preview in the Canary Channel, focusing primarily on bug fixes and minor enhancements, rather than significant updates.
In this walkthrough, you’ll discover the fresh design updates and additions that were introduced between January and June of 2025.
Biggest changes from the Windows Insider Program in August 2025
Here’s an update on the modifications Microsoft has been developing, following my previous summary of advancements for Insider testers.
1. Start menu mobile companion redesign
With build 26200.5742, the Start menu presents an updated mobile companion sidebar, preserving the key features of its predecessor. Notably, this new version allows for scrolling through a greater quantity of content related to your recent activities.
The company further mentions that you’ll retain the ability to view messages, make calls, share photos, download app updates, and so on, straight from your Android or iOS device.
2. Control Panel to Settings new features
Even though it appears we’ll continue using the Control Panel for a while beyond initial estimates, Microsoft has been gradually shifting various features to the Settings application since builds 26200.5742 and 26120.5742.
Date & time
In the “Date & Time” area, the option to “Display time and date in the system tray” can now be customized to include more than one clock.
You have the ability to include up to two additional clocks, each with options for customizing the time zone and nickname. These clocks will be visible when you hover over the time and date area as well as in your calendar view.
The Settings app is now moving the “Format” page into the “Date & Time” section, allowing you to modify the date and time format there, including customizing the “AM” and “PM” symbols. In the past, these settings were accessible under the “Language & Region” section.
In the “Additional settings” area of the “Date and Time” page, there is now an option labeled “Sync now,” which allows you to adjust the time server settings.
Language & region
In the “Language & Region” area, you can activate the “Unicode UTF-8 for global language compatibility” option within the “Windows display language” settings. This will provide support for various languages worldwide.
In the “Regional Settings” area, you’ll notice options for customizing both number and currency formats. Previously, you could adjust your “Date & Time Format” as well.
Lastly, within the “Additional Settings” area of the application, I noticed a feature that allows me to replicate the current user’s settings onto the welcome screen and account screen, as well as for newly created user accounts.
Keyboard
On the “Keyboard” settings, you’ll find a new feature allowing adjustment of the delay and speed for character repetition within the operating system.
Text cursor
On the “Text cursor” page, you can now control the cursor blink rate.
3. Windows Share with pin option
In these specific builds, namely 26200.5742 and 26120.5742, Microsoft subtly introduced an update to the Windows Share feature. Now, you can conveniently pin your preferred applications for effortless sharing of content.
By default, this feature is set to be activated (courtesy of PhantomOfEarth). To use it, simply hover over the application and click on the “pin” button that appears.
4. File Explorer Home improvements
In the Windows 11 builds 26200.5733 and 26120.5733, the company introduced a modification to the Home page of File Explorer that displays profile pictures as icons beneath the “Activity” column in the “Recommended” section.
However, it’s important to note that this enhancement is exclusive to users who are signed in with a work or school account.
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2025-08-14 17:49