What you need to know
- Microsoft just released Windows 11 Build 23531 to the Dev Channel.
- The update re-introduces a feature that will see a search flyout appear after you hover over the search box gleam.
- The build also has several fixes.
- Updated August 29, 2023 at 12:35 PM ET: Since releasing the Build, Microsoft added a note stating Unicode Emoji 15 support stopped shipping with this update due to a bug, but that it will return in the future.
Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel can wrap their week up with an update. Build 23531 just shipped, though it's a relatively minor update. Microsoft re-introduced a behavior that has the search flyout appear when you hover over the search box gleam in the build. There are also some fixes for a variety of issues.
A bigger change is the fact that Windows 11 will now respect your default browser settings when you open a link through a system component. Microsoft has received criticism for opening system links in Edge and ignoring default settings. This change is limited to those in the European Economic Area, however. That means if you click a widget or a search result in the start menu anywhere else, you'll still be taken to Edge.
If you're interested in other changes on the way to Windows 11, check out the latest Beta Channel Insider build that has an updated Settings homepage.
As for today's Dev Build, here's everything that's new and fixed, as outlined by Microsoft:
Build 23531: Changes & Improvements
General
- [REMINDER] Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Dev Channel has been updated to 9/15/2024 starting with Build 23526. Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Dev Channel.
- In the European Economic Area (EEA), Windows system components use the default browser to open links.
Search on the Taskbar
- We’re re-introducing the search experience for invoking the search flyout when you hover over the search box gleam. This behavior can be adjusted by right-clicking on the taskbar, choosing “Taskbar settings” and adjusting your preferred search box experience.
Build 23531: Fixes
General
- Fixed an issue which was causing explorer.exe to not work in safe mode.
File Explorer
- Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when closing File Explorer.
- Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer to crash when navigating to Gallery if you had a large number of images.
- Fixed an issue where “Automatically type into the Search Box” wasn’t working when File Explorer was open to Home.
- Fixed an issue where if you tried to copy and paste, a file out of a compressed folder and into a OneDrive folder might fail with an error code.
HDR Backgrounds
- Fixed an issue which could cause HDR wallpapers to appear washed out when HDR was enabled.
Task Manager
- Fixed an issue where it wasn’t possible to move the Task Manager window with touch or pen.
- Fixed an issue where Task Manager was crashing when using the reset to default button in Settings.
- Fixed an issue which was causing sporadic crashes when using Task Manager, including when ending tasks.
- Fixed an issue where if you did a search and then cleared it, the view would still be filtered even though there was no search anymore.
- Fixed an issue where the search icon would become overlapped with the Task Manager text in the title bar.
- Did some work to help improve the performance when switching between different pages in Task Manager.
- Updated the summary view for the Performance page (that you see when double clicking the graphs in the navigation pane) to make the window smaller.
Update about Unicode Emoji 15
Microsoft added a note to the release notes for this build stating that Unicode Emoji 15 has stopped shipping for now due to a bug:
"Unicode Emoji 15 support which began rolling out with Build 23475 and the updated color font format with COLRv1 support that began rolling out with Build 23506 no longer appear after updating to Build 23531 due to a bug. This issue will be fixed in a future flight soon."
