A new Windows 11 build is in the hands of Insiders. Microsoft has made available build 22478 in the Dev channel of the preview program, and this version brings with it a bunch of goodies.
The headlining feature is the addition of the Fluent emojis that have now finally made their debut.
Microsoft showcased them earlier this year, confirming that this new design of emoticons will soon be made available across all its software and services. They are part of the company’s effort to modernize its emojis selection by making them 3D in shape.
Of course, the highlight of the bunch is the return of Clippy — it replaces the paperclip icon.
Redmond has also added in support for Unicode emojis up to Emoji 13.1, which brings a bunch of additional options.
And if you are thinking you will have to wait until next year to enjoy these emojis, then fret not. These will be added to the public release version of Windows 11 operating system via a future servicing update alongside other enhancements and bug fixes.
Speaking of other enhancements, build 22478 also packs in a few other improvements.
There are optimizations for the indexer platform that results in reduced disk space usage on the system.
Redmond has also added the ability to change system volume from the volume icon using the mouse wheel by scrolling. A nifty, and some may say required, addition, very welcome. More so, because this feature was present in Windows 10, and was missing in Windows 11.
There are other smaller improvements in this build, details of which you can gather from the announcement post linked above.
As usual, there is a big array of bug fixes too, some of which will be brought to Windows 11 21H2 via a servicing update in the future. And by the same token, we also have a bunch of known issues that you would want to be aware of.
Windows 11 build 22478 is one of the first Dev channel builds that has packed solid new features.
Hopefully, this version of the preview leads the way for more builds that bring major new features to the operating platform.
