14 DAY TRIAL // The work on Windows 11 continues, despite Microsoft planning to begin the public rollout on October 5, and the latest Dev build comes with some pretty important changes going forward.
For example, there’s a new progressing ring animation that replaces the old animated circle of dots, with Microsoft explaining that it’s planning to make this change available in other parts of the operating system as well.
Worth knowing, however, is that updates being tested in the Dev channel may not necessarily be part of Windows 11 at launch, as the current builds available in the Beta channels are the ones with an increased likelihood of being promoted to production devices.
Improved notifications appearance
In addition, Windows 11 build 22449 also introduces acrylic background for notifications, as well as an updated animation in the notification introducing you to Windows Hello if this feature is yet to be configured.
Microsoft says it has also changed the default behavior of the Windows 11 startup sound. It would no longer play after an unattended update, Microsoft says, and this approach makes perfect sense.
The design of the Notification Center has also been further polished to make the app names more visibly separated from the notifications, while the dialog when closing Windows Sandbox now comes with rounded corners, just like most of the operating system.
Microsoft has also included several File Explorer refinements, as per the changelog (which you can check in full in the box after the jump).
“We’ve done some work to help address an underlying issue where moving certain app windows would be very slow if a File Explorer window was also visible on the screen. The command bar should now be properly mirrored in Arabic and Hebrew and fixed some positioning when using the command bar flyouts in those display languages,” the company says.
Windows 11 is projected to be signed off as soon as this month, with the rollout to begin in October.