For members of the Windows Insider Program in the Beta and Dev channels, today Microsoft rolled out the Windows 11 Build 22616 preview update. In addition to introducing general fixes and performance optimizations, this preview also introduces new control bar features for the Xbox Game Bar.
With this new control bar feature, users can quickly launch recently played games and game launchers. According to Microsoft, the controller bar will open when you pair or connect an Xbox gamepad to a Windows 11 PC enrolled in the Dev or Beta channel. You’ll see the three most recently played games, as well as the game launcher for Steam or EA Origin. The launcher can also be invoked manually via the Xbox button.
In addition, this version also fixes the problem that the “Show Hidden Icons” pop-up in the system tray does not appear. Additional fixes adjust where the performance and reliability of explorer.exe may degrade over time, eventually leading to bugchecks. Crashes in Gadgets, Settings, Windowing, Task Manager, and Windows Sandbox have also been fixed.
Windows 11 Build 22616 fixes the following
- Fixed an issue that caused some apps to crash when pressing half-width/full-width keys while using a Japanese IME.
- Fixed an issue where if you tried to open the widget pad with a gesture from the side of the screen, you would see the widget pad open and then close immediately.
- Fixed an issue where users could not use the swipe function to reliably invoke Widgets.
- Fixed an issue that could cause Quick Setup to crash when casting to certain wireless devices.
- Fixed an issue where minimizing with a three-finger screen touch gesture could cause system-wide animations to stop working.
- Fixed an issue affecting DWM reliability during recent flights.
- Fixed an issue that caused some apps (such as Settings) to appear blank when reopened after an upgrade or restart.
- Fixed an issue that caused the list of processes to fluctuate between apps and background groups when tapping efficiency mode from the command bar.
- Fixed a potential issue that could cause some text in the Windows Sandbox to appear as black boxes in some cases.
- Fixed an issue that caused Windows Update notifications to show that they were sent from “Windows.SystemToast.WindowsUpdate.MoNotification” instead of “Windows Update”.