KB5015890 comes to the Windows 11 Beta Channel with Task Overflow

Microsoft has once again released two Windows 11 builds at the same time for the Beta Channel, just as it did last week with builds 22621.436 and 22622.436 (KB5015888)

Today it’s all about builds 22621.440 and 22622.440 (KB5015890), which were both just made available for Insiders on the Beta Channel.

And, just as the last time, get ready for:

• Build 22622.440 = New features rolling out.
• Build 22621.440 = New features off by default.

What is new in builds 22621.440 and 22622.440?

Today’s staggered Beta Channel release comes with a ton of improvements and tweaks, as we’re about to see in a second.

Through this build, the tech giant is actually reintroducing taskbar overflow, with a freshly designed experience for Windows 11.

This new taskbar experience has been thoughtfully crafted to offer you a more productive switching and launching experience when space is constrained.

To be more specific, the taskbar will automatically transition into this new overflow state when it has hit its maximum capacity.

When the taskbar is in that state, it will offer an entry point to an overflow menu that allows you to view all your overflowed apps in one space.

The above-mentioned overflow menu will contain many of the current taskbar behaviors users are familiar with, such as supporting pinned apps, jump list, and extended UI.

You might also like to know that Microsoft is only just beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn’t available to all Insiders in the Beta Channel just yet.

Another feature that not all Insiders get to test right now is the dynamic Widgets content coming to your taskbar.

Besides seeing live content from the weather widget, you’ll also start to see live updates from the sports and finance widgets, along with breaking news alerts.

This content was designed to be quick and glanceable with the ability to see more inside the widgets board if you click on it.

Now that this is out of the way, let’s have a closer look at the rest of the changelog and determine which other changes are just as notable.

Changes and Improvements in Build 22622.440

[General]

• We are beginning to roll out the updated “Open with” dialog box again to align with Windows 11 design principles. The updated dialog box honors light and dark theme. We have also simplified the experience by making it possible to update your default app with just one click. Since reverting this change back in March, we’ve made performance improvements based on Insider feedback.

[Input]

• We have updated the U.S. English (EN-US) handwriting model to be faster and more accurate. Use the updated Handwriting Panel for ink-to-text and let us know what you think.

[Settings]

• Settings now supports managing apps which were earlier only supported from Control Panel. This includes uninstallation of apps which have inter-dependencies (e.g., Steam and gaming apps running on Steam), repair and modifying of Win32 apps.

Fixes in Build 22622.440

[General]

• Fixed an issue leading to some Insiders experiencing explorer.exe crashes when docking and undocking monitors in Build 22622.436.

[File Explorer]

• Did some work to fix a memory leak when using tabs with File Explorer.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator wasn’t reading out the titles of tabs as focus moved through them.
• Fixed an issue where the preview thumbnail for File Explorer in the taskbar, ALT + Tab, and Task View might show the title of an adjacent tab and not the currently selected one.
• The add new tab button shouldn’t overlap with the minimize button in the title bar when using text scaling with a lot of tabs open anymore.

[Suggested Actions]

• Fixed an issue which was leading to certain apps freezing after a copy action if Suggested Actions was enabled.
• Fixed a high hitting crash impacting Suggested Actions reliability.

Known issues

[General]

• [NEW] There is an issue in the recent Beta Channel updates that is causing the Photos app to crash, and a fix will be rolling out soon via a Photos app update via the Store.
• [NEW] We’re investigating reports that SQL Server Management Studio is failing to launch for some Insiders.

[File Explorer]

• [NEW] The left-half of the File Explorer title bar may not be draggable via mouse or touch.
• [NEW] We’re working on a fix to address reports that launching File Explorer in certain ways when using dark mode (for example, from the command line) is showing the body of File Explorer unexpectedly in light mode.
• The up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs. This will be fixed in a future update.

What can I do if KB5015890 fails to install?

1. Press Win+ I to access Settings.
2. Select the System category and click on Troubleshoot.
3. Press the Other troubleshooters button.
4. Press the Run button next to Windows Update.

Have you noticed any other issues after downloading this new Beta Channel build on your PC? Share your experience with us in the comments section below.