With KB5044388, Microsoft introduces a new Timer and Countdown in Windows 11

Microsoft has announced the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1930 (KB5044388) for the Dev Channel. The update, released on October 4, 2024, brings a host of new features, improvements, and fixes. Some upgrades are gradually being rolled out to Dev Channel insiders, while others are available immediately.

The new build includes many new features and fixes that offer a preview of the 24H2 update for Windows 11.

A new Clock app version with a countdown and timer widgets: The Clock app for Windows 11 is getting a new update with two new widgets, a countdown and a timer, which you can add to the widgets board to keep track of time. Microsoft says that the latest version of the Clock app (11.2408.9.0 and higher) will be rolling out to Dev Channel insiders over the coming days.

Windows Sandbox Client Preview available to all Dev Channel insiders: Microsoft announced the Windows Sandbox Client Preview feature in Build 26120.1843 last week, but it was only available to a subset of Dev Channel insiders.

Now, however, Microsoft says that all Dev Channel insiders should be able to try it out.

A new set of general improvements and fixes should improve Dev Channel insiders’ overall Windows 11 experience. A new simplified Chinese font called Simsun-ExtG contains 9,753 ideographs supporting Unicode Extensions G, H, and I.

Microsoft says the font includes a “highly requested” character for Biangbiang noodles, which the company says is the most complicated Chinese character. However, Microsoft notes that some applications might not be able to display the new extension characters yet.

With KB5044388, the Redmond-based tech giant has also allowed users to customize the Copilot Key, enhancing it with MSIX packaging and signing. This means it can offer extra protection when dealing with sensitive data.

This new setting can be found via Settings > Personalization > Text input, and enabling it on devices where Copilot is unavailable will not affect it.

Known issues in this build include an installation error (0x800f0983) and a bug that could cause the Start menu’s All Apps list to break.

This is the second release to the Dev Channel after the company greatly improved Internet connections last week.

You can read KB5044388’s full changelog here.