Microsoft has just released the Windows 11 Insider build 22579 for testers in the Dev Channel. The main change in this build is the ability to name app folders in the Start Menu, but there are also some important updates for the Media Player and Your Phone apps.

App/Tile folders were a popular feature in the Windows 10 Start Menu, and Microsoft recently started testing a new version of that in the Pinned section of the Windows 11 Start Menu. Starting with today’s build 22579, Insiders can now name their app folders, and every new app folder will now have the default name of “Folder.”

If you’re an IT Pro, this build also introduces a new policy for excluding USB removable drives from BitLocker encryption. “This will solve the problem of automatic or accidental encryption of storage built into specialized devices like video cameras, voice recorders, conferencing systems, medical devices and many more,” the Windows Insider team explained.

In this build, Microsoft has also started testing a new multi-finger touch gesture. Using three fingers on their trackpad, testers can now swipe left or right to switch between recently used windows.

Microsoft has also started rolling out an update for the Windows 11 Media Player app that brings support for CD playback. “We’ve also made improvements to better adapt to theme changes and to the media content drag and drop experience,” the team said today.

Lastly, Microsoft is improving the new Recent Apps feature in the Windows 11 Your Phone app with an integration with the Office desktop and web apps. For testers with select Galaxy phones, it’s now possible to open supported Office documents showing up in the Recent Apps pop up in the Office desktop apps or the Office web apps, rather than the Office mobile app that’s installed on the phone.

“Recent Apps requires a deeper level of integration with the Android device and the team worked directly with Samsung to light this up. It is available on select Samsung devices that have Link to Windows, with OneUI 3.1.1 or higher and Link to Windows Service 2.3.”

This Recent Apps update, even though it’s still limited to select Samsung phones, is quite exciting. It’s an early promise of more synergies between Android apps and Windows apps, and it doesn’t really make sense to use Android apps on your PC via Your Phone while you could probably be more productive using a Windows app, or a web app. We’re still far from the seamless “Handoff” continuity features Apple created across iOS and macOS devices, but this is still a step in the right direction.

Tagged with Windows 11, Windows Insider