Microsoft is changing the Windows setup design for the first time in over a decade

A new Windows 11 release finally updates the installation experience, which has looked the same since Windows 8.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Windows 11 build 26040 introduces a new design for the Windows setup screen, featuring a white background and redesigned UI elements.
• Speech Clarity is a new feature that improves the clarity of your speech during video conversations and meetings by removing background noise and echo.
• The Narrator in Windows 11 now includes improved picture consumption features, such as the ability to switch between images using keyboard shortcuts and better word recognition.

Microsoft has just released a new Windows 11 version to Insiders in the Canary channel, and it comes with an all-new design for the setup experience, among many other new features and changes. Installing Windows on your PC has looked the same for over a decade, but that is finally changing.

The Windows Setup finally looks different

Build 26040 of Windows 11 introduces a completely new Windows setup screen, which has looked nearly identical since the release of Windows 8. You may be familiar with the classic purple background with a window border that looks like it came from Windows 7, and yes, that is a feature of Windows that has remained unchanged in Windows 10 and Windows 11, at least visually.

The window border design remains unchanged, but the experience has a new look with this build, with a white background and some other UI changes, including a more visible option to repair your PC rather than perform a new installation of Windows 11, as well as a confirmation prompt for the user to acknowledge that installing Windows 11 will delete all of their data from the computer.

Windows 11 can make you sound better now

This build also includes a feature called Voice Clarity, which can improve the quality of your voice during a video call or meeting, or in any app that uses the Communications Signal Processing Mode, which is to say, any app designed for communication purposes. Voice Clarity cancels background noise and echo to make your voice sound clearer to your audience, which can be very useful.

Voice Clarity is enabled by default for apps that support it; however, apps can give an option to disable the feature if you want to play music or other audio over your microphone without fear of it being cut off.

Voice Clarity has previously been available on Surface devices, but this build expands its functionality to almost any laptop.

Improved Narrator image experience

Those with special accessibility needs, specifically those who use Narrator, have some good news with this build: Narrator in Windows 11 now has an improved experience for consuming images, with the ability to move to the next or previous image on a screen/page using a keyboard shortcut, as well as improved text recognition in images. This should mean that narrator will read what is written in an image more accurately, which is obviously better for those who can not see it.

In addition, Narator may now announce draft and resolved comments in Word, as well as bookmarks and accessibility suggestions for the currently open page.

Notably, Microsoft is making it possible to utilize Narrator and voice access at the same time, allowing you to open programs or interact with the screen using your voice. You may even interact with Narrator by saying "speak faster."

New features for Windows LAPS

With Windows 11 build 26040, the Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) gains a number of new features, including automated account management, which allows LAPS to automatically create a local managed account.

The PasswordComplexity option level has been increased to 5, which removes certain characters that can cause reading issues for long passwords, such as 1 and I. The main page for showing the account password has also been altered to make it easier to read.

On the subject of passwords, Windows LAPS now has a passphrase option, allowing admins to create a more easily repeatable long password with actual words. Admins can choose the maximum length of the password in characters and words to suit their needs. Finally, LAPS can now detect when the Windows image has been reversed and the local password does not match the password stored in Active Directory, informing the user that they cannot sign into the device.

There are many more changes

In addition to this, Windows 11 build 26040 features a variety of smaller changes, including some that were previously available in other channels, such as the ability to view photos from your phone flash up on your PC through a notification, which was introduced last week in the Dev channel.

In addition, support for USB4 80Gbps (or USB4 version 2) is now available, as is the redesigned Cast experience, which promotes using the Cast feature when multitasking.

Of course, the build contains some minor modifications, such as WordPad being removed if you make a clean install of this build or Copilot being relocated to the left corner of the screen.

There are some brand-new changes, though. For instance, Task Manager now has a new icon that matches the Windows 11 design language and looks lot better.

Microsoft has also added new compression options for files, so you can choose the level of compression, format, and more settings for squeezed archives. Additionally, clicking the Share button in a browser that uses the Windows 11 share window now gives you the option of sharing directly to Facebook, X (Twitter), WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Gmail. For those using Microsoft Entra ID, you can now share items directly to a Teams channel.

Finally, Nearby Share speed has been greatly enhanced, resulting in faster file transfers between devices on the same network.

Of course, the build includes the typical mix of known issues and fixes, as is to be anticipated in the Insider program, and especially in the Canary channel.