Microsoft releases Windows 10 Build 21376 with a new font for better scaling

We usually see new Windows 10 builds for the Dev Channel arriving on a Wednesday, but this week the latest Insider build has slipped a day, but it’s worth the wait.

Build 21376 comes with an updated UI font, and other cosmetic tweaks.

The updated font, Segoe UI Variable, includes an optical axis that lets font outlines scale seamlessly from small to larger display sizes. This also means better legibility at small sizes.

Microsoft explains:

Historically, fonts for printing small text were designed differently than fonts designed for large display text. Segoe UI was originally designed to work at 9pt, which makes it a great font for that size, but limits expression at large sizes and lacks legibility at even smaller sizes. Segoe UI Variable solves this by using a new version of Segoe that uses variable font technology to dynamically offer great legibility at very small sizes, and style at large sizes.

The font is rolling out so may not appear everywhere just yet.

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Other changes and improvements in this build include:

• To continue enjoying Auto HDR, visit Settings > Display > HDR Settings and make sure Auto HDR is set to On.
• Microsoft has made some small updates to improve the drag-and-drop default cursor design in scenarios like dragging and dropping into Outlook.
• Microsoft is updating the Connect app icon to align with its other recent iconography improvements.
• Based on feedback Microsoft has made some small tweaks to how the symbols in the symbols section of the emoji panel are sorted.
• Microsoft is updating the Segoe UI Historic font to add Bamum Unicode range support.

Fixes include:

• [News and interests] Fixed an issue where news and interests would open on hover while the mouse was in motion over the button instead of only when the mouse is stationary.
• [News and interests] Fixed an issue so that the taskbar button will no longer be stuck in a reduced size when the taskbar height is increased from its default.
• [News and interests] Microsoft made some explorer.exe reliability and performance improvements, especially when using a Remote Desktop Connection.
• Fixed an issue resulting in WSL users finding that File Explorer launch performance and other file related activities regressed after upgrading to Build 21354 and higher.
• Fixed an issue resulting in Pinyin IME users not being able to select items from the candidate window using their keyboard.
• Fixed an issue where Windows Spotlight related text unexpectedly stopped showing on the lock screen in the last few builds.
• Fixed an issue impacting the responsiveness when switching from Start to Search in recent flights (aka when pressing the Windows key and typing).
• Fixed an issue where the "Search with Screenshot" button in Search wasn’t working.
• Fixed an issue resulting in Insiders seeing pseudoloc text on the Windows Update page in Settings.
• Fixed an issue where the Startup Apps page in Settings was showing the wrong icon for Edge Canary.
• Fixed an issue resulting in the Storage Sense page in Settings crashing for some people.
• Fixed an issue where Manage Disks and Volumes in Settings was still incorrectly displaying some HDDs as SSD.
• Fixed an issue that could result in explorer.exe locking up after signing into your PC if you had a large number of browser tabs displaying in ALT + Tab.
• Fixed a rendering issue when viewing acrylic surfaces under Magnifier.
• Fixed an issue impacting night light reliability in recent flights.
• Fixed an issue where the dual boot delay timer was being reset to 0 after upgrading.
• Fixed the issue where some Windows Subsystem for Linux instances can fail to launch with a 'The parameter is incorrect' message.
• Microsoft has worked with partners to resolve and distribute a fix for an issue causing updates to hang due to a driver compatibility issue. If you are experiencing an issue, please ensure you are running the latest drivers from your manufacturer.
• Fixed an issue that could result in the Windows Update icon unexpectedly not displaying in the notification area when an update was pending reboot.
• Fixed an issue that could result in apps hanging after pressing ALT + Shift.
• Fixed an issue that could result in certain apps crashing if you set focus to the search box in the Open or Save dialog.
• Fixed an issue that could result in Windows Terminal unexpectedly displaying an error saying "Unable to find the selected font" on launch.
• Fixed an issue that could result in audio playback failing when using the new unified audio endpoint.
• Fixed an issue when using a precision touchpad that could result in issues controlling the cursor if your palm was slightly touching the other side of the touchpad.
• Fixed an issue that could result in a precision touchpad unexpectedly scrolling in the wrong direction sometimes.
• Fixed an issue where the black cat emoji wasn’t rendering correctly in DirectWrite controls.
• Fixed an issue where when typing with an IME while Task Manager or certain other apps were in focus, the unfinalized text could appear very tiny on a high DPI screen.
• Fixed an issue where some elements of the Japanese IME candidate window could be unexpectedly cut off after increasing the text scaling.
• Fixed an issue resulting in the F10 function not working if you switched to using the previous version of the Japanese IME.
• Fixed an issue where the touch keyboard unexpectedly had some blank keys when using the Bopomofo IME with the full keyboard layout.

Known issues are:

• The Windows Camera App currently does not respect the default brightness setting set via the new Camera Settings page.
• Microsoft is investigating an issue where elements of Search (including the search box in File Explorer) are no longer displaying correctly in dark theme.
• Microsoft is working on a fix for an issue where after updating to this build, some devices may show a warning in the tray indicating your version of Windows 10 has reached end of service.
• [News and interests] Microsoft is investigating an issue where the flyout may occasionally flash in the top left corner of your screen after clicking the button on your taskbar.

Image credit: Roman Samborskyi/ Shutterstock