Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 25197, plus Calculator and Media Player app updates

Windows Insiders might have had to wait an extra day for a new Dev Channel flight of Windows 11, but Build 25197 is here at last.

This build reintroduces the tablet-optimized taskbar and System Tray updates, and also fixes various problems. Microsoft has additionally released a couple of app updates for Insiders.

The touch-optimized taskbar kicks in automatically when you disconnect or fold back the keyboard on your 2-in-1 device.

If it’s available on your device, you’ll see "Optimize taskbar for touch interactions when this device is used as a tablet" under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors. It should be on by default. (This feature doesn’t work on laptops or desktop PCs).

The system tray updates add a rounded focus and hovering view on icons in the lower right tray.

Other changes and Improvements in this build include:

[Settings]

• Microsoft is beginning to roll out animated icons and illustrations in the Settings app. With the animated icons in the navigation bar, it continues growing its motion design principles to transform these familiar interactions from something purely functional to something that is also delightful.

[Input]

• Microsoft is making the small tweak that began rolling out with Build 25179 to improve the key repeat rate for the traditional touch keyboard layout, as well as the default touch keyboard layout, so it feels more responsive available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Now it has the rate of 20 keys per second (for example, when holding down the delete key). 

Fixes in this release include:

[System Tray Updates]

NOTE: These fixes will only show if tablet-optimized taskbar with System Tray updates is enabled on your device. Please see above for details on the tablet-optimized taskbar and System Tray updates, which is beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.

• The taskbar should no longer flash because of changes in the system tray in non-tablet-optimized scenarios.
• Fixed an issue that was causing parts of the taskbar or its icons like search to get stuck in the wrong theme’s colors when switching between light and dark themes.
• Date and time should no longer get stuck cutting off on the side of the screen from system tray changes.

[Start]

• Fixed a crash that users were seeing when using Start’s recommended section.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue leading to a small set of Insiders with "launch folder windows in a separate process" not being able to launch File Explorer in the last two flights due to an explorer.exe crash.
• Did some work to help improve the performance of deleting files via File Explorer (when emptying the recycle bin or using Shift + Delete) in the case where there are a large number of files being deleted at once.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue causing ctfmon.exe crashes for some Insiders in recent flights when words were added to your spelling dictionary.
• Dragging the voice typing window to another monitor which has a different scaling than the originating monitor should work now instead of bouncing back.
• Fixed a sporadic crash in recent builds when using the input switcher.
• Fixed an issue which could lead to voice typing and other input features hanging on initialization.
• Fixed an issue with displaying certain Sinhala words, where they were unexpectedly overlapping.

[Settings]

• Updated the design of the lists displayed Apps > Startup Apps and Apps > Advanced App Settings > App Execution Alias pages to be more consistent with other Settings pages.
• Fixed an issue which could lead to Settings crashing when removing devices.
• Updated the Personal Dictionary section under Privacy & Security > Inking & Typing Personalization to now say "Custom word list".

[Widgets]

• Fixed an issue which was making the weather icon in the taskbar draw too high and with no text in recent flights.

[Windowing]

• Clicking the title bar portion of a preview thumbnail in Task View should now actually switch to that app, instead of just closing Task View.
• Fixed a sporadic explorer.exe crash which could happen when using ALT + Tab or Task View.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue impacting Task Manager reliability.
• If graphs have been hidden on the Performance page, the circles used to identify each of the different sections should be less blurry now.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue which could lead to hangs in certain apps when attempting to print if an IPP printer took too long to respond to the print request.
• Fixed an issue where EnumPrinters wasn’t always returning the correct size for pcbNeeded, which could lead to hangs in certain programs.
• Fixed a typo in the dialog displayed when Smart App Control blocked an app.
• Fixed an issue where certain characters were missing in the boot environment when using the Chinese (Simplified) or Korean display languages, leading to square boxes in the text.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues are:

[General]

• Microsoft is looking into reports that audio stopped working for some Insiders after upgrading to the latest flights.
• Microsoft is investigating reports of a few different apps having started crashing in recent builds.
• Microsoft is investigating reports that Insiders are experiencing a bugcheck when moving their mouse in certain games
• Microsoft is investigating reports that some Insiders are seeing OneDrive setup asking for permission to set up every time their PC reboots.

[File Explorer]

• Microsoft is working on the fix for an issue where command bar items like copy, paste, and empty recycle bin may unexpectedly not be enabled when they should be.

[Settings]

• [NEW] Microsoft is investigating some issues where uninstalling certain apps using Settings > Apps > Installed apps isn’t working correctly.

[Tablet-optimized taskbar]

• [NEW] The taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture.
• [NEW] The taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture.
• [NEW] Using the left or right edge gestures can result in the Widgets or Notification Center (respectively) to overlap with or look truncated by the taskbar.
• [NEW] When using the bottom right edge gesture to see Quick Settings, the taskbar sometimes stays stuck in the expanded state, instead of dismissing to collapsed state.
• [NEW] When there are no running windows on the desktop, the taskbar can sometimes collapse, when it should be expanded.

[Widgets]

• Notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar.
• In some cases, the notification banner for some badging will not appear in the widgets board.

Microsoft is also rolling out the following app updates to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.

Calculator (Version 11.2208.1.0): Microsoft added native Arm64 support to Calculator. You’ll see faster and better performance when you use the app on Arm64 devices.

Media Player (Version 11.2208.22.0): Microsoft added the ability to edit video files in Clipchamp with a new "Edit with Clipchamp" action available when you right-click a video in your library and in the lower-right corner of the video player UI under more options (…) when playing a video file.

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