Hello Windows Insiders, Today we’re releasing new builds for Release Preview across our supported versions of Windows 11. Please see the build numbers and links to the release notes below: Windows 11 version 24H2/25H2: Build 26100.9267/26200.9267 Windows 11 version 26H1: Build 28000.2796 Thanks, Stephen and the Windows Insider Program team
Microsoft pushed a coordinated set of Release Preview builds across three Windows 11 insider tracks on 14 August 2026, giving testers on the near-final 24H2 and 25H2 lines — and the newer 26H1 preview — an early look at changes before they reach broad rollout Announcing new Release Preview builds for 14 August 2026.
For Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2, the drop is build 26100.9267 and 26200.9267 (KB5120998), as documented in the official release notes Build 26100.9267/26200.9267 release notes. The most visible consumer-facing change is taskbar flexibility: the bar can now sit at the bottom, top, left, or right of the display, with tooltips and flyouts following the chosen position — the search box and smaller taskbar options are currently supported only for top and bottom positions. A compact taskbar mode shrinks icon size and bar height to reclaim space on smaller screens, and the Taskbar behaviors settings panel now opens expanded by default rather than collapsed for improved discoverability. Microsoft also reports improved reliability when the system tray loads on non-touch PCs, alongside additional Start menu personalization options including a small-or-large Start menu size toggle and the ability to hide your name and profile picture on Start. The Start menu’s Recommended section is renamed Recent, and the Start settings page is redesigned with section-level toggles to independently show or hide Pinned, Recent, and All entries. These taskbar and Start menu changes mark the first time since Windows 11 launched that the bar can leave the screen bottom — a constraint that had drawn consistent feedback from users who preferred side-mounted taskbars on widescreen monitors.
The 26H1 track receives build 28000.2796 (KB5120996), with details in its own notes Build 28000.2796 release notes. File Explorer in this build begins showing file sizes in KB, MB, and GB within Details view instead of KB-only, a change that matters when distinguishing a 500 GB drive from a 1 TB drive at a glance. Middle-clicking a folder in the address bar or on the Home page now opens it in a new tab — a shortcut power users had been requesting since the tabbed-Explorer debut. Microsoft also removed a gray flash that appeared on load, eliminated an unwanted scroll-to-top behavior on the Home page, and sharpened thumbnails in the Recommended section. Windows Search handles typos and partial application names more gracefully, and Voice Access gains a Voice Isolation mode that filters out other speakers and background noise — joining an existing lighter noise-only option. These 26H1 fixes are substantively smaller than the 24H2/25H2 taskbar changes, but they close long-standing Explorer friction points that showed up repeatedly in Insider feedback threads.
Because these are Release Preview builds, they reach devices through gradual and normal rollout phases rather than an immediate simultaneous push, so availability varies by machine. Insiders already on the Release Preview Channel can open Windows Update and pull the matching build for their track. Release Preview sits one step before general availability, meaning these builds are intended for final validation rather than early experimentation — that is, the changes here are the ones Microsoft expects to ship broadly, not experimental features that might be cut. The three-track cadence — 24H2, 25H2, and 26H1 all moving together — reflects Microsoft’s continuing split of the Windows 11 lineup into feature-forward and reliability-forward branches, with 26H1 representing the newest preview track still under active development.
Microsoft’s habit of shipping staggered previews extends beyond Windows. The company recently opened a preview of its Work IQ Developer Tools, part of a broader pattern of gated developer and platform previews ahead of general availability Announcing the preview of the Work IQ Developer Tools.
