Windows 11’s next big update could arrive sooner than you think
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Windows 11 is getting its next major update sooner than we expected, as it’s already been spotted by Microsoft.
These are internal tests at the company, taking place before the update moves into beta testing – which should be imminent now, as mainstream Windows leaker PhantomOfEarth makes clear on Twitter (via Newwin (opens in new tab)).
As noted by others, 22624.1390 is now being tested internally. Moment 3 soon for beta! This is KB5023011 and the activation package is KB5023595, although I’m not sure what feature/ID is associated with Moment 3. Probably MTestUx14, 41655236February 20, 2023
As you can see, this refers to “Moment 3,” a feature update, though not one of the major annual updates (those hefty annual upgrades for Windows coming in the second half of the year).
Moments are designed to allow for more flexible deployment of new bits of functionality as and when they are needed, outside of that massive annual update (otherwise Windows 11 would be a very quiet place indeed most of the time, upgrade wise).
The source for this is the PCBeta forum (opens in new tab) (in China), so take this with some caution, although many details are provided, including the update IDs: apparently Moment 3 patch will be KB5023011, with an activation package (KB5023595) to launch it.
Analysis: what good things can we expect – and when?
The fact that it has an activation package means that the update will be preloaded on Windows 11 PCs, with that package being the switch that will send the upgrade live. This allows the upgrade to be applied very quickly, which is of course always good news; the less waiting and lost staring at spinning circles when it comes to update day, the better.
What can we expect in Moment 3? It will likely introduce a bundle of features we’ve heard about in recent times, and PhantomOfEarth believes the likely parts include integration for RGB lighting settings in Windows 11. That would be pretty cool since it would allow forgoing third-party apps to control the lighting (to avoid system bloat).
There’s also a ton of accessibility stuff on the horizon that might be included in the update as well. That includes expanded support for live captioning in more languages – not just US English – and an enhanced voice access feature. In the latter case, the leaker tells us that a major redesign is coming for the commands list page, and that there will be support for more languages here too (plus there are rumors of an ability to sync voice settings across devices) .
Snap layouts are something we’ve also seen a lot of testing activity on lately, but that particular interface refresh will be one for later in the year.
So, bearing in mind that none of the aforementioned features have been confirmed for Moment 3 – they’re just the most likely possibilities in theory – when can we see these potential new things?
Rumors currently have Moment 3 pegged for May, but this latest nugget of the mill gives us hope that it might pop up sooner rather than later. So if it goes into beta in the next few weeks, maybe we can keep our fingers crossed for an April debut (although that will depend on how smoothly testing goes, of course).