Native RGB lighting control is coming to your gaming devices

It’s that time of the week. Microsoft just launched Windows 11 Build 23475 for insiders. Now live in the Dev channel, those who’ve opted for the channel can begin experiencing a few improvements and updates that Redmond officials have been working on — like the native RGB lighting control for gaming keyboards and support for Emoji 15.0.

That’s right. Long gone are the days of relying on third-party apps because Dynamic Lighting leverages the open HID LampArray standard, demonstrating Microsoft’s commitment to adopting open standards and collaborating with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufacturers (ODMs).

The inclusion of APIs for Windows apps will also allow developers to integrate device control capabilities in both the background and foreground, enabling seamless interaction with Lighting Devices. In Microsoft’s own words,

“On first boot after installing this build and connecting a device, the “Use Dynamic Lighting on my devices” toggle is off in Settings. Device LEDs may not turn on automatically. Turning this toggle on in the all-device Settings page and in the per-device page(s) should turn on your device’s LEDs. If this doesn’t work, try restarting your Windows PC again.”

The primary focus of this update is to provide comprehensive support for a range of Razer keyboards. Included in this update are various models such as the BlackWidow series (V2, V3, and V4), DeathStalker (V2, V2 Pro, and V2 Pro TKL), Huntsman (Mini & V2), Ornata V3, and Turret Keyboard Xbox One Edition. Moreover, Razer Turret Mouse Xbox One users, as well as those utilizing the DeathAdder V2 and Naga Left-Handed and Pro mice, will also benefit from this update.

Besides the hotly-anticipated native RGB lighting support for gaming devices, Microsoft also brings Emoji 15.0 support to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Once you click Win + ., you’ll see a range of new emojis like glowing pink/grey hearts, moose, jellyfish, parrots, and more.

But, what other enhancements are included within Windows 11 Build 23475, you may ask? Here’s everything we’ve noted so far from Microsoft’s release note.

What other updates are coming within Windows 11 Build 23475?

Modernized File Explorer Home and Address Bar

Now that File Explorer is powered by Windows App SDK, we are introducing a modernized File Explorer Home powered by WinUI. Recommended files for users signed into Windows with an Azure Active Directory (AAD) account will be displayed as a carousel and support file thumbnails which is coming soon. Quick Access folders (available by default for users signed into Windows with a Microsoft account), Favorites, and Recent also bring in an updated experience with WinUI.

We are also introducing a modernized address bar and search box to File Explorer. The new address bar intelligently recognizes local vs. cloud folders with built-in status. For OneDrive users, you’ll notice the address bar now contains your OneDrive sync status and quota flyout.

[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn’t available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.] 

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• The feature where we now detect if the user is interacting with toasts or not and provide a suggestion to turn the toast banners off for such apps that began rolling out with Build 23466 is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.

[General]

• The feature where we now detect if the user is interacting with toasts or not and provide a suggestion to turn the toast banners off for such apps that began rolling out with Build 23466 is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.

[Emoji]

• The Unicode Emoji 15 is beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Users will now be able to see, search for and insert new emoji from the emoji panel. Here are a few of our Emoji 15 designs which include more hearts, animals and one new smiley face.

Fixes

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue where the taskbar may not have shown the correct apps when using multiple desktops.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Fixed the issue where Narrator customers were unable to navigate down the left side panel of the search flyout.

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue where when using a Japanese display language, sometimes apps with names written in kanji would all show at the bottom of the all apps list, rather than displayed alongside hiragana and katakana app names.

[Notifications]

• Fixed an issue where certain notifications were leading to an explorer.exe crash.

[Input]

• We’re rolling out the fix for an issue where Korean touch keyboard sometimes finalizes characters unexpectedly in the search flyout on the taskbar.

[Backup and Restore]

• Backups of a PC that was set up using a restore will now show up in subsequent restores.
• Restore of solid color desktop backgrounds are now supported.

[Other]

• Fixed issues that were causing voice access commands for moving settings sliders and selecting things on the taskbar to fail.

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.

Have you installed Windows 11 Build 23475? Let us know in the comments!