Microsoft has published a new preview of Windows 11 for the Beta Channel, as well as the Dev Channel’s Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25272.

There are no substantial changes in the latest Dev Channel release, but a few experiments that Microsoft has been testing with a subset of users over the previous month have been removed.

Microsoft experimented with a new recommended action that suggested looking for copied text in Edge in the November release 25247. In addition, it began recommending frequently visited sites to the user based on their location and previous browsing activity.

Microsoft’s requirement for the Dev channel is that things tested there may never make it beyond into the mainstream, hence these have been eliminated.

Microsoft has modified the Windows Subsystem for Linux installation and upgrade process (WSL). Starting about the middle of December, build 25267 no longer includes support for WSL’s “inbox” version. After WSL 1.0 was released in November, Microsoft made using WSL straight from the Store the norm.

To keep WSL functional after installing a build in which it has been disabled, Microsoft advises customers to instal the most recent version from this GitHub thread.

“After that point, WSL will keep working on the next round of build upgrades. We want to provide an automated system for this in subsequent versions “according to a blog post from the Windows Insider team.

Furthermore, preview builds 22621.1095 and 22623.1095 (KB5022364) for Windows 11 have been made available on the Beta Channel by Microsoft. New features are available in build 22621.1095 but are disabled by default.

The search field in the Start menu now has rounded corners, making it consistent with the taskbar search field.

It also changed the location of Quick Assist such that it now appears in the All applications section of the Start menu rather than under Windows Tools. Microsoft claims that this will make the information less difficult to locate.

Fixes for build 22623.1095 extend to the Start menu, the taskbar, and the system tray, and there is also a long list of improvements to the Windows Task Manager. Both 22621.1095 and 22623.1095 have solutions for issues with the taskbar search box, as well as for various crashes and improvements to the speed with which animations and transitions are performed.