Windows 11 Moment 3: The next big Windows 11 feature update is rolling out now. Here’s what’s new!
Windows 11’s “Moment 3” update began rolling out on June 13.
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The latest Windows 11 feature drop is now rolling out to everyone, with some users already getting it as part of theJune 2023 Patch Tuesdayrelease, and everyone else getting it as part of July’s Patch Tuesday updates. This one (known as Moment 3) feature lots of quality-of-life improvements to areas such as the Taskbar, Widgets Board, Settings, and accessibility features.
Microsoft has shipped two feature drops for Windows 11 version 22H2 since it launched last year, as part of its new"continuous innovation"effort that sees the company updating Windows 11 with new features every few months.
The first came in October 2022and introduced tabs in File Explorer and other minor additions (known as Moment 1).The next one came in February 2022and added new improvements for touch users, an updated system tray, and more (known as Moment 2).
If you don’t yet have these Moment 3 features, you can grab them early by ensuring the"Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available"toggle is set toonin Windows Update.
Here’s a rundown of all the new features and changes we’re expecting to be included as part of the update:
Evolved Widgets Board
Microsoft is updating the Widgets Board on Windows 11 with a new layout that separates your widgets from the MSN feed. Now, your widgets will appear on the left in their own column, and are arranged (and can be rearranged) vertically.
Microsoft is also updating the interface for pinning widgets, which makes it easier to pin installed widgets to the board. Facebook has also introduced a new Facebook.com widget that shows recent updates from friends and notifications.
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Notifications & Taskbar updates
A nice quality of life update coming in the Moment 3 update smart 2FA code recognition in notifications, which will present a dedicated copy button within the notification when Windows detects a 2FA code has been received. This works best when syncing notifications using the Phone Link app, but it also works in local apps such as Skype, Telegram, and Email.
Regarding the Taskbar, Microsoft is adding small changes to some of the icons, namely the weather icons which now animate when you click on them, similar to the Start and Task View buttons. Microsoft has also added a VPN status indicator to the Wi-Fi icon on the system tray when a VPN is active.
If you have the Taskbar search box enabled, you’ll notice the Bing chat icon is now a button that takes you directly to Edge, instead of opening up the Windows Search pane first. The search box itself will now also display as a white text field when your system app theme is set to light mode, even when your Windows theme is set to dark.
Settings updates
Microsoft has added several new settings to Windows 11 with the Moment 3 update, including options to configure how the touch keyboard behaves when a keyboard is or isn’t detected. Users can set the touch keyboard to never show, even when a keyboard isn’t attached, show only when a keyboard isn’t attached, or always show.
There’s also a newUSB4settings page for viewing information about hubs and devices that are USB4 compatible, including the ability to view the tree of connected USB4 peripherals, view attributes and capabilities of attached devices, and copy details of a USB4 device to your clipboard.
Microsoft is also adding back the ability to show clock seconds in the System Tray, a feature that used to be part of Windows 10 and prior releases.
Privacy settings are being updated to include new presence sensing options for controlling which apps can detect your presence when using a PC with compatible hardware. You can turn off app access individually or turn off presence sensing altogether.
Microsoft says it’s also updated the search feature within the Settings app to be faster, so finding specific settings using the search box should be a quicker experience with this update. Lastly, Microsoft has added a toggle in Windows Update that when enabled will download the latest features as soon as they’re available, instead of waiting for the monthly Patch Tuesday.
App & accessibility improvements
In addition to all the new settings, Microsoft has updated several in-box apps with new capabilities. The Task Manager now has the ability to create a live kernel dump right in the UI, making it easier for people to do that when troubleshooting issues.
Microsoft is also working on an update to the Photos app that introduces a new slideshow feature with different themes, transitions, and music that can play along to your album slideshows. It’s also bringing back the spot fix tool, which used to be part of the app but was removed when Windows 11 first launched.
On the accessibility side, Microsoft has continued to build out its new accessibility features with support for more regions and languages. For example, live captions now supports Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish and other English dialects.
Voice access is also getting a new in-app command help page, which should make it easier to learn and understand how to use the voice access feature. It’s also now available in more English-dialects, including English - UK, English – India, English – New Zealand, English – Canada, English – Australia.
Lastly, Microsoft is updating the File Explorer app with support for access keys in the modern context menus. Each access key will correspond with a letter in the display name.
Windows 11 Moment 3 changelog
Here’s everything new in the Moment 3 update, asnoted by Microsoft:
Zac Bowden is a Senior Editor at Windows Central. Bringing you exclusive coverage into the world of Windows on PCs, tablets, phones, and more. Also an avid collector of rare Microsoft prototype devices! Keep in touch onTwitterandThreads
