Microsoft has released new cumulative non-security updates, introducing a series of improvements and new features to Windows 11 (KB5036980) and Windows 10 (KB5036979).
The users of Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2 can expect changes to the Start menu, with the “Recommended” section showing some selected apps from the Microsoft Store. Additionally, improvements have been made to widgets, icon quality, and the lock screen experience. Windows 10 22H2You, on the other hand, will receive Microsoft account notifications in Settings, along with improvements to search and Bluetooth connectivity.
What’s new on Windows 11 23H2 and Windows 10
The latest cumulative non-security updates for Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2 (builds 22621.3527 and 22631.3527) introduce a new “Recommended” section in the Start menu. This section will show some apps selected from the Microsoft Store, coming from a group of developers chosen by the company. The goal is to help users discover some of the best apps available. In short, it is about advertisements on the Start Menubut if you don’t want to see these suggestions, you can disable the feature in Settings.
Furthermore, in the coming weeks, Your most used apps may appear in the “Recommended” section of the Start menu, even if they were not manually added to the menu or taskbar. There are also new features for the widgets on the taskbar, whose icons should always appear more detailed and more varied in the near future. Widgets on the lock screen will be more reliable and will also have improved quality, with support for more visual elements and new customizations.
The updates also fix some known issues, such as a bug in Settings that caused the app to crash when closing a pop-up menu and an issue with the virtual keyboard that didn’t display the Japanese 106 layout correctly.
For users of Windows 10 22H2the update KB5036979 introduces a new feature: Microsoft account notifications in Settings > Home. These notifications will help users manage their Microsoft account, connecting Windows to Microsoft apps, backing up data, and managing subscriptions. Notifications will be visible in the Start menu and Settings, and can be managed in privacy and security settings.
Additionally, the update brings improvements to Bluetooth connection stability for some wireless earbuds, app search, and personalized search experience. Both updates include a number of general improvements for both versions of Windows, such as performance and memory granularity improvements for some hardware configurations and other minor improvements. There are also known issues: on Windows 11, after the update, it may be impossible to change the user profile picture, while on Windows 10 there may be an issue with moving desktop icons on multi-monitor setups when using Copilot, a problem that has been present for some time on the “old” version of the Microsoft OS.
To find out more, we invite you to consult the official changelogs published by Microsoft.
