Windows 11 build 22478

Windows 11 build 22478.1000 is the seventh Insider Preview build of Windows 11, version 22H2. It was released to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel on 14 October 2021.

Shell

 * The Segoe UI Emoji font has been updated to feature a new Fluent design, alongside with added support for Emoji version 13.1.
 * The updated Korean IME, which was reintroduced for the fourth time in build 22454, is now available to all users enrolled into the Dev Channel.
 * Windows Hello now supports logins via an external monitor with an attached camera.
 * The mouse wheel can now be used to adjust the volume level if the cursor is hovered over the taskbar volume icon.
 * Under-the-hood optimizations to the Windows Search Indexer platform as part of an effort in reducing disk space usage.
 * Updated the prompt text to "Do you want to pin this to Start?" when pinning items from a UWP app to Start.
 * An alternative date and time flyout (without the date) on the taskbar has been added but disabled by default.
 * It can be enabled by running the following command with ViveTool from an elevated Command Prompt window:

Settings

 * The adding new language dialog under Language & region page has received a small Fluent design update.
 * Updated the Quick Settings page for managing audio endpoints from "Volume" to "Sound output".

Bugfixes

 * Keyboard focus will no longer get lost when pressing Esc after opening the user profile flyout in Start.
 * Addressed an issue that was causing Notification Center to get stuck in a state in recent Nickel builds where it would stop launching.
 * After bringing up an app's jump list from the Taskbar, right-clicking on the app name should now show the correct icon for Pin to Start (a pin icon).
 * Left and right-clicking the taskbar at the same time should no longer crash.
 * Fixed an issue where the command bar was doing unnecessary calculations when navigating to folders, causing an unexpected decrease in performance.
 * This is also believed to be the root cause of performance issues when using drag to select files, as well as using the arrow keys to navigate in certain folders.
 * The "Show hidden items" option should no longer get out of sync when multiple File Explorer windows are open.
 * Addressed an issue that Widgets board may appear empty.
 * Addressed an issue that Widgets may be displayed in the wrong size on external monitors.
 * The recent searches flyout when hovering over the search icon in the Taskbar should no longer immediately dismiss on invocation if an admin window is in focus.
 * Setting focus to the search box in File Explorer shouldn't make the touch keyboard invoke and immediately dismiss now when using a tablet with the Taskbar set to auto-hide.
 * Mitigated a memory leak that could occur in, causing unexpected resource usage over time.
 * Addressed an issue for a small number of users that was causing  crashes when setting focus on any text field.
 * Fixed an issue that was causing Settings to crash when radio buttons were updated.
 * Improved performance of loading the themes displayed in Personalization Settings.
 * If a non-admin user changes their display language in Language Settings, the system will no longer show the clickable sign-out button there as it was popping a UAC dialog and causing confusion.
 * Address an issue where "Media streaming options" in the Network and Sharing Center would unexpectedly revert to default settings after an upgrade.
 * Improved Quick Settings launch reliability.
 * This change should also help address the issue causing the window to not fully render (just a thin rectangle).
 * Addressed an issue where the media controls area in Quick Settings wasn't bringing the app displayed to the foreground in certain cases when clicking it.
 * Fixed an issue where the colors for items in Quick Settings could get stuck and not reflect the proper color for that state, particularly when using a contrast theme.
 * Opening the page for managing audio endpoints in Quick Settings should no longer cause a brief cut in audio playback when multiple devices are listed.
 * Mitigated an issue related to using Alt very quickly that could make  crash.
 * Holding down Alt and pressing F4 after pressing Alt will no longer crash.
 * Fixed a casing issue that was causing  files to be unexpectedly removed in certain cases, which could lead the display language changing until users added the desired display language back in Settings.
 * Addressed an issue that was causing some users to see a bugcheck with error.
 * Mitigated an issue that was causing the  service to use an unexpected amount of power in recent Nickel builds.
 * The missing display order in BCD settings should no longer cause an upgrade failure.
 * Fixed an issue that was causing captions to draw at the wrong offset in certain apps.
 * Mitigated an issue that was causing crashes related to.

General

 * Users updating from builds 22000.xxx or earlier, to newer Nickel builds using the latest Nickel, may receive the following warning message:

Press "Enable" button to enable flight signing, reboot the PC, and retry the update.
 * Some users may experience their screen and sleep timeouts being reduced.

Start menu
In some cases, users might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the Taskbar. To work around the issue, press ⊞ Win to launch the Run dialog box, then close it.

Taskbar

 * The taskbar will sometimes flicker when switching input methods.
 * An issue is causing tooltips to appear in an unexpected location after hovering over the taskbar corner.

Search

 * After clicking the Search icon on the taskbar, the Search panel may not open. If this occurs, restart, and open the search panel again.
 * The Search panel might appear as black and not display any content below the search box.

Quick Settings

 * The volume and brightness sliders may not display properly in Quick Settings.

Updates
The KB5007328 cumulative update, which was released on 15 October 2021, updates this build to 22478.1012.rs_prerelease_flt.211010-1700. According to the official announcement, the purpose of the update is to test servicing pipelines. Oddly enough, the update's name on Windows Update was "Windows 10 Insider Preview 10.0.22478.1012 (rs_prerelease)", still references Windows 10.

Furthermore, build 22478.1010.rs_prerelease_flt.211008-1700 is mentioned in the metadata for prerequisite updates obtained in the process of updating to build 22478.1012, specifically  (for Critical Dynamic Update KB5007329),   (for Setup Dynamic Update KB5007331), and   (for servicing stack update KB5007332).