Windows 11 2022 Update

Windows 11 2022 Update (codenamed Sun Valley 2) is the last major feature update for Windows 11 released on 20 September 2022 as from October 2022 onwards, Microsoft will only release moment feature updates for Windows 11. It includes minor improvements to the core experience, such as support for third-party Widgets, a redesigned Task Manager, as well as certain functionality omitted from the original release of Windows 11, such as drag-and-drop support for the taskbar. Later updates added further improvements, such as tabs in the File Explorer. This is the last version of Windows to have a software workaround that allowed CPUs without  (the ARM64 atomic instructions) to operate.

Dev builds of the update also introduced several features originally teased in the June 2021 event, including the redesigned versions of Notepad, Paint and Media Player, as well as the Windows Subsystem for Android, although most of these have since then been backported to the original release in the form of cumulative updates.

It is the first Windows feature update to use the year naming scheme for the official update name as Microsoft switched to an annual update cadence in 2021.

History
References to a future 22H2 update based on the Copper codebase were first unintentionally added to telemetry documentation in April 2021 alongside similar references to the initial Windows 11 release, as well as the Windows 10 November 2021 Update. The target later shifted to Nickel, with build 22567 being the first Insider Preview build to include version 22H2 branding.

Unlike the original release of Windows 11, the 2022 Update itself wasn't officially announced at all until its general availability on 20 September 2022. The only known public reference to the final name before its release was introduced in an update to the Get Started app pushed in late August 2022 and was reverted soon afterwards.

User interface

 * Drag-and-drop support for the taskbar has been re-added.
 * The Start menu received support for creating folder groups. Additionally, the layout of the Start menu can now be changed with options for seeing more pinned apps or more recommended items.
 * The Focus assist feature has been split to Focus and Do Not Disturb.
 * The design of the system hardware change indicators has been updated to better align with the UI.
 * The ability to view, connect and disconnect Bluetooth devices from the Quick Settings flyout has been added.
 * The redesigned right-click menu has been added on This PC, Network and on the Recycle Bin.
 * Titlebars for Win32 applications have been updated to use the Mica material.
 * Enhancements to the Snap functionality.
 * Touch gestures have been improved.
 * The system print dialogs and the print queue window have received major UI redesigns. They now properly support dark mode and they now can automatically detect and install printers.

Applications

 * The Task Manager received a major design uplift based on the WinUI framework, coupled with a new Efficiency Mode option.
 * An Xbox quick access menu, which contains instant shortcuts to all currently installed PC game launchers, has been added.
 * The Clipchamp and Microsoft Family Safety apps have been added as inbox apps.
 * The Windows Media Player app has been deprecated.
 * File Explorer updated the Quick Access page to support file pinning. It was also renamed to "Home".
 * The Settings app received new settings pages and some have been reorganized.
 * Windows Update will now install updates when more energy is available.
 * Voice Access has been added as a modern replacement for the legacy Windows Speech Recognition feature.
 * System-wide Live Captions have been added.

Miscellaneous

 * The loading animation of the boot screen has been changed.
 * The internet connection requirement during device setup has now been extended to the Pro edition.
 * Games running in windowed mode now properly support Auto HDR and VRR.
 * Smart App Control has been added.
 * Hyper-V ARM Generic Arch Timer support has been added.
 * Windows Sandbox, .NET Framework, and Internet Information Services (IIS) now have a version that runs natively on ARM64-based devices.
 * Added the  parameter to the   command, which specifies what architecture to start the process with (applicable to .NET Framework AnyCPU apps and ARM64X apps).
 * Attempting to run ARM32 apps on ARMv8 processors that do not support the ARMv7 instruction set will now cause the "This app can't run on your PC" message to appear, rather than crashing directly in previous versions.
 * Automatic color management for SDR monitors, previously only available for HDR monitors. It is only used for app development purposes, but can be enabled for all SDR monitors at all times with this registry tweak:

Moments
This release introduces a new update servicing scheme internally called Moments, which will ship several times per year and will consist of a limited set of new features; a subset of users opting into the Beta Channel are enrolled into testing said feature set prior to their widespread rollout. Moments bump the reported build number and are primarily toggled by enablement packages in a similar fashion to Windows 10 feature updates released after the May 2020 Update. Unlike feature updates, however, they do not change the main version identifier.

The scheme is also referred to as Controlled Feature Rollout in official documentation, and is reportedly a part of Microsoft's revised development cycle with a new major version of Windows releasing every three years, while the period between two major versions is spanned by frequent feature drops.

Moment 1
The Moment 1 update (build 22622 while in Beta Channel) was released to the public on 18 October 2022 with the release of build 22621.675 (KB5019509) as an optional update. It introduces tabs in the File Explorer as well as a new Open With dialog, which was redesigned in accordance with the Windows 11 design guidelines. The taskbar overflow experience has been updated, meaning that when the taskbar is full, an ellipsis button now appears that displays a popup with the icons that would not have fit. Suggested Actions, a feature that offers actions relevant to selected content, has also been added, although it is currently available only to North American users.

The Widgets taskbar button has also received some improvements and in addition to the already supported weather forecast information, it can now also show sports or finance tickers, or breaking alerts. The button will now also shrink in size if the taskbar gets too full. Furthermore, starting with this update, the legacy Console Host is replaced by the Windows Terminal as the default terminal application.

It is said that Windows 11 as of the Moment 1 update finally corresponds to the feature set planned for the original Sun Valley project.

Moment 2
The Moment 2 update (build 22623 while in Beta Channel) was released to the public on 28 February 2023 with the release of build 22621.1344 (KB5022913) as an optional update. It contains a new tablet-optimized taskbar, as well as a re-implementation of the Win32 system tray icons, which now use the same hitbox graphic as other buttons in the taskbar corner. The "show hidden icons" flyout has been updated as well, featuring an animation and a shadow effect.

An updated user interface for the Widgets feature has been implemented, removing the old header in place of a new header that features two variants: a sidebar one, and a command bar one. In addition to this, Widgets are now expandable. It can be toggled with a button in the top right corner. A settings page has been added to change Widgets behaviour, too. The notification badge can also be toggled on or off on here. The changes described are not yet publicly documented by Microsoft, but was made available to a subset of users.

The Search entry point also has been redesigned as well with three variants: In addition to this, the search box in the Start menu has been updated with a larger corner radius. Furthermore, it is now possible to search directly in the Start menu without bringing up the search panel. Like the updated Widgets user interface, the changes observed are not documented by Microsoft but was rolled out to several users.
 * Search icon - Similar to the search icon on the original release.
 * Search box - A complete reimplementation of the search box, which was completely absent since build 21996.
 * Search icon and label (formerly Search button) - Similar to the search icon, but with the "Search" text.

A search bar has been added to the Task Manager, known as "process filtering" feature. In addition for this, several dialogs has been updated to match the design aesthetics of Windows 11. These features has been introduced to all users.

In addition to the existing power settings, a new "Energy Recommendations" page has been added as well. It includes problems that can shorten the battery life or causing high electric usage of the computer such as power mode, screen saver, sleep time, dark mode and more. This feature has been rolled out to several users.

Moment 3
The Moment 3 update (build 22624 while in Beta Channel) has been introduced to a subset of Windows insiders in the Beta Channel on 2 March 2023 with build 22624.1391. Following with the refresh of the Windows Insider Program, it was introduced to Windows insiders in the Dev Channel on 8 March 2023 starting with build 23403.1001.

As of right now, in the Beta Channel, it adds updates to Voice Access.

In the Dev Channel, the language support for live captions has been expanded.

Major changes has been added to File Explorer. The recommendations for files and folders has been added, but it is only available for Azure Active Directory joined account. Access keys shortcuts has been added into the context menu for basic file operations such as cut, copy, paste, etc. These changes has been introduced to a subset of users.

Notably, the File Explorer has been rewritten in Windows App SDK, unlocking many possibilities for further intergrations with XAML, OneDrive, Microsoft 365. Unlike the changes above, this change is disabled by default.

Changes has been made to the taskbar. Notably, the ability to show seconds in the system clock, which has been absent since the original release, has been re-added. Minor changes has been added, such as the search box will now be lighter if it's active, and also a small shield overlay has been added to the network icon when the system is connecting to a VPN. These changes has been rolled out to a subset of users.

Pre-Dev Channel
Early builds of the 2022 Update still use the older Windows 10 branding and user interface as they predate the public unveil of Windows 11.

Moment 3
For Dev Channel builds, see Nickel.