KB5044386: Microsoft Introduces New Clock and Countdown Timer Widget in Build 22635.4300

Microsoft has unveiled a new build for Windows 11 Insiders in the Beta channel. The latest build, 22635.4300, featuring KB5044386, introduces a new widget for the clock and countdown timer, alongside various bug fixes related to the Start menu and more.

The complete changelog is as follows:

Changes and Improvements Gradually Rolled Out to the Beta Channel with Toggle On*

[Start Menu]

The “All apps”label in the Start menu has been simplified to just “All.”This change began rolling out with Build 22635.4291 earlier this week.

[Fonts]

A new simplified Chinese font (Simsun-ExtG) has been introduced, featuring 9,753 ideographs that support Unicode Extensions G, H, and I. This update includes the highly sought-after character for Biangbiang noodles, known as U+30EDD, which is recognized as one of the most complex Chinese characters, as shown in the image below. Please note that some applications may currently have trouble displaying these extension characters.

Unicode range G 30000-3134A (4,939 chars)

Unicode range H 31350-323AF (4,192 chars)

Unicode range I 2EBF0-2EE5D (622 chars)

Biangbiang character Unicode 30EDD.

[Security]

Windows Search now runs IFilters within Less Privileged App Containers (LPAC). These containers deny additional permissions by default. The purpose is to ensure that a process running in an LPAC has access only to the essential resources it needs. This model is designed to minimize potential harm from compromised processes by restricting access to sensitive system components and data.

Fixes Gradually Rolled Out to the Beta Channel with Toggle On*

[General]

A high-impact crash in explorer.exe that affected Insiders during the use of PC has been resolved in recent Beta builds.

[File Explorer]

Resolved an issue causing items in the navigation pane to appear overly spaced (with unexpected padding) for some users.

Known Issues

[Start Menu]

After installing this build, users may notice unexpected spacing between items in the Start menu’s all apps list.

[Live Captions]

Live captions may crash upon usage after this build installation.

New Clock Widgets: Countdown and Timer

We are rolling out an update to the Clock app for Windows Insiders across all channels, introducing two new clock widgets: countdown and timer. Ensure you have the latest version of the Clock app (version 11.2408.9.0 or higher) from the Microsoft Store. After accessing the widgets board, you can add these widgets by clicking the “+” button in the top right corner.

New countdown and timer widgets from the Clock app showing on the widgets board.