Microsoft has released Windows 11 build 27744. The operating system is coming to the Canary channel of the Windows Insider program. It introduces significant advancements for the Prism emulator on Windows on Arm, as well as several system improvements. Here are the main new features of this version.
Windows 11 build 27744, New features and improvements
One of the most notable developments is the improvement of Prism for x64 emulation on Windows on Arm. Microsoft adds support for new instructions like AVX, AVX2, BMI, FMA and F16C. These advances extend x64 compatibility by adding software that uses this whole little world. Note that these advances in Prism are already used in a limited way in the commercial version of Windows 11 24H2 allowing you to run Adobe Premiere Pro 25 on Arm.
It is possible to use some tools like Coreinfo64.exe to check Prism’s new capabilities. Some of these additional features are highlighted in the tool.
Microsoft is making changes to the start menu. The “All Apps” label is simplified to “All” while the OS introduces a keyboard layout tailored specifically to the Xbox controller, allowing navigation and typing using the controller’s buttons. Button shortcuts (e.g., X for backspace, Y for space) make typing easier and improve accessibility for controller users.
Task Manager benefits from an update bringing support for dark mode and resizable text. Indeed the “Disconnect” and “Disconnect” dialog boxes have been redesigned to adapt to dark mode and text scaling. In the Performance section, drives are now labeled by type (SSD, HDD, etc.).
Fixes
This build 27744 also brings several fixes to improve stability and performance. Users with older NVIDIA GPUs (like the GTX 970 and Quadro K620) should see resolution of frozen or black screen issues and GPU errors in Device Manager. For input interfaces, the emoji panel and clipboard history now work reliably, even in specific surfaces like Registry Editor.
The Sandbox feature benefits from improved performance, and an issue where the dynamic refresh rate would get stuck at 60Hz on startup has been fixed. Other adjustments concern general stability, such as fixing a bug with the PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA error, blocking Remote Desktop Connection, and crashes related to the msmpeg2vdec DLL.
Features like querying rotation information on JPG images via PowerShell, using the Get-WindowsCapability command without the need for a restart, and correctly applying mica with a wallpaper slideshow have been optimized. Finally, the detection of certain scanners by applications is now improved.
