Windows 11 Platform Changes in 2026
Microsoft is planning behind-the-scenes platform changes for Windows 11 in 2026. The company is currently testing the next wave of features and improvements.
Agentic Ready Platform
In 2026, Windows 11 is expected to become agentic ready, which will allow AI developers to build tools that can automate processes using AI assistants. Microsoft has confirmed that Copilot will be one of the first AI assistants to use this new platform, called Copilot Actions. Users will be able to hand off tasks to Copilot, which will then complete them in its own mini desktop environment viewable within the Copilot app. These agentic features will be disabled by default and require manual activation.
Builds and Updates
Microsoft is releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7674 to the Dev Channel. The 26300 series builds will have many of the same features and improvements as the 26220 series builds released in the Beta Channel. Microsoft will be making behind-the-scenes platform changes in each build, which may result in different known issues.
Version 26H1 is planned to ship this spring, exclusively on next-generation Arm devices, and will be based on a newer version of the Windows platform codenamed Bromine. Version 26H2, expected in the fall for existing Windows 11 PCs, will be based on Germanium, the current in-market platform release of Windows 11.
Known Issues and Fixes
Microsoft has been addressing issues related to the January 2026 updates. These include:
- Some applications becoming unresponsive or experiencing errors when opening or saving files to cloud-backed storage like OneDrive or Dropbox.
- Outlook crashing or failing to reopen, particularly in configurations that store PST files on OneDrive.
- Some Windows 11 machines experiencing a boot loop with an "UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME" error.
Microsoft released an out-of-band update to fix a bug causing Outlook to crash for Windows 11 users.
An update improves MIDI on Windows with enhanced support for MIDI 0 and MIDI 2.0, including full WinMM and WinRT MIDI 1.0 support with built-in translation, shared MIDI ports across apps, custom port names, loopback and app-to-app MIDI, plus performance improvements and bug fixes.
Functionality of Cross-Device Resume has been expanded, which allows users to continue activities from their Android phone on their PC, including resuming Spotify playback or continuing a browsing session.
CPU Support
The CPU requirements for Windows 11 24H2 are the same as for 23H2, and they are highly likely to remain identical for Windows 11 25H2.
Conclusion
Microsoft is working on platform changes for Windows 11, including agentic AI capabilities. The company is releasing new builds to the Dev Channel for testing. Recent updates have been accompanied by some bugs, which Microsoft is addressing.
