Windows 11 24H2 preview brings new taskbar features

Windows 11 taskbar is testing a new feature that helps you understand the current power state of your laptop's battery, including showing the battery percentage directly on the taskbar.

Microsoft is testing the feature in Windows 11 24H2 Build 26120.3000, which is rolling out in the Dev Channel.

Battery icon indicator now changes colour on Windows 11
Source: Microsoft

As shown in the screenshot above, the battery icon will now change color to give a quick visual cue about your device's battery status.

A black or white icon typically indicates a healthy or neutral state, an orange icon shows that the battery is running low and needs charging soon, and a green icon appears when the device is actively charging.

This helps you easily understand the laptop's battery level at a glance.

Also, you can now directly view the battery percentage on the taskbar. Previously, Windows 11 required you to hover over the battery icon to view the percentage. This feature is turned off by default, but you can enable it from Settings > Power & battery and toggle on the “Battery Percentage” setting.

Another notable change is support for the new Energy Saver model under Settings > System > Power & battery.

This allows you to adjust the battery level percentage at which Energy Saver mode kicks in for your PC.

More Xbox ads in Windows 11

While the new Windows 11 battery indicator changes are helpful, at the same time, Microsoft is turning on more ads in Windows 11 to promote Xbox Game Pass.

These include ads in Windows Settings for inviting your friends to a free 14-day trial of Xbox Game Pass, as shown below.

If you don't have an Xbox Game Pass, you'll see an ad encouraging you to buy the subscription. If you have Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, you will see a new card for referring a PC Game Pass subscription to your friends to try PC Game Pass for free.

In a separate blog post, Microsoft noted that this new card will only appear on the Settings homepage if you’re signed into your PC with your Microsoft account and meet the required eligibility criteria.

As mentioned above, Microsoft is still testing these features with the Windows Insider Program, so it will probably take a month or two for all these to ship outside the testing program.