Windows 11 will let you view phone photos in File Explorer

Microsoft is now rolling out a new Windows 11 dev build allowing Insiders to view their phone's camera roll in the File Explorer Gallery.

Once the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23471 gets installed, they can add photos from their phone by clicking a new button added to the File Explorer's command bar.

"There is a new button in the Command Bar titled 'Add Phone Photos' that will help with setting up your PC to be ready to show these photos in Gallery," Microsoft's Amanda Langowski and Brandon LeBlanc said.

"Clicking this button today will open a URL with a QR code that you can scan with your phone to get started."

While Microsoft didn't reveal the mechanism behind this new feature, Insiders might need a more recent version of the OneDrive sync client with updated protocol support to ensure the new capability works on their system.

This might require enrolling in the OneDrive Insider Program by toggling it from the About page inside the OneDrive settings.

The Gallery feature used to view the synced phone photos is now available to all Dev Channel Insiders running Build 23435 or later. 

It provides access to the most recently captured photos and automatically syncs and shows pictures from mobile devices where OneDrive Camera Roll Backup is enabled.

New 'Add Phone Photos' button (Microsoft)

​Today, Microsoft also introduced a new feature that allows Windows Insiders to tear out and merge tabs within File Explorer. 

This functionality is being gradually rolled out to all users, meaning that it may not be immediately available to all those enrolled in the Dev Channel Insider program.

An updated Paint app with dark mode support and zoom improvements is also rolling out the Canary and Dev Channels, version 11.2304.17.0.

"By default, Paint will adapt to your system theme preferences, but you can change this option yourself on the brand-new settings page," Microsoft's Dave Grochocki said.

"We are also rolling out improvements to the zoom controls as well to give you more flexibility and control over the view of your content on the canvas."

Last week, Redmond also introduced one of the most requested Windows 11 features, which ensures that all windows are shown as individual items in the taskbar after enabling a 'never combine taskbar buttons' mode.