Calculator, Mail, and other built-in apps are getting Windows 11 update in the latest beta

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Zoom in / get excited! The new calculator app is here!!

Andrew Cunningham

Microsoft is introducing Windows 11’s handling of a few core apps in the next build of Insider Preview for the upcoming operating system. Mail, Calendar, Calculator, and Snipping are all renewed, and if you’re running the latest Insider preview, you should be able to get these updates from within the Windows Store app starting today.

The changes to Mail, Calendar, and Calculator seem largely cosmetic, bringing out the squared corners of Windows 8 and 10 for a smoother, more rounded look that matches the rest of the operating system. The only “new” app is a revamp of the Snipping Tool that unifies the features of the old Snipping Tool and the Windows 10 Snip & Sketch app (this update brings the helpful side effect of finally getting rid of the annoying message telling you that the Snipping Tool will disappear every time you open it).

The new Snipping Tool updates the user interface of Windows 7 that preceded it while incorporating the features of Windows 10’s refined Snip & Sketch.

Annotation tools now look modern instead of Windows 7-y.

Microsoft

The calculator app can do all the fancy things it used to do, just with the circular buttons.

Microsoft

The new Mail app also gets a redesign without a lot of other changes.

Microsoft

Ditto the calendar.

Microsoft

The new Snipping Tool still gives you buttons to change the type of screenshot you’re trying to capture and whether you want it to happen late. The screenshot annotation tools have also been improved more modernly (older tools stuck in the Windows 7 era). Snip & Sketch users can still access the user friendly interface by using the keyboard shortcut Windows + Shift + S.

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New apps will be rolled out to Windows Insiders on the less stable Dev channel first. Microsoft started releasing versions of Windows 11 for the more stable Beta channel in late July, and you’ll need to wait if you want to use these new features on a less severe version of Windows. You can always change your channel from the Windows Update section of the Settings app.

As with all Insider Preview builds so far, Microsoft isn’t enforcing the new Windows 11 security requirements yet, so most Windows 10 PCs will still be able to run the new Windows 11 builds and these updated apps.

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