Windows 11 tests hidden setting

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Microsoft is testing a Windows 11 setting that opens every application in a maximized window automatically. Windows researcher phantomofearth spotted the toggle inside Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26340.9212, which Microsoft released to the Experimental channel of the Windows Insider Program on Aug. 17, 2026, ahead of the Windows 11 version 26H2 release.

The toggle, named "Open apps maximized," sits in Settings > Accessibility > Visual effects, alongside the Transparency effects and Animation effects controls. Its on-screen description reads, "Automatically open app windows maximized when they open." Microsoft identifies the feature internally as MaximizeWindow, tracked under feature ID 62915050.

When switched on, an app opens filling the desktop instead of restoring the size and position it last used, though users can still resize or move the window afterward. Applications that manage their own window state independently of Windows, including certain games and older desktop software, may not follow the new setting. Microsoft has not published official documentation for the feature and has not said whether it will move beyond the Experimental channel.

Build 26340.9212 also introduced new privacy controls for individual Win32 desktop programs. The controls let users revoke camera, microphone, and location access for a single non-Store application without changing permissions for every other desktop program on the device. That level of control had previously applied only to Microsoft Store apps.

The same build confirmed the removal of the Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line utility, known as WMIC. WMIC was already removed by default from new installations of Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 as of August 2026 and was no longer available as a Feature on Demand. Microsoft states in its release notes, "This change affects only the WMIC utility," adding that Windows Management Instrumentation itself remains supported.

Testing of early Windows 11 version 26H2 preview builds shows WMIC fully absent, with the wmic command returning an error when run from Command Prompt. Windows Management Instrumentation, the underlying framework the command line tool draws on, continues to function normally.

Point-in-time restore is changing on a separate schedule tied to the same 26H2 release. The feature is already enabled by default on unmanaged Windows 11 Home and Pro devices. Microsoft's support documentation states, "Starting with Windows 11, version 26H2, it will be enabled by default," referring to domain-joined and enterprise-managed devices, where the feature has been off by default until now. The automatic default applies only to devices with an operating system volume of 200 gigabytes or larger.

Internal references in recent preview builds point to a setting for Copilot+ PCs that would let users choose how much unified memory goes to graphics and AI processing versus general system tasks. The feature carries the internal name IntelligentCarveout and feature ID 61121285, and ties to a system file named SettingsHandlers_UnifiedMemory.dll. Microsoft has not confirmed the feature publicly, and the final layout of its Settings page remains unknown.

Separately from the Insider preview builds, Microsoft has already rolled out an update to Task Manager that displays AI workload activity for supported devices. The Processes tab now shows per-process activity for the neural processing unit and the GPU neural engine alongside standard CPU and GPU data. The addition lets developers confirm whether an AI workload runs on the intended hardware instead of falling back to a slower compute path.

These changes converge ahead of Windows 11 version 26H2, which Microsoft has said will reach general availability in the second half of 2026