Microsoft dropped a trio of Release Preview builds on May 14, 2026, pushing Windows 11 versions 24H2, 25H2, and a new 26H1 hardware branch into the hands of Insiders. Builds 26100.8514 and 26200.8514 roll out for 24H2 and 25H2 respectively, while build 28000.2173 lands for the upcoming 26H1, giving enthusiasts early access to near-public builds with notable new features.

This isn’t a routine servicing update. The 24H2 and 25H2 builds ship with two long-awaited capabilities: NPU visibility in Task Manager and a Multi-App Camera mode. More importantly, the surprise appearance of a 26H1 build signals Microsoft’s accelerated platform development, teasing future hardware support before the feature update even has a name.

NPU Visibility Comes to Task Manager

You can now see neural processing unit activity directly in Task Manager. The feature, which first appeared in Dev Channel builds in early 2026, surfaces NPU utilization and memory usage on the Performance tab, sitting alongside CPU, GPU, and memory metrics.

Users with Intel Core Ultra, AMD Ryzen AI, or Snapdragon X series processors will see a dedicated NPU graph showing real-time inference workloads. Clicking reveals driver versions and the physical NPU model. This transparency matters for anyone running local AI tasks—Stable Diffusion, live captions, or Windows Studio Effects—because you can finally see how much of that specialized silicon actually gets used.

The implementation mirrors the GPU performance counters Task Manager added years ago. It reports utilization as a percentage of the NPU’s theoretical maximum throughput, so a spike to 80% during a batch AI job tells you immediately that the NPU is the bottleneck. For IT admins, this view simplifies fleet diagnostics; you can now remotely check whether AI-accelerated features are even hitting the NPU or falling back to CPU emulation.

Multi-App Camera: One Camera, Many Apps

The Multi-App Camera feature finally breaks the single-app lock on camera hardware. Before this build, a Windows PC’s built-in or USB webcam could only feed one application at a time—open Teams, and your OBS stream would go dark. Build 26100.8514 changes that.

It works by creating virtual camera pipelines. You can now share a single physical camera with multiple applications simultaneously, each receiving the same raw video feed. Microsoft’s implementation handles resolution scaling and frame rate matching automatically, so a 4K camera can feed a 1080p Teams call while simultaneously delivering 720p to a background monitoring app.

OEM partners have been pushing for this capability for years, especially in hybrid work setups where a user might need to appear in a video conference while also feeding a live stream or AI-enhanced application. The feature requires camera driver support, and Microsoft is working with Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm to ensure broad compatibility out of the gate. Early Insider feedback suggests that most modern USB Video Class (UVC) cameras work without extra drivers.

How to Enable Multi-App Camera

After installing the Release Preview build, the setting is off by default. Head to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras, select your camera, and toggle “Share camera with multiple applications.” A restart might be needed for the system to create the virtual pipeline. Apps see the camera under its original name, so no application updates are required.

There’s a known limitation: all applications sharing the camera must use the same pixel format and color space. If an app requests a format the pipeline doesn’t support, it falls back to the old single-client mode. This edge case will likely get smoothed out in future updates.

26H1 Hardware Branch Surfaces Early

Build 28000.2173 for version 26H1 is the real headline grabber. Microsoft doesn’t typically push a hardware branch for a future feature update into Release Preview until the current year’s update is nearly done. Seeing a 26H1 build in RP channel this early suggests Microsoft is decoupling platform work from feature work, so new silicon support can be tested and validated long before the 26H1 feature drop arrives.

Inside the build, eagle-eyed Insiders have spotted references to next-generation AMD Zen 6 and Intel Panther Lake CPU microcode, along with updated memory controller drivers for DDR6 and LPDDR6. There are also hints of a reworked power management framework that can park individual NPU tiles independently—critical for the heterogeneous AI engines we expect in late 2026 laptops.

None of these hardware features are active in current devices, of course. The branch exists to let OEMs and silicon partners validate drivers against a stable Windows kernel. But for enthusiasts, it’s a roadmap goldmine: the presence of DDR6 support implies Microsoft is already tuning memory compression and page caching algorithms for the higher bandwidth, which should improve system responsiveness across the board when the hardware arrives.

What These Builds Mean for Windows Cadence

Microsoft’s Windows Insider strategy has shifted visibly. Instead of holding all forward-looking platform work in the Canary or Dev channels, they’re now seeding near-public builds with infrastructure that won’t light up for months. This lets the company gather telemetry on kernel-level changes without exposing unfinished features to mainstream users.

The dual-track Release Preview—24H2 and 25H2 getting feature backports while 26H1 gestates—also confirms that Windows 11 will maintain overlapping servicing timelines. Users can stay on 24H2 for stability while enterprises test 25H2, all while Microsoft builds the foundation for 26H1. It’s a pragmatic approach that acknowledges the fragmentation of the Windows install base.

Known Issues and Workarounds

These are Release Preview builds, not final retail. Insiders have flagged a few issues:

  • On some Intel 14th-gen laptops, enabling Multi-App Camera causes a brief system hang when the second camera-consuming app starts. A driver update from Intel is expected in June.
  • NPU visibility in Task Manager shows 0% utilization for some Snapdragon X Elite devices when running background AI tasks. Microsoft says a firmware update from Qualcomm is required to expose the correct performance counters.
  • Build 28000.2173 for 26H1 cannot be clean-installed on certain older AMD systems due to missing TPM 2.0 attestation components. This reaffirms Microsoft’s TPM 2.0 requirement, even for early platform builds.

If you’re testing these builds, report issues via the Feedback Hub and include device specifications. Workarounds exist for the NPU issue—restarting the Windows AI Service restores the counter—but the Multi-App Camera hang requires patience until the ODM driver drops.

How to Get the Builds

To try these features, navigate to Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program and select Release Preview. The channel is open to all registered Insiders. Builds 26100.8514 and 26200.8514 target devices currently running 24H2 and 25H2, respectively. Build 28000.2173 will only be offered to devices that opt into the “Next version of Windows” option under the Insider settings.

Microsoft recommends enrolling a secondary device for 26H1 testing, as the hardware branch lacks many user-facing features and might be less stable than the 24H2/25H2 builds. Enterprise admins can pre-configure Insider channels via Group Policy or Intune, making it easy to validate these builds across a test fleet.

Forward Look: Why This Matters

The combination of NPU monitoring and multi-app camera support in a Release Preview points to a near-term public rollout—likely a June optional cumulative update. That means mainstream users on 24H2 and 25H2 could see these features by mid-summer, well before the 25H2 feature update’s broad availability push in the fall.

Meanwhile, the 26H1 hardware branch signals Microsoft’s commitment to staying ahead of silicon. With AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm all racing to integrate larger NPUs into 2027 client platforms, Windows needs to be ready. Shipping early platform previews gives the ecosystem time to stabilize drivers and firmware. It also hints that Microsoft might shift Windows 11’s version naming again—26H1 could become Windows 11 2026 Edition, or perhaps something tied to a major AI branding push.

For IT decision-makers, the message is clear: start testing these builds now. NPU visibility and multi-app camera aren’t just gimmicks; they directly impact productivity and hardware utilization monitoring in enterprise environments. And with 26H1 already bubbling up, hardware refresh cycles set for late 2026 should factor in the DDR6 and NPU topologies that Windows is already optimizing for.

Microsoft hasn’t released an official blog post for these builds yet, but Insiders can track updates on the Windows Insider Blog and the Feedback Hub. With Computex 2026 just weeks away, expect more announcements about the silicon partnerships this hardware branch enables.