If you have an HDR-compatible monitor or TV connected to your Windows 11 computer, you have probably noticed that playing HDR content requires enabling a toggle in the display settings. While HDR content looks great, the rest of the operating system becomes slightly washed out. However, Microsoft has been working on a solution to this inconvenience.
Recently, Microsoft released a new build, 27686, in their Canary Channel, which contains a new HDR-related option in the Settings app. This option allows HDR content to be played when HDR is toggled off, saving users from manually toggling HDR on whenever they want to watch an HDR video or play a game. This change has not been mentioned in the official release notes for the build, but those on the latest Canary build who support HDR can go to Settings > System > Display > HDR and expand the HDR section to find the "Allow HDR video streaming even when HDR is off" feature.
In addition to this new HDR feature, the upcoming Windows 11 version 24H2, which is expected to be released in the coming months, will bring HDR wallpaper support in JXR format.
Some other changes in the Windows 11 build 27686 include improved energy efficiency, detachable virtual hard disk in settings, improved Windows Sandbox Client, increased FAT32 size limit from 32GB to 2TB, and more. You can check out the full release notes for this build on the Microsoft website.
Overall, this new HDR-related option is great news for Windows 11 users with HDR-compatible devices. With this feature, you no longer have to manually toggle HDR on and off, making the use of HDR content on Windows 11 even more convenient.
