Fixed an issue when drawing at the edge of the canvas viewport that would cause it to freeze and then jump all the way to the far edge of the canvas
Fixed an issue when drawing a selection using the intersect combine mode that would make the selection disappear and cause other weird issues with history (undo/redo).
Fixed the Move Selected Pixels tool setting color values to 0 for transparent pixels when not necessary (just moving without scaling/rotation, nearest neighbor sampling, etc.). Bug was reported here by @frio.
Fixed clipboard images accessed by plugins not always having a non-null ColorContext property. This property can still be null in some cases (e.g. alpha-only pixel formats). Reported here by @_koh_.
Optimized the compositing code for the Move Selected Pixels tool. The improvement is most noticeable on CPUs with AVX2 (not AVX512) which are not already bottlenecked by the GPU’s rendering.
Fixed a rare crash that could happen while switching tools while also changing the color
Download and Install
This build is available via the built-in updater as long as you have opted-in to pre-release updates. From within Settings -> Updates, enable “Also check for pre-release (beta) versions of paint.net” and then click on the Check Now button. You can also use the links below to download an offline installer or portable ZIP.
You can also download the installer here (for any supported CPU and OS), which is also where you can find downloads for offline installers, portable ZIPs, and deployable MSIs.
At the Build 2026 developer conference, Microsoft encouraged developers to build more native apps for Windows 11. While Microsoft didn’t specifically warn against “web apps,” it was one of the rare developer conferences where the company pushed WinUI, a native framework, over other options like Electron or React Native (web apps).
Now, at Build 2026, Microsoft announced it’s fully committed to WinUI and has no plans to build another framework.
How Microsoft plans to push WinUI as the native UI framework
Microsoft said it’s going to focus on the fundamentals initially, which means it plans to make WinUI more stable, reduce memory usage, and create new development tools.
It’s also dropping the WinUI 3 branding and referring to it as simply “WinUI.” This might sound meaningless at first, but it’s actually a significant move because the company does not want developers to think another new framework is coming.
According to Microsoft, one of the most asked questions it gets from developers is how serious the company is about WinUI 3. Are you going to stick with this framework? WinUI 3 is four years old. Are you going to keep going, or is this the year that you’re going to announce a brand-new framework yet again?
To this, Chris Anderson, who works on Windows UI and AI, responded that Microsoft has “no intention of building a new framework.”
“In fact, we’re dropping the number, and we’re referring to WinUI as just WinUI because we have no intention of really making a massive shift, breaking change on it,” he said in a session spotted by Windows Latest.
Microsoft says it’ll get the basics right for WinUI
Speaking at Build 2026, Chris Anderson confirmed that WinUI is the “production platform for Windows apps,” and the company is fully committed to the framework.
Chris explained that Microsoft is aware of the “gaps” in the WinUI framework and is trying to bring it on par with other frameworks.
Microsoft says it’ll address tearing and other problems affecting WinUI as part of getting the “fundamentals” right.
“The first and foremost is performance, fundamentals, quality, fixing a lot of bugs,” says Anderson, who is the VP of software engineering at Microsoft. “We’ve invested heavily in really improving memory usage as well as switching over to a system compositor.”
There are a number of new features coming to WinUI, but Microsoft specifically mentioned that it’s working on DataGrid and Charting support, which could encourage enterprises to build apps using WinUI.
It might not sound like a huge deal, but it’s actually one of the first times Microsoft is trying to optimize WinUI for enterprise needs. Microsoft truly cares about its enterprise customers, and if it wants to push enterprise developers toward WinUI, it confirms the company is fully committed to WinUI.
“We have DataGrid and Charting that are up and coming that should be out relatively shortly,” he said.
These two are basic interface controls for enterprise developers, as data grids and charts are used in finance apps, HR dashboards, admin tools, billing software, and more.
Microsoft wants developers to use WinUI for modern apps, including AI workflows
Part of that plan also includes building WinUI for the agentic era. That means the WinUI framework is being optimized for AI workflows, so developers choose it over other frameworks.
“Developers want faster iteration, clearer control flow, and tools that work well with AI-assisted coding,” Microsoft said. “WinUI remains the production platform for Windows apps while adapting to these needs.”
In another session at Build 2026, Microsoft suggested using agent-based development workflows to build modern Windows apps. Again, some of you might argue that the company is heavily investing in AI, but it’s not about adding AI to your apps. This is specifically about using AI to help developers build more modern Windows apps.
AI has been around for years now, and it was also the talk of the town at Build 2025, but we didn’t have a single session where Microsoft encouraged developers to build modern apps written in WinUI with or without AI agents.
Microsoft introduced AI tools to help make WinUI 3 apps
Microsoft is working on “new platform capabilities” to allow agents to help developers plan, build, and optimize their modern WinUI apps.
“Developers can leverage these capabilities to create new WinUI 3 apps, improve existing applications, or migrate legacy apps to a modern Windows UI stack using intelligent automation across the development lifecycle,” Microsoft said.
Microsoft is not against other frameworks, but it wants “WinUI” to be seen as the native framework
It is worth noting that Microsoft isn’t declaring a war against other frameworks. That would never happen because Windows is an open platform for developers. In fact, the company cited React alongside SwiftUI and Compose as examples of modern dynamic UI patterns that it intends to bring to WinUI.
However, the company wants to make WinUI more appealing to developers. The company is trying to make the UI feel modern, AI-friendly, open-source, and less risky for developers.
“The big next phase for us is Phase 4. And really, that is where we move the team from using internal source repos to working primarily and almost exclusively in the public repos,” Microsoft said at Build 2026.
Microsoft is also not asking developers to rewrite old Windows apps overnight. Anderson said the company wants WinForms interop with WinUI to become “bulletproof,” and it also wants WPF migration to be good enough that developers can mix WPF and WinUI without problems.
Windows has always been a developer-friendly operating system. This means it allows developers to use any framework and API to build apps for Windows, including Python, Tauri, React, WinUI, WinForms, Win32, and the list goes on. That also means Windows no longer has a consistent design language because it tries to cater to everyone.
This year’s Build conference gives me hope that Windows is “back” at Microsoft
Microsoft holds the annual Build conference to talk about Windows, Azure, GitHub, and its other products. The first //build/ conference was held in 2011. Over the past few years, Build has become less about Windows and more about Azure, GitHub, or even Linux.
Microsoft also largely moved away from talking about a native framework for Windows and focused more on bringing apps from other platforms to Windows.
This Build, Microsoft discussed Windows and native apps more than it has at the last several years’ conferences, and the company promised it would also rewrite the Windows shell in WinUI to create a consistent experience.
This is an exciting year for Windows, but how do you want Microsoft to improve the OS? Let me know in the comments below, and I’ll forward all feedback to the relevant teams!
Dave Airlie, a Distinguished Engineer at Red Hat, speaks with host Gregory M. Kapfhammer about Linux kernel maintenance. After over-viewing the scale and structure of the Linux kernel, they dive deep into the review and validation of kernel patches, drawing on examples from the GPU subsystem. After discussing the features and benefits of the Linux kernel's maintenance model, they also explore kernel maintenance best practices and the supporting tools for these practices. Dave and Gregory also discuss topics such as the integration of Rust code in the Linux kernel and the ways in which AI-driven code review are influencing kernel maintenance.
The transcript of AI & I with Matt Colyer, Figma’s director of product management for developers, is below. Watch on X or YouTube, or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Timestamps
Introduction: 00:01:03
The SaaSpocalypse narrative has it backwards: 00:02:15
Matt’s email-agent origin story: 00:05:27
Divergent vs. convergent design thinking: 00:13:21
Figma’s MCP server: 00:17:39
Why design agents need personalization: 00:19:45
Every problem is a context problem: 00:22:09
Apple and Google as the reigning kings of context: 00:25:12
Review is the new bottleneck: 00:28:18
Transcript
(00:00:00)
Matt Colyer
The SaaSpocalypse—or, more positively, the next era of software. I’m really excited about it, because I think the number of developers in the world is about to go from tens of millions to a billion, maybe more. We’re moving through this incredible democratization of technology, and the end result is dramatically more software in the world. If you’re an established product in that space, it’s not a casualty—it’s a goldmine.
The White House AI executive order provoked intense debate over voluntary pre-release testing, a 30-day sharing window, and the risk of a de facto licensing regime. Anthropic’s Mythos and Project Glasswing expanded to critical infrastructure partners while exposing extreme token costs and unresolved cybersecurity safeguards. OpenAI’s Codex updates (annotations, role-specific plugins, Sites) and Microsoft’s MAI models signal a shift toward knowledge-work interfaces and cost-efficient enterprise AI amid a global token and memory-chip crunch.
Build 2026 is underway in San Francisco this week, and it started with a big, overly-long keynote as always. And Computex is this week, too. There's a lot going on, and some of it is fascinating. Plus, WWDC is next week because you cannot relax. Also, Microsoft GA's WinApp CLI, announces the Windows Platform Skills plug-in for native app creation, and you're not going to believe what Paul did next. OK, you will believe it
Build + Computex = OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD
NVIDIA finally announces Arm-based N1X as the RTX Spark
RTX Spark is an Arm-based portable workstation chip for Windows 11
Microsoft announces Surface Laptop Ultra - It and other RTX Spark-based PCs will appear in late 2026
Some of this leaked earlier, including a lower-end N1 chipset
Microsoft continues to optimize and evolve Windows 11 for developers
Windows Developer Configuration, Windows Developer Skills + WinApp CLI, Terminal, more Linux, and more on-device ("unmetered") AI - Tied to this, Copilot+ PC features are coming to more PCs, with CPU/GPU support - this, plus the RTX Spark stuff hints at answers to some obvious questions but there's nothing concrete from Microsoft
Microsoft Edge is getting three new on-AI features
Scout is a personal work agent powered by OpenClaw
GitHub Copilot app arrives on desktop for your agentic coding and management needs
Microsoft AI announces seven new foundation models
Stevie Bathiche is back, baby! And he's talking about those AI app structures and how they've led to Project Solara
Windows
Microsoft discusses the progress it's made on Windows 11 pain points
You can now test the new Start menu in Experimental - Paul did so along with the new Taskbar
Qualcomm announces low-cost Snapdragon C for $300+ PCs to take on MacBook Neo
And Acer is the first to announce a Snapdragon C laptop
New Surface Pro with Snapdragon X2 leaks for June release (!)
Dell XPS 13 is coming soon with Intel Wildcat (also to take on MacBook Neo)
Dell revenues are through the roof, but not because of PCs
HP revenues are up, and it is because of PCs
AI and dev
Anthropic gets a new valuation exceeding OpenAI and then it files for an IPO
OpenAI adjusts GPT5.5-Instant for less sucking-up and releases computer use in Codex on Windows
Flutter takes the lead on Flutter desktop development
XBOX and gaming
Asha Sharma says you can't please everyone and then immediately jumps the shark trying to please everyone
XBOX delays Fable reboot because of GTA VI
New titles coming to Game Pass in early June across platforms
XBOX starts early testing of new console features
ASUS announces ROG Xbox Ally X20 with OLED display and XReal R1 glasses
Intel announces Arc G-series for gaming handhelds
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 is next and it's the COD we've been begging for
Tips and picks
Tip of the week: Now you can vibe code a native Windows app from the CLI
App pick of the week: iA Writer
RunAs Radio this week: Data API Builder and SQL MVP with Jerry Nixon
Brown liquor pick of the week: Old Malt Casking of Longmorn 20
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