This week’s Microsoft Weekly news recap is here, bringing you the most interesting story from the world of Microsoft.
In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we look at a bunch of new Windows updates, including preview builds, some interesting upcoming features and Start menu tweaks, game reviews, browser updates, useful Windows utilities, and more.
Table of contents:
Here we talk about everything happening around Microsoft’s latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And of course, you may find a word or two about older but still supported versions.
Windows 10 and 11 received their latest non-security updates this week. Customers with Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2 can download KB5041587. The update delivers File Explorer improvements and a significant performance boost on AMD’s recent Ryzen processors (there is no need to wait for version 24H2). For Windows 11 version 24H2 on Copilot+ PCs, Microsoft released KB5041865.
By the way, more affordable Copilot+ PCs are coming soon. A new leak revealed that Qualcomm and its partners are getting ready to launch new computers with an eight-core Snapdragon X Plus. Prices of those computers should start at just $800, which is 20% less than current Copilot+ PCs, such as the Surface Pro 11.
Speaking of Copilot+ PCs and their exclusive capabilities, Recall, a controversial feature that is returning in October this year, will be uninstallable. Users noticed that the latest non-security update for Copilot+ PCs now allows uninstalling Recall as an optional feature.
This week, we learned some information about another Microsoft-related processor, the Maia 100. This AI accelerator was unveiled during Ignite 2023, and now, we have official specs, which include size, packaging, cache, TDP, and more. Just do not expect to see the Maia 100 in a consumer-grade computer—this monster of a CPU is for large-scale AI workloads in Azure.
To finish the Windows 10 and 11 section, here is a neat third-party mod that can help improve the tray area in Windows 11 by always displaying all available icons. For some reason, Microsoft still has not brought the „Show all apps“ from Windows 10, so third-party developers decided to fix the company’s OS themselves.
Windows Insider Program
Here is what Microsoft Released this week for testing in the Windows Insider Program:
Users discovered that one of the recent Windows 11 preview builds from the Beta Channel contains more improvements to the Start menu’s upcoming Category view. Its categories are now tied to the Microsoft Store, and each app has a tooltip.
Another change in this week’s Beta build is an improved „Account manager“, which no longer hides the „Sign out“ button behind a submenu. With the latest update, the button prominently sits at the top-right corner, allowing you to sign out without opening any additional submenus. However, the list of other profiles on your computer is still hidden behind a three-dot button.
Finally, there is an interesting AI-powered feature that may soon let you search in local audio and video files. Build 27695 contains references to the so-called „Intelligent media search“ with the following description:
Search by spoken words in your indexed video or audio files. By clicking ‚I agree‘, you consent to scanning the media files on your device. If needed, the required model will be downloaded and installed in the background. Your media files are being processed Once the AI model is set up, it needs to transcribe your media files and index them before enabling content-based search. We’ll inform you once the process is complete.
Microsoft has yet to announce the feature and explain what hardware is required to run it.
This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties.
Microsoft released two big updates for Windows Terminal, the default command-line application on Windows 10 and 11. Version 1.21 is out in the Stable Channel, and 1.
