Windows Latest @WindowsLatest

Hands on with Windows 11's new accelerated app launches feature, coming soon to more apps and PCs: windowslatest.com/2026/10/17/mic…

Windows 11 is getting "accelerated app launches," and I tested it on a PC with just 4GB RAM. Surprisingly, Microsoft Edge now opens much faster when other apps are already running, and Microsoft says this feature will eventually be available to other Windows apps, too! Previously, when Edge was already running in the background and you opened it from the taskbar, Start menu, or a link, Windows would create an extra, temporary process just to tell the existing Edge instance to open. The process would then exit. With the new accelerated launch feature, Windows skips that unnecessary process and sends the request directly to the running instance of Edge. I tested it before and after installing KB5127936 on a Windows 11 virtual machine with a paltry 4GB RAM. Before the update, Edge opened fairly quickly when the PC wasn't doing much, but there was a noticeable delay when Store and Paint were open. After the update, Edge opened surprisingly faster under the same conditions. To be clear, this only improves warm launches, where the app is already running in the background. Opening Edge for the first time after a restart won't benefit from this feature. This feature will also come to other apps, as Windows 11 keeps getting better!

Windows 11 could kill Control Panel faster, as Microsoft quietly tests a modular Settings app that can be updated via the Microsoft Store Microsoft is testing a new app codenamed Project Odeon, which uses the Windows 11 Settings icon and looks almost identical to the Settings app we already have. Project Odeon surprisingly works alongside the existing Settings app and can read real information from your computer, including your Windows version, network status, display information, and pending updates. But it gets more interesting when you look under the hood. Odeon has a hidden preview mode with a dummy Microsoft account, fake PC specifications, and six wallpapers. We also found several helper executables for changing system settings, including renaming your PC, managing printers, changing the time zone, and removing updates. Microsoft is experimenting with a more modular Settings experience, where the interface/pages/features can be updated through the Store while separate components handle system-level changes. That could be quite useful, especially when Microsoft is still trying to move decades-old Control Panel features into Windows 11 Settings. Hands-on experience: windowslatest.com/2026/10/16/win…

Windows 11's dark mode improvements continue to ship, and we've now noticed that even Hyper-V Manager, one of the oldest legacy tools, is getting dark theme support! Microsoft isn't rebuilding Hyper-V Manager using WinUI yet, but that doesn't mean it'll leave legacy features without dark mode. Like many legacy Windows tools and dialogs, Hyper-V Manager currently doesn't support dark mode, even when the system is set to dark. Windows 11's next update will bring dark mode to Hyper-V Manager, and I think it's the beginning of a bigger push across the OS. Microsoft promised broader dark mode improvements in March 2026, and we're now seeing those changes appear in preview builds: windowslatest.com/2026/10/11/mic…

keyboard_arrow_left Previous keyboard_arrow_right Next

Microsoft has confirmed the Copilot+ PCs lineup isn't dead. Copilot+ PCs are a category of Windows 11 PCs designed specifically for on-device artificial intelligence tasks, and one of the requirements has been an NPU chip. Microsoft is not giving up on the idea, and it's only getting better this year! Windows boss Pavan Davuluri called Copilot+ PCs “your PC for everyday AI,” shipping in “tens of millions of PCs a year,” with “over 2 trillion inferences per month running locally” across search, imaging, and video calls. “Today, over 40% of the laptops being built for business are Copilot+ PCs”, said Davuluri, adding that they’re “improving customers’ experiences across search, imaging, and video calls.”

This is the Surface Laptop Ultra, Microsoft's answer to the MacBook Pro. Microsoft says the chip pairs the CPU with an NVIDIA Blackwell RTX GPU for up to 1 petaflop of AI compute (FP4, sparse) and can run models of up to 120B parameters locally. Here's everything you need to know: Processor options: - NVIDIA RTX Spark N1X with an 18-core CPU and 5120-core GPU, from $2,599.99 - NVIDIA RTX Spark N1X with a 20-core CPU and 6144-core GPU, from $3,699.99 Pricing: - 24 GB, 512 GB, Platinum, Home: $2,599.99 - 24 GB, 1 TB, Platinum, Home: $2,999.99 - 24 GB, 1 TB, Nightfall, Home: $2,999.99 - 32 GB, 1 TB, Platinum, Pro: $3,299.99 - 32 GB, 1 TB, Nightfall, Pro: $3,299.99 20-core / 6144-core GPU models - 32 GB, 1 TB, Platinum, Pro: $3,699.99 - 32 GB, 1 TB, Nightfall, Pro: $3,699.99 - 48 GB, 1 TB, Nightfall, Pro: $3,999.99 - 64 GB, 1 TB, Nightfall, Pro: $4,299.99 (marked "Pre-order – Exclusive") - 64 GB, 2 TB, Nightfall, Pro: $4,699.99 (marked "NBP1") - 128 GB, 1 TB, Nightfall, Pro: $5,899.99 (out of stock) The 18-core chip tops out at 32 GB, and 48 GB and above are Nightfall only. The only 2 TB option is the 64 GB build. Protection plans (Microsoft Complete): - 2 years: $249 - 3 years: $319 - 4 years: $399 Offers: - MacBook Pro trade-in: up to $1,000 cash back, from October 7 to November 23, 2026. US and Canada only. - Holiday window: purchases made October 1 to December 2 can be returned, or price-adjusted, until January 31, 2027.

keyboard_arrow_left Previous keyboard_arrow_right Next

x.com/WindowsLatest/…

Windows Latest @WindowsLatest

2 weeks ago

This is really cool: you can soon change Windows Settings directly from the new native Windows 11 Search UI. Here's everything coming to Windows Search: - Faster Search with lower memory usage thanks to WinUI 3. - Inline Windows actions like turning on Bluetooth, Night Light,

keyboard_arrow_left Previous keyboard_arrow_right Next

45 68 905 57K 165

This is the new Windows 11 Search UI, coming later this year!

This is really cool: you can soon change Windows Settings directly from the new native Windows 11 Search UI. Here's everything coming to Windows Search: - Faster Search with lower memory usage thanks to WinUI 3. - Inline Windows actions like turning on Bluetooth, Night Light, or dark mode. - Quick system controls such as mute, dim screen, or minimize all windows. - Window arrangement actions to snap and organize apps from Search. - Better matching for typos and synonyms so Search understands what you meant. - Inline previews and richer results for files, web answers, weather, stocks, and more. Windows is so back!

More details in our story: windowslatest.com/2026/10/07/fir…

Microsoft just announced a new Windows 11 Search experience, and it's fully native (built using WinUI!). Goodbye, WebView! And this new Windows Search can also control your PC settings, such as turning dark mode on or off, and more... without even opening Settings. Good stuff. Coming later this year.

keyboard_arrow_left Previous keyboard_arrow_right Next

Windows Latest @WindowsLatest

2 weeks ago

This is the new Windows 11 Search UI, coming later this year!

207 82 2K 435K 219

Microsoft might consider bringing Windows XP’s 3D Pinball to Windows 11, as the Windows boss puts it on the list. “People love games and Windows, and we have such an amazing catalog on Windows from casual games all the way to AAA titles,” Davuluri said on the Inside Windows podcast. “We’ve had a great history in Windows of having games in-box as well, and noted on 3D pinball, we will add that into the matrix for things to think about.” However, Microsoft has not confirmed 3D Pinball is coming back to Windows 11. “Matrix” is the kind of word executives use when something enters the pool of ideas, not the roadmap. Still, it is rare to hear the person running Windows talk about the XP classic at all. If you grew up with Windows XP, there’s a good chance your first PC game was Pinball, probably played in a school computer lab while the teacher wasn’t looking. Back then, there was no MS Store, no Game Pass, no launcher, no account. You went to Start > All Programs > Games, and there it was. Windows used to have that kind of personality. Pinball, Solitaire, Minesweeper, Hover!, startup sounds, weird CD extras, all of it made Windows feel like something you could explore, not just a place for work, ads, and Copilot buttons. Sometimes, an operating system can just be fun.... Here's everything we know so far about Pinball for Windows 11: windowslatest.com/2026/10/06/mic…

Happy Birthday, Windows 11! Five years ago, on October 5, 2021, Microsoft made Windows 11 generally available for all supported PCs. Windows 11 is now five years old, and it's finally getting the attention it deserves. Microsoft is fixing the things people complained about when it launched. Back in 2021, Windows 11 was pitched as the modern Windows. New Start menu, new taskbar, rounded corners, Snap improvements, Widgets, Teams in the taskbar, Android app support, a new Store, better security, and a cleaner UI. Some of it was good, but Microsoft also removed a lot of muscle-memory features for no good reason. The taskbar became worse, the Start menu became less useful, the context menu needed two clicks for basic actions, and the new hardware requirements kicked out perfectly usable PCs. Then some of the headline features, like Teams integration and Android app support, were eventually killed anyway. What makes 2026 interesting is that Microsoft finally seems to be going back to the complaints it ignored for years. The Start menu is getting more customization. The taskbar is becoming more flexible. Context menus are getting faster, simpler, and configurable. Windows Update is being improved. File Explorer, WinUI, performance, memory usage, and 8GB PCs are all suddenly priorities. That doesn’t make the last five years perfect, but it does make Windows 11 feel like it’s entering the version it probably should have been closer to at launch.

keyboard_arrow_left Previous keyboard_arrow_right Next

More details in our story: windowslatest.com/2026/10/04/ris…

Microsoft has finally admitted why Windows 11 needs to use less RAM, and it comes down to something everyone buying a PC in 2026 already knows: memory is expensive again. Pavan Davuluri, Microsoft’s Windows chief, said it clearly: “I do think memory is top of mind for us right now in the industry, especially as we look at the rising cost of memory for computers across the board. For us, as a Windows team, we have clear efforts around driving better utilization of memory.” Microsoft has now made “memory optimization for 8GB and above” an official Windows priority for the rest of 2026. Davuluri says the work is happening across the memory manager, memory compression, and the frameworks that sit on top of Windows. “We do definitely have work when it comes to compressing memory and making sure we’re more efficient on the platform,” he said. Microsoft is trying to make Windows take memory only when a capability is actually being used. “You only take the memory cost as and when you use the capability. Otherwise, the base system gets a little bit more efficient across the board.” I’m glad Microsoft is reducing Windows 11's memory management, WinUI 3, WebView2, and Chromium efficiency, and hopefully, one day, Microsoft will also fix its own web-based apps...

Hands on with Outlook Classic theme for New Outlook on Windows 11: windowslatest.com/2026/10/03/tes…

Tested: Microsoft cloned Outlook Classic’s look into a New Outlook theme, instead of building a native Windows 11 app There’s now an optional “Enable classic Outlook style” toggle under Settings > General > Appearance, and I finally got it on my PC. Once turned on, New Outlook changes the title bar, ribbon, folder list, icons, email list, compose window, Calendar ribbon, and even brings back Outlook Classic-style touches like Send/Receive, Undo, Folder tabs, tighter spacing, date groups, and a more compact mail folder list. To Microsoft’s credit, it has done a surprisingly good job with cloning Outlook Classic's look into a New Outlook theme. For example, the blue patterned title bar is gone, the older multicolor Outlook icon is back, the ribbon looks more familiar, folders are denser, and the whole app feels a lot closer to what holdouts are used to. But it does not solve the real problem, which is that the New Outlook is still a web app running in an Edge-powered container. Microsoft can apply Outlook Classic's skin to New Outlook, but that won't change the framework, and it won't address the fact that New Outlook still does not have all the features. Microsoft needs to go back to building native apps for Windows 11 and consider bringing back the native Mail & Calendar apps!

More details in our story: windowslatest.com/2026/10/03/mic…

Microsoft confirms Windows 11's biggest September update is now crashing apps. Microsoft says that after installing the September 22, 2026 update, KB5124010 or later, some apps that rely on Windows’ built-in AC-3 decoding might close unexpectedly. In some cases, the app may fail to launch. In others, it works normally until you do something like play music, and then it just closes without warning. This can affect games, media players, and even some productivity apps, depending on whether they still use Windows’ legacy built-in audio decoder. Microsoft says many modern apps won’t hit the bug because they ship their own audio decoding components instead of depending on Windows for it. The affected versions are Windows 11 24H2, 25H2, and 26H2.

Satya Nadella keeps calling Copilot a “new OS for work,” which would be easier to digest if the app on Windows 11 wasn’t basically a Chromium app. "With Copilot, we are executing rapidly against our vision to build a new OS for work that spans every model, every form factor, and every task, with Office fully embedded in Copilot and vice versa" - Satya Nadella. I have the new Copilot app on my PC, the one replacing the terribly named Microsoft 365 Copilot app. When I checked the installation folder, copilotapp.exe was just 4.99MB, sitting next to a full Edge 154 build of roughly 520MB, including a 349.6MB msedge.dll, Chromium resource packs, V8, ICU, FFmpeg, GPU components, and even Edge baggage like IE mode adapter, Widevine DRM, and Game Assist. So the Copilot app is actually a browser, and it's also why calling it an OS “OS” feels odd. Microsoft is talking about a new operating system for work, but on Windows 11, that “OS” is an app running inside a browser. What do you think?