1 844.742.7448

Email Us

Remote Support

Contact

Posts tagged "24H2"

  1. Home
  2. Posts tagged 24H2

Clues in Windows 11 suggest Microsoft’s big AI feature for 24H2 update will be for Snapdragon X Elite laptops only
  • No Comments

Windows 11’s incoming linchpin feature for the 24H2 update, which is theoretically AI Explorer, might be exclusive to ARM laptops only – if a fresh clue dug up in Microsoft’s desktop OS means anything.

On X (formerly Twitter), a regular leaker on the subject of Microsoft, Albacore, made the revelation that they’d found the hardware requirements for AI Explorer baked into the code for Windows 11 preview build 26100 (which is supposedly the RTM version of the 24H2 update).

See more

Those system requirements call for 16GB of RAM (not a surprise), a system drive of at least 225GB (that’s total size, as opposed to free space), and an ARM processor (very definitely a surprise).

In fact, these requirements stipulate an ARM CPU and specifically a Snapdragon X Elite NPU.

What this means, in theory, is that AI Explorer is designed to run only on Snapdragon X Elite laptops (the Qualcomm SoC is ARM-based, in case you didn’t guess). This further means that if you have an AMD or Intel (x86) processor in your laptop or desktop PC, then you won’t get AI Explorer.

Analysis: Exploring all the possibilities

This is a pretty huge deal because AI Explorer is – as far as we can discern from the rumor mill – the key feature for AI PCs, and the most important step forward in terms of using AI with Windows 11 in the 24H2 update. It pretty much sounds like the ‘wow’ moment for Copilot’s capabilities, allowing natural language searches to find anything on the PC (“Find me that document which has all the settings for my TV”).

Therefore, for it to be only happening on ARM-based PCs, and not Intel or AMD devices, is a different kind of ‘wow’ moment we guess. A ‘wow, wait a minute – I don’t get this?’ moment, more to the point.

We should stress that we need to be very cautious going by leaks, especially clues that have been dug up deep within the workings of the OS. We don’t know this is happening for sure, by any means – this is just a suggestion.

Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite

(Image credit: Qualcomm)

So, what are the chances of it happening? Well, it seems unlikely that Microsoft would put a hard limit on its best feature happening outside of ARM devices. While the company is clearly placing a lot of weight on the Snapdragon X Elite, and ramping up Windows in ARM in general with AI PCs, surely excluding Intel and AMD PCs from the fun would be going too far… right?

What we might entertain is the possibility that initially, AI Explorer might be just for Snapdragon X Elite laptops – and later, it’ll get a broader rollout to Windows 11 devices of all kinds, including those without ARM CPUs.

A limited exclusive, if you will, and the key point why this might be necessary is the NPU, as the Snapdragon X Elite has a much faster Neural Processing Unit – which accelerates AI workloads. It’s possible that current-gen chips, with their much weaker NPUs that don’t meet the requirement of 45 TOPS (trillions of operations per second, a measurement of power in relation to AI tasks), simply aren’t up to the job of running AI Explorer. Or at least, running it fast enough to be impressive.

The Snapdragon X Elite boasts an NPU with 45 TOPS, and so this might be why AI Explorer will be for systems with this SoC only – just to begin with. Then, when Intel’s Lunar Lake chips – boasting 45 TOPS – or AMD’s Strix Point (at a similar level), arrive later this year, those mobile ranges will be good to go with AI Explorer. So, Microsoft will open up things more at that point.

This is pure guesswork, of course. There’s also another potential benefit for Microsoft – it’ll give folks another reason to pick up a Snapdragon X Elite-toting laptop when they emerge, in theory in June (though AI Explorer itself won’t arrive until 24H2 features are dropped, likely in September, it should be noted).

Microsoft’s own Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 are such AI PCs that’ll use that Snapdragon chip, of course. (As a side note, we can presume these devices will have an entry-level floor of 16GB RAM and 256GB of storage – given the other requirements floated above – and that’d be interesting in itself).

Microsoft is on a big push to get Windows on ARM truly off the ground, after all, so this could all be part of that strategy. However, surely the requirement for ARM to drive AI Explorer would be a temporary one if it happens – and Intel plus AMD CPUs would join the party eventually? Well, time will tell, but there’s certainly no reason why they shouldn’t with the next-gen laptop chips from Teams Blue and Red.

You might also like…

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Windows 11 24H2 isn’t even here yet but Microsoft is already working on its follow-up that could pave the way for Windows 12
  • No Comments

Microsoft is already working away at what could be the first Moment update to follow the big Windows 11 24H2 update.

Currently, work is ongoing with finishing the 24H2 update which lands later this year – most likely it’ll roll out from September – but Microsoft is already looking past that upgrade to the first Moment update it’ll deliver for that release, likely early in 2025. (Assuming the Moment name is kept, and we’ll come back to that).

See more

This is according to a respected Microsoft leaker, Albacore on X (formerly Twitter), who as noted in the above post stumbled upon an internal flight – a preview version just being tested within Microsoft currently – which is the first Moment for 24H2. (Add your own scattering of seasoning here, naturally).

As probably hasn’t escaped your attention if you’re a Windows 11 user, Microsoft just released the fifth Moment update for Windows 11 23H2, which comes with some handy new features.

Analysis: The bigger update picture – and potential road to Windows 12

As a quick refresher, Moment updates are sizeable feature drops, though not nearly as big as the annual upgrades for Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2 and so on). Essentially, Moments offer a way for Microsoft to continue to drip feed features between the major ‘H2’ annual versions of Windows 11.

With the first Moment update for 24H2 seemingly already under development, this seems a strong indication that Microsoft will continue with this scheme of things for Windows 11 updates going forward.

As Albacore discusses in the thread of the above post on X, it is possible that Microsoft might change the name ‘Moment’ to something else, but the underlying principle of these small-to-medium sized upgrades – outside the cadence of the big annual updates – should remain in place for Windows 11 as we progress down the road with the OS.

Before too long, though, that road will lead to Windows 12 – or whatever next-gen Windows ends up being called, with it quite possibly turning up in 2025, when Windows 10 exits stage left – and after that, the update delivery philosophy could change again.

Perhaps there’s a heightened chance of this, too, when you consider that Windows is under a new chief – Pavan Davuluri has taken the reins of the OS, as Mikhail Parakhin (who was heading up Windows previously) is off doing other things at Microsoft as of last month.

Traditionally, Microsoft has operated under this kind of scheme of smaller drip-fed updates outside of large feature drops – though not always. Before Windows 11 arrived, you may recall that Microsoft used a twice-yearly update scheme with Windows 10, so no new features were introduced between those upgrades. That left some pretty sizeable gaps of six months or so where nothing happened with the desktop OS feature-wise (except minor tweaks here and there).

We were never keen on that idea, but we don’t think Microsoft will return to that way of working – we’re taking this as a positive sign that Moments, or their equivalent, will be around for a good time yet, and hopefully with Windows 12 going forward, when it eventually rolls into town.

You might also like…

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Windows 11 24H2 blanket bans some desktop customization apps in test builds – and a lot of folks aren’t happy
  • No Comments

Windows 11 users who have customized the interface of the operating system with a third-party app may run into trouble with the incoming 24H2 update later this year, if what’s happening in testing is anything to go by.

Tom’s Hardware spotted a Neowin report noting that in the recently deployed preview build 26100 of Windows 11, which is supposedly the RTM version of the 24H2 update, Microsoft has stealthily (and rather crudely) disabled some apps that modify the interface.

Specifically, StartAllBack and ExplorerPatcher are the two UI customization apps that are blocked from Windows 11 24H2, meaning you won’t be able to get the update until you remove that software.

So, why has this happened? As you might guess, the reason for effectively casting aside these third-party apps is bound up in the compatibility and possible stability and security issues that they cause, as Windows development MVP Rafael Rivera makes clear on X (formerly Twitter).

See more

Indeed, as Neowin points out, when you attempt to install ExplorerPatcher on build 26100, the OS tells you that it can’t be run because the app “causes security or performance issues on Windows.”

Windows 11 working on a laptop PC

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Analysis: A rush to RTM?

As one bright spark on X observes, tongue firmly planted in cheek, Microsoft Teams is also “an unreliable high crash rate bit of software” so why doesn’t Microsoft block that from installing? Well, Rivera does respond to that little bit of trolling, noting that whatever stability issues Teams may have, it doesn’t prevent OS boot or recovery options – suggesting there are some serious flaws with these customization apps and the 24H2 update.

If you recall, 24H2 has an all-new underlying platform called Germanium, so there are some big changes here – and we’re guessing that this shift under the hood is the reason for the apps being problematic. That’s pure guesswork, mind.

Whatever the reason behind the apparently thorny compatibility issues, there are problems with the way Microsoft has gone about this. Communication with the software developers would be expected – and normally happens in these kinds of cases, at least giving them some warning of what’s going on. Not this time, though.

Furthermore, the way the ban appears to have been implemented seems very crude – it’s a blanket ban on all EXE files containing the names of the offending apps (which means all versions are affected, and any related apps). The way this has been done smacks of either laziness or a rush to get this move through, which isn’t a good look for Microsoft.

It almost seems like Microsoft has jammed this in at a late stage because the 24H2 update RTM needed to be pushed out of the door sharpish. There was a problem found last-minute and a fix was hastily applied using a hatchet, not a scalpel (again, guesswork – but this is what it feels like).

That theory does make some sense, as the predicted date for the RTM (near-finalized) candidate of the 24H2 update was April, and this build needs to be ready for new Snapdragon X Elite AI PCs which are coming in June (in theory). These laptops require that Germanium build due to their ARM-based chips, so there’s a critical need to get this done.

In short, it’s all a bit messy and some feathers have definitely been ruffled here – although due to the mentioned shoddy implementation of the app ban, it’s actually very easy to circumvent it: simply rename the EXE of the client. We wouldn’t recommend doing that, mind – as if the hints about boot failure are on the money, your PC could end up with a serious spanner in the works.

Meanwhile, these customization apps still work with Windows 11 23H2, the current version, and we have to remember that these changes are still in testing. We don’t know if this ban is temporary, or whether it’ll actually be enforced when 24H2 arrives later this year (from September, most likely).

Microsoft and the relevant devs should be able to work together and find a better solution, indeed a full resolution, before then, and Rivera’s comments indicate this will be the case.

You might also like…

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Windows 11 24H2 update is rumored to be ready to go – but nobody will get any of its major new features anytime soon
  • No Comments

Windows 11’s next big update just moved a step closer to fruition, perhaps, given a rumor that Microsoft has just pushed out a new preview update that represents the 24H2 release.

The 24H2 update is due later this year, most likely in September, but the twist is it’s expected to initially arrive – in a slightly different form for certain devices (we’ll come back to exactly what we mean here) – around the middle of 2024.

The preview version of Windows 11 we’re talking about is build 26100 and we’re told by reliable leaker Zac Bowden (of Windows Central) that this is the RTM build for the 24H2 update (which Bowden predicted would arrive in April).

RTM means 'release to manufacturing' and it translates, as the name suggests, to mean this is effectively a finished product – with caveats that we’ll come back to shortly – that Microsoft is sending out to PC manufacturers to put on their devices (and test before that hardware hits the shelves).

Some PC makers may have received this RTM build already, or they are about to. In short, this is a positive sign that Windows 11 24H2 is progressing on track with its purported release schedule as aired via the grapevine.

Analysis: A new two-tier update process from Microsoft

The mentioned caveat-laden twist is that this initial hardware in question is AI PCs with Snapdragon X Elite chips, which are based on ARM architecture (quite different to AMD or Intel x86 CPUs). Because these Snapdragon chips are different to the general norm they need the new Germanium platform that Windows 11 24H2 is built on to work, so Microsoft is technically deploying the new version of the OS with these AI PCs which are expected to debut in June.

However, that particular Windows 11 24H2 build won’t have any of the new features touted for the next big upgrade. It’s just going to be much the same as what we have now with Windows 11, just with that new underpinning Germanium platform for ARM-based chips.

Microsoft will finalize the fully fleshed out 24H2 update, with all its new features added on top, in July; or that’s the predicted timeframe by Bowden. And then after final testing, the full 24H2 update will roll out to everyone on Windows 11 in September. Including those Snapdragon X Elite PCs, of course, who won’t get all the new features until everyone else is receiving them.

Hopefully we’ve made that clear enough. But it’s true that this is all rather more complex and convoluted than the usual straightforward deployment of a Windows annual feature update.

The long and short of it is that things appear to be on track, but nobody will get the full Windows 11 24H2 update until September 2024 (or around then). And while new AI PC buyers this summer will get a Snapdragon-powered laptop with 24H2 on board, this will be just the skeleton of that version, as it were, and all the meat (new features) won’t be added until everyone else receives the update in September(ish).

You might also like

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Microsoft confirms when WordPad will be tossed on the scrapheap – later this year with Windows 11 24H2
  • No Comments

It’s now official that when Windows 11’s big 24H2 update rolls around later this year, we’ll be saying farewell to WordPad.

This is no surprise, as we had already heard the death knell for the venerable default app, with Microsoft announcing WordPad was deprecated back in September 2023, and then it disappeared from preview builds of Windows 11 in January 2024. Back at the time, we were told future releases of Windows 11 would not include WordPad.

As Windows Latest spotted, we now have fresh info from Microsoft which represents concrete confirmation that the 24H2 update will be when WordPad is ditched from its desktop OS.

Microsoft tells us: “WordPad will be removed from all editions of Windows starting in Windows 11, version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025.”

Windows Latest checked current preview builds of Windows 11 24H2, searching for WordPad in the Start menu, and its related files in various folders, finding that it has all been stripped out.

Analysis: WordPad down, Notepad on the up

In the past, Microsoft has made it clear that you won’t be able to somehow reinstall WordPad (and that the app won’t be present in new installations of Windows 11). So, you’re not going to be able to avoid losing WordPad when the 24H2 update rolls out to Windows 11 users, which should be around September 2024 (or maybe a bit later). As ever it’ll be a phased rollout so you might not get 24H2 straight away, anyway.

There is one obvious way to keep WordPad, mind you, and that’s not to take the 24H2 update when it’s released. You can stick on 23H2 at least for the length of time it’s supported, which will be until November 2025. After that (or even just before), Microsoft will start force upgrading PCs away from 23H2 (as without support and security updates, users are at risk from unpatched exploits).

Of course, by not getting the 24H2 update you’ll be missing out on a whole bunch of new features – so WordPad better be worth a lot to you. Windows 11 24H2 promises to be a major update, not just bringing in new functionality, but also changing the underpinnings of the OS with a new platform – Germanium, which ushers in performance and security benefits under the hood.

Furthermore, Notepad will remain in Windows 11, and Microsoft’s attitude to this is very different in that it’s still actively developing this lightweight text editing app. Notepad has been fleshed out beyond its traditional simplicity to add features such as spellcheck and autocorrect (plus an AI addition could be inbound in the form of Cowriter, even).

Perhaps all of this is happening exactly because WordPad is being dispensed with, so Notepad can be more readily tapped as a mini-Word alternative, as it were.

You might also like…

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Windows 11 24H2 update rumored to arrive in September, ushering in huge changes for the OS
  • No Comments

Microsoft’s major update for 2024 will be Windows 11 24H2, we’ve again heard, but it’ll be a big old drop of multiple features – plus foundational changes – that’s expected to arrive in September.

That’s the latest from Microsoft rumor-monger Zac Bowden of Windows Central fame, a generally reliable source for all things Windows.

Bowden has previously asserted that Microsoft is going to keep Windows 11 and push out a 24H2 upgrade later this year – rather than launching Windows 12, or whatever an all-new version of the OS might be called – so this concept is nothing new.

Also fully expected is that the update will be heavily focused on next-gen AI experiences (for those AI PCs Microsoft keeps banging on about), and we’re told by Bowden that the 2024 Update will be a much larger affair than 23H2 (which was pretty minor, so again, that’s no surprise).

However, according to Bowden, 24H2 will represent a seriously big change in direction, and will be built on a new version of the Windows platform that’ll usher in various performance and security updates alongside a raft of new features.

What new features? Well, given the mentioned weight on the AI side of the equation, obviously there’ll be upgrades for Copilot. We’re told the desktop assistant will enhance the Windows interface and find ways to boost productivity in terms of apps, search, and more besides.

Bowden doesn’t go into any real specifics that haven’t been mentioned before, but in short, Copilot will help you do more stuff in a swifter and more convenient manner in Windows, as well as all the existing Bing Chat-style chops the AI has.

The leaker does expand on one point, though: that Microsoft is planning a Copilot timeline/history feature that’ll allows users to locate any file, image, app, basically anything that has been previously opened on their PC, using the AI. A history-based super-search, in other words, that’ll likely allow you to do things like request ‘that file where I wrote about Nvidia’s new RTX Super graphics cards’ or similar more natural language-based requests than traditional search. (We’ve heard rumors along these lines before).

We’ve already seen other incoming features in test builds of Windows 11 such as the new ‘energy saver’ capability and AI-powered Snap Layouts to pick out a couple of examples.

All the stuff you see in testing in early channels is likely to be for 24H2, and there are other additions coming, too. For example, Phone Link improvements are inbound, including being able to use your smartphone as a makeshift webcam for the PC (pretty nifty).

Windows 11 desktop on an all-in-one PC

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Analysis: Possible twists in the tale

Some still believe that this will be Windows 12, or some incarnation of next-gen Windows (Windows AI?) rather than just a 24H2 update for Windows 11. That’d make sense in some ways, given that this is Windows built on an entirely new platform (called Germanium) and it’s a big thing coming alongside those AI PCs we keep hearing about.

Bowden thinks a full name change is unlikely, though, and still maintains this will be the 24H2 update even though it ushers in extensive changes.

One reason Microsoft may not want Windows 12 is that it would fragment the user base into Windows 10, 11, and 12, which could be confusing for users, and a pain for Microsoft to handle in terms of development and patching. Remember, Windows 10 isn’t dead anymore, and Microsoft recently reversed the decision to freeze new features coming to the older OS, and is now piping fresh functionality across – including, most importantly, Copilot.

All of this is just speculation, mind, and even Microsoft itself may not have made the final decision as to whether this will be another update for Windows 11, or an all-new next-gen Windows.

Bowden lays out the development timeframe and as mentioned, the projected release for the theoretical 24H2 update is currently September (though it could be later in the year).

There’s a slight twist, though, in that the platform it’s built on, Germanium, will apparently be ready in April, after which work on finalizing the Windows 11 2024 Update will begin. It’s possible that new AI PCs with 24H2 on board could appear as soon as July, but the upgrade won’t come to existing Windows 11 installations until September at the earliest.

You might also like…

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Windows 11 24H2 reference spotted – does this mean no Windows 12 next year?
  • No Comments

While the rumor mill has been putting some stock in the idea that the next version of Microsoft’s operating system will be called Windows 12, and it’s expected to turn up next year, a little doubt has now sprung up around this.

Regular leaker @XenoPanther on X (formerly Twitter) was digging around in Windows (policy definitions, pretty dry stuff) and stumbled upon a reference to ‘Windows 11 24H2.’

See more

As the leaker notes, this could be a typo, as the references seem to skip from Windows 11 22H2 to 24H2, so maybe this is supposed to read 23H2?

If it is correct, though, it’s an early indication that the next version of Microsoft’s OS will be the 24H2 update for Windows 11 – rather than Windows 12 as rumored.

In other words, Windows 12 may not be coming next year, or at least that’s the conclusion some folks are rapidly drawing on social media thanks to this leak.

Analysis: Possible placeholder?

Putting the possibility that this is a mistake to one side – which it certainly could be – jumping to conclusions really is premature here. Even if it isn’t an error, a mere mention of Windows 11 24H2 could be a placeholder name for next year’s release, of course.

It is, however, at least a suggestion that Microsoft might not be going for a whole new version of Windows for next year after all.

That said, we’re not convinced of that by any means, as there have been quite strong signs that a next-gen Windows should be inbound in 2024. That includes most recently Taiwan’s The Commercial Times reporting on a new generation of Windows popping up in June of next year, and a bit further back, we witnessed an Intel exec talking about next-gen Windows for 2024.

Note carefully, though, that no one actually mentions Windows 12 as the name – instead, less specific terms like 'next-gen Windows' are employed.

It’s likely even Microsoft itself hasn’t decided on the final name yet, and so calling the next version Windows 11 24H2 could be a placeholder for next-gen Windows – which might end up being named Windows 12 – as much as it is a possible sign that Windows 11 will stick around for another year and another annual update.

We’ve previously bet on a future version of Windows being renamed due to its strong focus on AI (Windows Copilot, perhaps, even though Microsoft already used that name, or Windows AI even?). Whenever AI hits big-time for the OS, Microsoft will rename it accordingly to reflect that, we reckon – although in fairness, from the speed of Copilot development so far, that probably won’t be next year.

Via Windows Latest

You might also like…

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More