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Microsoft is giving two Windows 11 apps nifty extra powers – and one of them is AI-related (surprise, surprise)
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Microsoft is trying out some interesting new changes in testing for Windows 11, including bolstering a pair of core apps for the OS – with one of them getting supercharged by AI.

Those two apps are Notepad and Snipping Tool, with new versions rolling out to testers who are in the Dev and Canary channels.

The big one is Notepad which is getting an infusion of AI in the form of an ‘Explain with Copilot’ option. This allows you to select any written content in Notepad and via the right-click menu (or Ctrl + E shortcut), summon Copilot to explain more about the selected text, as you might guess.

As Microsoft notes: “You can ask Copilot in Windows to help explain log files, code segments, or any selected content directly from within Notepad.”

Windows 11 Notepad Copilot Panel

(Image credit: Microsoft)

This feature should be available to all testers in those earlier Windows Insider channels in version 11.2401.25.0 of Notepad, though Microsoft observes that some folks may not see it right away. (This is labeled as a ‘known issue’ so it’s seemingly a bug with the deployment).

What’s going on with Snipping Tool? Well, a previously leaked feature is now present in version 11.2401.32.0 in testing, namely the ability to annotate screenshots with shapes and arrows.

That’s pretty handy for composing screen grabs for the likes of instructional step-by-steps where you’ll be pointing out bits to the person following the guide.

Elsewhere in Windows 11 testing, the Beta channel has a new preview version, but there’s not all that much going on here. Build 22635.3140 does make a small but impactful change, though, for Copilot, moving the icon for the AI in the taskbar to the far right-hand side (into the system tray).

Microsoft observes that it makes more sense for the Copilot button to be on the right of the taskbar, given that the panel for the AI opens on the right, so it’ll be directly above the icon. It’s worth remembering that regarding the Copilot panel, Microsoft just made it larger, apparently as a result of feedback from users of the AI.

Analysis: Cowriter MIA?

Regarding that Beta channel tweak for the Copilot icon, that seems a fair enough adjustment to make. Although that said, rumor has it the next update for Windows 11 – which will be Moment 5 arriving later this month in theory – will allow for the ability to undock the AI so it isn’t anchored to the right side of the desktop. Still, that remains speculation for now, and even then there will be those folks who don’t undock Copilot, anyway.

As mentioned, the big testing move here is the new Notepad ability, and it’s no surprise to see more Windows 11 apps getting AI chops. The integration with Copilot here is on a pretty basic level, mind, compared to previous rumors about a fully-featured Cowriter assistant along the lines of the existing Cocreator in Paint. Still, it’s possible this is an initial move, and that a more in-depth Cowriter function could still turn up in the future at some point.

That said, Notepad is not supposed to be a complex app – the idea is it’s a lightweight and streamlined piece of software – so maybe further AI powers won’t be coming to the client.

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The iTunes app in Windows 11 has been replaced with four new apps that’ll make life a whole lot easier for iPhone users with Windows PCs
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The iTunes for Windows app has just received a sweeping overhaul. The app has now been split into four different entities: an iCloud app, Apple Music, Apple TV and a new Devices app. These new apps offer a refreshed onboarding and set-up experience, aesthetic improvements and a more intuitive syncing process that’ll make downloading your iCloud content to your PC much easier.

Even now, after all these years, iTunes in Windows 11 hasn’t improved in a sufficient way to win me over. For a long time, it’s remained clunky and slow and honestly just not that helpful. Using the app in Windows feels like navigating a twenty-year-old bit of software. 

Thankfully, it seems like Apple has finally gotten the hint and has decided to dissect it and offer four separate apps that concentrate on specific features and use cases, rather than being a jack-of-all-trades as iTunes often felt like. This move could hint at the swift death of iTunes altogether, as the app is now even more redundant.

So, what's new?

iCloud Photos gets a big boost that brings the Windows 11 app on par with the preinstalled apps you find on Apple Macs, offering the ability to create Shared Albums on your PC, and access and remove photos and videos from your cloud storage directly from your PC. Perhaps my favourite new feature is that you can now view your photos directly from the default Microsoft Photos app in Windows 11.

Being able to view all your photos, both from your PC and from your phone in one place in the Windows Photos app is an incredibly convenient change. If you need something for work or you just want to send a few photos in an email to someone, you now don’t have to use different apps and trawl folders to find what you need, now you can just open the default photo app on your Windows 11 PC and have all your photos in one place – making the process a lot more seamless – and more like the experience iCloud users on Apple devices are used to. 

Apple TV for Windows

(Image credit: Apple )

The new iCloud Drive app will now let you share files with friends, family and colleagues straight from File Explorer, which again is such a time-saving integration that makes your Apple device feel more at home with your Windows PC. Not every iPhone user will own a Mac or MacBook, and it’s great to finally see Apple implement changes that mean iPhone users with Windows 11 laptops and PCs don’t feel like second-class citizens.

Password management across your iPhone and your PC will be a lot smoother as well, so if you happen to forget any of your passwords you can just view them in the iCloud Passwords app on your Windows PC without having to pick up your iPhone or iPad. Your passwords will also be saved and synced across not just your Apple devices but to your PC as well via the Chrome and Edge web browsers with an iCloud Passwords extension. Again, this is great news for people who use PCs and need to quickly log into their accounts without having to fumble with their personal devices.

Finally, your Apple Calendars, Bookmarks and contacts will be synced up on your PC as well, so you’ll be able to view your iCloud Calendar in Microsoft Outlook. This applies to both the free version that comes with your PC and the paid version for Microsoft 365 subscribers. 

Apple Music for Windows

(Image credit: Apple )

The Apple Music app has also received a refresh to its user interface as well as time-synced lyrics and 4K music videos, which is a feature in the iOS and iPad versions of the app. The Apple TV app for Windows is a new addition that aims to bring your viewing library to your desktop, which is great news for those of us who like to have a show or a movie in the background while you work on personal projects. I love binge-watching TV shows while playing games on my PC, and this is great news because it means I won’t have to prop my iPhone up by my display just to watch something at the same time.

The fourth app being introduced to Windows is called 'Devices' and offers a straightforward way for you to keep track of what devices are connected to your iCloud account, as well as allowing you to sync, update and backup your Apple devices right from your desktop. This means the iTunes app will be left with Podcasts and Audiobooks for now, with all the other features split between these four apps. So, you won’t lose any of your favourite bits of audio content. 

The implementation of these new apps adds a more contemporary feel to the Apple experience on Windows. All these positives combined will hopefully make it feel less like you’re using an ancient app that’s been ignored for several years.

Overall, this is a positive move from Apple that finally brings some much-needed improvements to PC users who want to sync up their iPhones to their devices.  This way you get the best out of the Apple ecosystem file-sharing experience without having to own an actual Mac. 

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Windows 11 is losing Mail and Calendar apps – so you’ll have to use Outlook whether you like it or not
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Microsoft has set a date to remove the Mail and Calendar applications at the end of the year from Windows 11, as well as dropping the apps from the Microsoft store. The company will also stop putting out updates or support once the year is out. So, if you haven’t moved over to Outlook, you’ve got until December 31, 2024 to do so. 

You may notice in the coming weeks a little pop-up will appear when you open the Mail or Calendar app trying to nudge you over to the Outlook app and give it a go if you haven’t already. Of course, Windows 11 devices released in 2024 will come with the updated Outlook app as the default mail app, so if you’re working on a new machine you’re likely already using Outlook. 

You’ll still have the option to ignore the prompt and carry on with Mail and Calendar, but only until the end of the year. If you’re still keen to stick with them, you will have to make sure they’re already installed and up to date on any device you plan to be using them on (like your home computer, work set up, personal laptop and so on). 

Sticking with it

Do bear in mind that you won’t be receiving any security updates or bug fixes once the cut-off point passes, and there’s no guarantee after the fact that Microsoft won’t bin them off entirely soon after. 

Users are still on the fence when it comes to embracing Microsoft Outlook, with some eager to get to know the updated interface and others adamant about not moving away from the familiar Mail and Calendar apps. Either way, you don’t seem to have much choice, and having yet another message from Microsoft pop up to encourage them to move to their newer software may not go down with users who are already sick of Microsoft's nagging.

Via Windows Latest

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Google Bard could soon become Gemini, and appear inside more apps
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The AI chatbot Google Bard is one of the fastest evolving apps in the Google collection at the moment – and it looks as though its branding is about to evolve too, with Google set to rename it as Gemini.

This comes from developer Dylan Roussel (via Engadget), who has apparently found a list of updates coming to Google Bard. it's dated this coming Wednesday, February 7, and the headline change is that Bard will get renamed Gemini.

Google Gemini is the name of the next-gen AI model currently powering Bard, so in a way it makes sense to get rid of one of the monikers. Also of note: there is apparently a dedicated Android app coming too, at least in the US.

Gemini for Android will integrate with apps including Gmail, Google Maps, and YouTube, as per the update text. If you're on an iPhone, then Google says you'll be able to try out Gemini through the existing Google app for iOS.

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Get the message

Another tidbit from this leak is that a paid subscription tier is going to be introduced, called Gemini Advanced. This has previously been rumored, and means Google will match OpenAI and ChatGPT in having both free and paid-for AI bot tiers.

Speaking of previous rumors, tipster @AssembleDebug (via Android Police) has found a contact page for Bard (soon to be Gemini) inside Google Messages – the idea being that you can chat to the AI just as you would to any other contact.

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Hints about this integration first surfaced last month, and it's something that apps such as Snapchat have already done. It looks as though most apps are going to end up with Google's AI assistant in them somewhere.

All this is yet to be confirmed, but it would appear that we could be in for one of the biggest weeks so far for Google's AI projects. As for Apple, it's expected to unveil its own generative AI efforts later this year with the launch of iOS 18.

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Windows 10 apps break after Microsoft Store update, no fix in sight yet
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Windows 10 users are finding themselves unable to use their apps after a Microsoft Store update.

Many Windows 10 apps update through the Store directly, which means fixes and new features can be pushed down independently of Windows OS updates. This is generally a positive thing, as said apps can be stabilized and upgraded without having to wait long periods for an OS update. But in this case, that also means if an update breaks a Store app or several, it can be problematic. 

So when apps like Calendar, Photos, and Calculator were given an update like this in January 2024, the result was many users no longer being able to use them. When those users went to report said breaks to the Feedback Hub, lo and behold it was also broken. From there, a massive thread on Microsoft’s support forum kicked up, with many replying about their woes.

Because the update wasn’t an official Windows one which meant no word from Microsoft, some intrepid users unearthed what’s most likely causing these apps to break. It seems that a common thread among all the reports is old hardware, including the Intel Core 2 Duo and Quad processors as well as AMD Athlon chips. These components are technically not listed as compatible hardware for Windows 10 but have had no issues running the OS.

One of these users spoke to The Register about the underlying issue. “A common theory is that the faulting component uses some instruction extension that Core 2 doesn't support, such as SSE 4.2. I believe that some dev at MS set a compiler switch incorrectly when building a shared component (some evidence points to the Visual C++ runtime).”

However, there has been no official word from Microsoft concerning the official problem, nor when can affected users expect to see a fix. When TechRadar requested comment from Microsoft, a spokesperson said “For the latest information on Windows releases and servicing milestones, including news about known issues, please refer to the dashboard.”

Hopefully, there’ll be an update soon, as not having access to such vital apps is a huge issue in the long run. With the end of support for Windows 10 being October 14, 2025, there’s still plenty of time for Microsoft to push down a fix.

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Apple Vision Pro gets new mixed-reality weather forecasts as we wait for more apps
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Apple’s Vision Pro is just a couple of days away from launching, and while Apple has highlighted some astonishing apps that are coming to the device, there have also been questions over how many apps will be available for users upon release. Well, we now know that one of the best iPhone apps will be among that number, and it could provide you with a great way to use Apple’s mixed-reality headset.

The app is the ever-popular Carrot Weather. As the name suggests, this app provides you with forecasts, weather warnings, and everything in between. It’s known for its caustic sense of humor – your reports are delivered by a robot whose outlook ranges from gentle to misanthropic – and that’s helped it stand out among a slate of other excellent weather apps.

On the Vision Pro, though, Carrot Weather is going to do something a little different. According to screenshots posted by the M1 Astra account on X (formerly Twitter), Carrot Weather will come with a floating planet Earth that shows the weather at whatever global location you select, as well as mini-games you can play via an tool at the bottom of the app window.

That comes in addition to the range of weather data you’d expect from an app like this, including temperatures, wind speeds, sunrise and sunset times, and more. That information will be displayed in a large floating window that shows far more data at a glance than the Carrot Weather iPhone app is able to do.

As spotted by MacRumors, Carrot Weather developer Brian Mueller said the floating globe would be the “marquee feature” of the app and that “it's just really cool being able to look at a globe floating in your living room.” It shows one of the ways the Vision Pro may let apps do things they never could on an iPhone or iPad.

Is the Vision Pro selling well?

The Carrot Weather app shown in augmented reality using Apple's Vision Pro headset.

(Image credit: Grailr)

It comes as news emerged that Apple has reportedly sold around 200,000 Vision Pro headsets in the first 10 days since pre-orders opened on January 19 (via MacRumors). Given pre-release predictions, that seems like an impressively high figure, but there is a caveat to those numbers.

Analysts had previously predicted that Apple would sell about 400,000 headsets in the entire first year of its availability. Apple tipster Ming-Chi Kuo, meanwhile, forecast that Apple would produce between 60,000 and 80,000 units for the device’s launch, suggesting that even Apple was unprepared for the level of demand.

That said, Kuo also claimed in a later report that Apple sold between 160,000 and 180,000 headsets during the pre-order weekend. That suggests that demand might have slowed in the days since then, as Apple has now apparently hit 200,000 units sold after 10 days.

The big question is whether Apple can sustain Vision Pro demand throughout the year. A large number of those 200,000 sales would likely have come from developers, hardcore Apple fans and early adopters. Will Apple be able to sustain this level of sales going forward, or will interest slowly die off over time? We’ll be watching closely.

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WhatsApp could soon let you directly message other apps like Signal
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Meta is currently working on improving WhatsApp’s interoperability by giving users the ability to directly message people on different platforms like Signal.

Evidence of this upgrade comes from WABetaInfo revealing the feature was found on a recent WhatsApp beta for iOS. The post offers very few concrete details, but enough that we can paint a picture of what the final release may look like.

An image on the post shows the Chats tab will have a new section exclusive for third-party conversations, storing all outward chats. Users will apparently be given manual control over this function with the option to disable it at any time. Additionally, text messages to and from third-party sources will sport end-to-end encryption to ensure complete privacy. 

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It’s unknown exactly how many or which platforms will be able to communicate with WhatsApp. Signal is only mentioned as an example.

Normally, we would direct you to install the WhatsApp beta on iOS to try out this feature. However, the TestFlight program for the platform is completely full at the time of this writing. No word on whether or not extra spots will open in the future. But, if you own an Android phone, you can join the Google Play Beta Program and download the WhatsApp beta from there. You might get the opportunity to try out the update. Google’s service tends to have more spots available for people interested in early software builds.

New rules

Although it’s not officially confirmed, WABetaInfo believes this increased interoperability is the result of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). 

The DMA, if you don’t remember or are familiar with it, is a law that was passed back in 2022 aimed squarely at major tech corporations. Its main purpose is to limit the amount of power these “gatekeepers” have over the industry and their users. One of the new rules requires companies that own a messaging platform (i.e. Meta) to allow people to talk to others on third-party apps. EU regulators didn’t like the fact these services function essentially like islands; isolated from each other and forcing users to play by their rules.

After the law passed, government officials in Europe gave these corporations ample time to prepare their services for when the DMA officially goes into effect. The EU will begin enforcing the legislation on March 6.

It’s unknown when WhatsApp’s interoperability upgrade will roll out. Given that the effective date is a little over a month away, we may see it come out sometime in February or very early March. Perhaps, it'll come out to Android first since its beta has been out since September 2023. Keep in mind that this is all speculation on our end. Things can always change.

Until then, check out TechRadar's roundup of the best encrypted messaging apps for Android of 2024.

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Worried about what apps will actually come with the Vision Pro? Here’s what Apple has planned
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Apple’s take on the virtual computing headset, the Vision Pro, will soon be in people's hands (and on their heads), but there's been some concern about what apps will actually be available to run natively – and thankfully, Apple has now given us an idea.

In an official Newsroom post, Apple stated that the Vision Pro App Store will offer “spatial computing experiences unlike any other platform.” The Vision Pro’s capabilities will allow users to experience apps in a whole new way – allowing users to scale apps to nearly any size and arrange them to anywhere in their field of vision.

These apps, which have been specially made for the Vision Pro, certainly sound exciting, but we've recently learned that major apps such as Spotify, Netflix and YouTube won't have native Vision Pro apps – at least at launch. This will be a blow to anyone wanting to use the Vision Pro as a media player, so what exactly can we expect app-wise?

An indication of what kind of apps users can expect

Vision Pro users will be able to experience productivity, communication, entertainment (including streaming), and gaming spatial computing apps. According to Apple, because the visionOS makes use of existing developer frameworks, there are already “more than 1 million familiar apps” compatible with the Vision Pro.

Some of the apps currently in development for productivity are Microsoft 365 apps, Fantastical, JigSpace, Slack, and Apple’s Freeform. 

Apple has already shown demonstrations of Keynote and Safari visionOS apps, which 9to5Mac speculates that they may be ready to download and use (or will be very soon) and assumes that more iWork suite apps will follow in quick succession. 

Communication apps for the Vision Pro will work with the help of its Persona feature, which will still be in beta upon the Vision Pro’s launch. Apps that already qualify for this include FaceTime, Zoom, Cisco Webex, and Microsoft Teams.

Here's a list of the confirmed Vision Pro apps so far:

  • Microsoft 365
  • Fantastical (a calendar app)
  • JigSpace (for 3D presentations)
  • Slack
  • Apple Freeform
  • FaceTime
  • Zoom
  • Webex
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Apple TV (with support for Apple Immersive Video format videos)
  • Apple TV Plus (the streaming service)
  • Disney Plus
  • Max
  • Apple Arcade

The following apps have been demoed by Apple, but not yet confirmed for the Apple Vision Pro launch:

  • Apple Keynote
  • Safari

The Vision Pro's entertainment potential

One huge selling point for any virtual reality headset is how users can experience media like entertainment media and gaming. 

Some streaming services will be available and ready to use upon the Vision Pro’s arrival like Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, Max (HBO Max and Discovery) and more, though as I mentioned earlier, there are some noticeable exceptions.

Apple has been talking about the Vision Pro’s visual display specs as one of its most cutting-edge features, particularly thanks to the new Apple Immersive Video format that makes the Vision Pro capable of processing and displaying 180-degree, 3D, 8K content with spatial audio. To take advantage of this Apple is making 150 titles available in the Apple TV app. 

Over 250 games will also be available on the Vision Pro with the Apple Arcade, with the potential for games outside of the Apple Arcade to be added as well. Apple is also adding support for PS5 and Xbox wireless controllers that can be used in conjunction with the Vision Pro for gaming.

Apple CEO Tim Cook declared the Vision Pro as “the most advanced consumer electronics device ever created,” which is certainly a bold claim. 

Virtual reality (and similar technologies) and virtual computing devices have had a mixed reception so far, and it’s an interesting move for Apple to launch an augmented reality headset (which is what it is, no matter what Apple wants us to think) when many of its competitors have instead turned their attention to artificial intelligence (AI) – something Apple has so far not shown much interest in. But who knows? If the product is really as good as Apple wants us to think it is, and the price point comes down a little in the future, this could be the next Apple product that becomes a part of our everyday life – but it'll need more apps before it can manage that.

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Two Windows 11 apps are being ditched – one you might miss, and another you’ve probably forgotten about
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Microsoft is dropping two of the core apps which are installed with Windows 11 by default.

As of Windows 11 preview build 26020 (which has just been unleashed in the Canary channel), the WordPad and People apps have been given the elbow.

Although technically, while the People app itself is being dispensed with, that’s because its functionality (or at least much of it) is being transferred to Outlook for Windows, the new default mailbox app for Windows 11 devices (as of the start of 2024).

In short, you’ll still get the People app (contacts) in that mailbox client, but there’ll no longer be an actual People application that can be fired up separately.

WordPad, on the other hand, is being completely dispensed with, or rather it will be when the changes made in this preview build come to the release version of Windows 11.

Going forward from then, any clean installation of Windows 11 won’t have WordPad, and eventually, this app will be removed when users upgrade to a new version of Microsoft’s OS.

You won’t be able to reinstall WordPad once it has gone, either, so this will be a final farewell to the application, which was marked as a deprecated feature back in September 2023.

Also in build 26020, a raft of additions for Voice Access have strengthened Windows 11 on the accessibility front (as seen elsewhere in testing last month).On top of that, Narrator now has natural voices for 10 new locales (in preview), and that includes English (UK) and English (India), as well as the following: Chinese, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Mexico), Japanese, French, Portuguese, German and Korean.

Furthermore, when the energy saver feature is enabled on a desktop PC (a machine that’s plugged in, rather than running on battery), a new icon is present in the system tray (far-right of the taskbar) to indicate it’s running and saving you a bit of power.

For the full list of changes, check out Microsoft’s blog post for the build.

Analysis: Word up

One thing to clarify here is not to confuse WordPad with Notepad, or Microsoft Word for that matter.

Word is the heavyweight word processor in Microsoft 365 (the suite formerly known as Office), and not a default app. Both WordPad and Notepad are currently default apps in Windows 11, but Notepad is staying firmly put – indeed Microsoft is busy improving this piece of software (adding an autosave feature most recently).

Notepad remains a useful and highly streamlined, much-liked app for jotting notes and the like, whereas WordPad is kind of a ‘lite’ version of Word, and as such a bit more complex in nature (but not anything like a full-on effort such as Word).

WordPad sort of falls between stools a little in that respect, and another reason Microsoft may have decided to drop the app is due to potential security risks (or that was a theory floating around last year, when the software was deprecated).

Even so, there are some folks who will miss WordPad, and with no option to reinstall, they’ll just have to look for a different lightweight word processor for Windows 11 – fortunately, we explore some good alternatives right here.

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Microsoft Store update brings a useful way to more easily find Windows 11 apps and games you’ll enjoy
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Windows 11 users are getting a rejig for the Microsoft Store to make it easier to find apps or games that might be relevant or interesting.

As posted on X (formerly Twitter) by Rudy Huyn, Principal Architect for the Microsoft Store, there’s a holiday update inbound for testers.

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This means that the store will no longer show apps and games installed on your device – or at least, it won’t show nearly as many – and will instead favor new apps and games that you might enjoy based on your past download history.

Hopefully, this adjustment won’t take long to arrive with a broader rollout to Windows 11 users who aren’t testers.

Note that the Microsoft Store did already show apps you might want to grab, it’s just that the balance has shifted more towards displaying these, rather than installed software.

Analysis: Another (small) step forward

This is another useful move for the Microsoft Store, as it’s not much help to show the user what they’ve already got installed on their PC. While we’re not keen on Microsoft’s ‘suggestions’ throughout Windows, in the case of an app store, recommendations can be more useful to glance at than a list of what you already know about.

That said, this change alone is obviously not going to do much in terms of persuading folks to use the Microsoft Store if they don’t bother with it. The move is hardly a major selling point in itself.

Still, Microsoft has been doing a lot of work on the store of late, and those improvements are building momentum. The store now loads up way faster, and we’ve seen meatier chunks of work, too. Most notably the introduction of AI (it’s getting everywhere) in the form of a dedicated hub for AI software – and also AI-generated review summaries.

The latter could be pretty handy indeed, as wading through a bunch of reviews isn’t much fun, so it’s a useful task where AI can do the proverbial grunt work.

Via Windows Central

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