It seems Microsoft is gearing up to unveil its next big operating system Windows 12. While the company has been keeping things hush-hush on when exactly we will get the new OS (or even if it exists), the next generation of Windows did make a cameo appearance at Build 2023, the company's annual developer keynote.
Of course, there’s been a lot of hype surrounding Windows 11’s successor, as users across the globe gear up for their PCs to get a fresh new look. During the Build 2023 developer conference, the company spent a lot of time showcasing upcoming Windows 11 updates, including teasing the fact the company is working on Windows 12.
During one of the keynotes, audiences noticed a screenshot that mentioned a session called “next-gen of Windows” during one of the keynotes and sparked curiosity in the computing world. The company mentioned “Next Valley Prototype Design”, which could be a term referring to Windows 12.
Big promises
Rumors have suggested that Microsoft is planning to integrate AI into the new OS to enhance how the operating system works, and we could see a floating taskbar rather than the classic one we use now, is in Windows 11 is anchored to the bottom of the screen.
We’re still likely to see the Windows 12 update sometime in 2024 (unless you want to pleasantly surprise me, Microsoft …) and the TechRadar crew are excited to see how Windows 11 will be improved upon with the new upgrade. We have high hopes for what we could potentially see, including ‘live’ wallpapers that’ll let you have moving and dynamic wallpapers on your desktop, and a push towards themes and more comprehensive customization options.
Overall, the buzz around Windows 12 is positive and we’re anxious to get more, less sneaky, looks at the new OS and how it’ll change the way we interact with our PCs. Microsoft has made many… questionable choices with Windows 11, so there are plenty of lessons to be learned and places to improve.
Shortly after the rollout of the major Windows 11 Moment 3 update, Microsoft is testing features that’ll clear out notifications clutter and make viewing your saved Wi-Fi passwords a lot easier.
The Moment 3 update is full of useful features, with one of those being the ability to copy and paste two-step authentication codes directly from notifications. However, notifications can get really spammy very quickly. I spend at least five minutes each morning clearing out notifications from my desktop to try to keep things clean and manageable, so the company’s proposed fix looks promising.
Notification spamming will be detected so that if you receive numerous alerts from any app and don’t interact with them, Windows 11 will trigger a final alert suggesting you turn off notifications for that particular app. By only muting notifications from the specific spammy app, it allows you to silence the pop-ups without stopping notifications from every app (so no blanket ‘turn off all notifications’), so you can keep in the loop and not deal with spam.
I can now forget all my passwords in peace
Windows Latest notes that the feature isn’t based on artificial intelligence, but uses a rather simple algorithm to sort out whether or not a user interacts with notifications.
In a screenshot taken by Windows Latest, you can see a message pop up with a suggestion to turn off notifications from a particular app, which says “You haven’t interacted with notifications from (specific app) in the past month.”
Additionally, Microsoft is testing a new way to simplify viewing saved Wi-Fi passwords. Users will be able to access the Wi-Fi passwords of their networks via the ‘Network and Internet Wi-fi’ section of their device settings and click ‘Manage known networks’ section.
This incredibly useful feature will let you share Wi-Fi passwords with friends and family or set up new devices a lot easier. Rather than messing around trying to find the password either on a notepad on your phone or going all the way to the router, you can just click through your settings.
I’m personally excited about this feature because it would let me keep more secure passwords for my Wi-Fi networks, rather than having to consistently rely on something short and easy to remember. If I know I can look up the password in an instant I’m much more likely to use an actually hard-to-guess password.
These new features are expected to ship with the Windows 11 23H2 update, rolling out later this year.
It looks like Microsoft is in trouble again with European Union regulators over anti-competitive practices, and it could sacrifice Teams in Windows 11 to avoid any conflicts.
While I don’t usually applaud companies for removing features from their products, in this case it would be a good move.
Let’s be honest: Windows 11 has a bloat problem, with Microsoft filling it with apps and services that most people don’t use, but can’t be easily removed from the device the operating system is running on.
However, despite Microsoft bundling in Teams via the Chat app, it never properly took off. Most people use the likes of Facebook and WhatsApp for instant messaging these days. That wouldn’t be much of an issue, but not only is Chat pre-installed in Windows 11, you can’t uninstall it. Add it to the list of other apps you don’t want to use but are installed anyway, and Windows 11 can start feeling rather bloated.
Right move, wrong reasons
However, as Windows Latest reports, it looks like Microsoft may be considering adding the ability to remove Chat in an upcoming version of Windows 11, with references to “RemoveChat” in early Windows 11 preview builds.
When enabled, this seems to allow users to completely remove Chat from their system, rather than simply hiding it.
This would be a good move for people who want to keep their PCs organized and tidy, without any unused apps clogging things up.
However, it doesn’t seem like Microsoft is doing this voluntarily. As Windows Latest points out, the EU is keeping a close eye on Microsoft and how it combines its products like Office and Teams with Windows 11, which could give those products an unfair advantage over rivals.
Adding an option to fully remove Chat could avoid those accusations, while also allowing Microsoft to still preinstall it.
Interestingly, the RemoveChat option appears to be linked to geographical data, which suggests this might only be available to users in certain regions – such as the European Union.
If that’s the case, then it looks like Microsoft is determined to do the absolute minimum so that it can avoid any fines from the EU, but still trying to make Chat popular with users.
This is frustrating, as while Windows 11 is a decent enough operating system, Microsoft continues to add apps and services, or adverts for those apps and services, to the OS, regardless of whether users want them or not.
By doing this, and not allowing users to remove the apps or adverts, many people – myself included – have increasingly felt like Microsoft has been pushing its luck, and been a bit too aggressive when trying to get us to use its products.
So, while I certainly would welcome this move, I can’t say I’m too thrilled about Microsoft’s seeming reluctance to give its customers more freedom at the expense of its own commercial ambitions.
Windows 11 has slipped with its market share over the last month, at least going by a report from one analytics firm.
According to Statcounter’s figures for May, Windows 11 fell to a market share of 22.95% (across all Windows versions). That’s only a touch lower than April, during which Windows 11 stood at 23.11% – but it’s a real surprise to see Windows 11 effectively stall at this point (we’ll discuss why shortly).
Windows 10 rose very slightly to hit 71.9%, and it remains by far the most dominant version of Windows, even though Windows 11 has been around for a year and a half now.
Microsoft’s newest operating system has made slow progress, and particularly with this latest small stumble, that must be something of a concern for the company.
Elsewhere in the stats, Windows 7 remains fairly static on 3.6%, and Windows 8 versions amount to 1.09%.
Windows XP, believe it or not, still has users out there, holding a 0.32% niche market share. (There are reasons some might be forced to use Windows XP, as we chewed over recently – that said, though, if you are running the ancient OS, you really should be keeping it fully offline for obvious reasons).
Analysis: Trouble ahead for Microsoft?
The reason why Windows 11 slipping slightly for adoption is so surprising is because recently the operating system has been taking some sizeable strides forward (with Statcounter’s figures for earlier this year).
Now, granted, some of that was due to Windows 7 finishing its extended support period, meaning a bunch of users were then forced to migrate – initially more to Windows 10 than 11, but both platforms saw a boost.
However, even after Windows 7’s userbase settled at its new lower level (just under 4%), where it’s been for a few months now, Windows 11 has been up by a significant market share over the last two months – about 2% for both March and April in fact.
This led us to believe that the OS was having something of a surge, and would finally start making serious headway towards that 30% mark – but now, in May’s figures, we see Windows 11 having stalled.
Why might that be? The irony is that Microsoft announced the end of feature updates for Windows 10 at the close of April, a move that was clearly designed to persuade folks to migrate to Windows 11 (if they want any new features at all – except for minor tweaks). And yet during May, Windows 11 has suddenly floundered compared to the rest of 2023.
Is that an element of pushback, people digging their heels in – rather like our reaction to the end of feature updates for Windows 10? Perhaps there’s a touch of that here.
(Image credit: Unsplash)
More likely, though, this could be bound up in faltering laptop sales, with fewer new pieces of hardware being sold – cost of living crisis, and all – resulting in less progress for Windows 11, maybe? That’s certainly a compelling possibility, as the current PC slump is being seen to hit some laptop makers hard (in the consumer and business arenas).
It’s possible, too, that we could be starting to hit a wall in terms of the number of PCs that are actually capable of being upgraded to Windows 11 (at least without changes to meet the more stringent hardware requirements, like adding a TPM module – and folks may not want to be bothered with that kind of hassle). Combined with lower sales of new PCs, this could be a recipe for a poor outlook, at least in the shorter-term, for Microsoft.
That said, all this theorizing aside, we shouldn’t get carried away with one month, and a single set of figures, from one analyst firm. Let’s keep an eye on Statcounter next month, and if Windows 11 once again flails around, then it’ll be time for Microsoft to be concerned about how its new OS is being received. After all, with the recent announcement of the Copilot AI – and killing off Cortana in Windows 10 (where it won’t have Copilot as a replacement) – Microsoft will doubtless be expecting to generate more footfall of users heading towards Windows 11.
If not, then Windows 11 is likely to have a tough time of things until we get closer to the end for Windows 10 starting to come into view (2025). Either that, or the current PC sales slump starts to ease off…
Microsoft has announced that it’s killing off Cortana, at least in Windows, where the assistant will be dropped in the not-so-distant future.
Windows Central reported on Microsoft’s revelation that the Cortana app will no longer be supported in Windows late in 2023 (as tipped by @Perbylund on Twitter).
However, the aged assistant will still remain in other Microsoft services, including various bits of Microsoft Teams and Outlook mobile, so Cortana hasn’t entirely been binned.
As for Windows 11, though, you won’t be needing Cortana anyway, because as Microsoft reminds us, the operating system already has elements in place to replace the digital assistant.
And for queries and assistance, naturally there’s the new Bing AI (ChatGPT-powered bot) on tap, plus there’s something bigger in the pipeline – Copilot.
While Copilot isn’t here yet, the AI will be far more extensive in terms of its scope than Cortana. When it comes to assistance with doing stuff in Windows 11, it’ll not just tell you about useful features for any given task, but offer to automatically enable them if needed. Copilot can also summarize a Word document, for example, Bing AI-style, and its far more wide-ranging skills and utility make Cortana irrelevant as a result.
Just on that basis, it’s no surprise to see Microsoft giving Cortana the elbow from Windows. Indeed, with Cortana getting cut off late in 2023, that perhaps is a further suggestion that this is when Copilot will step up to be incorporated in Windows 11 – perhaps with the 23H2 update? We know Copilot will be in Windows 11 preview builds this month (or at least that’s what Microsoft has told us), so it seems everything is all lining up.
Although there’s always a chance that Copilot is such a big feature addition, Microsoft may want to save it for next-gen Windows (Windows 12, maybe) which is set to arrive next year (rumor has it).
Whatever the case, Cortana is not exactly going to be missed outside a niche of users, at least in Windows, anyway. As a digital assistant, rather than being an all-rounder, Microsoft had already angled Cortana more to business-related use (hence Cortana remaining in Teams and so forth after being ditched from Windows). So, none of this is a shock, and it just makes sense for Microsoft to eject Cortana with Copilot now incoming for Windows 11.
Microsoft is further improving the Paint app in Windows 11, with new changes coming through in testing including a dark mode.
The new version of Paint (11.2304.17.0) is rolling out to testers in both Canary and Dev channels (and the latter just got a new preview of Windows 11, as you may have seen, with a nifty change allowing for viewing smartphone photos on the desktop).
As mentioned, one of the big tweaks for Paint here is the addition of a dark mode, and the app will automatically use it if you’ve turned on dark mode in Windows 11’s settings. (Note that you can turn off the option to automatically switch, mind).
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Another useful change comes with zoom controls. Microsoft has given users a higher level of fine-tuning with the zoom slider, and you can set a custom zoom value if needed. On top of this, a ‘fit to screen’ option is now present which will do just that – zoom to match the size of the app window.
In the blog post describing all the changes, Microsoft further tells us that it has overhauled ‘Image Property’ dialog boxes to match Windows 11’s modern design, and fit with the new backdrop for the Paint client.
Finally, we’re informed that there have been “many accessibility and usability improvements” to dialog panels throughout the app, with better access key support (keyboard presses for interface controls, rather than having to use a mouse) and keyboard shortcuts in general.
Analysis: Could bigger changes be in the pipeline?
The dark mode looks smart and is another piece of the puzzle for those wanting this option throughout Windows 11, wherever they’re working.
Paint remains a popular app, so it’s not surprising to see Microsoft continuing to improve the software. Folks want more though (don’t they always), and we’re still seeing calls for layers to be introduced to the app.
Maybe – just maybe – those are features we might see Microsoft officially working on in the future. Who knows, stranger things have happened, and the software giant certainly appears keen to keep on motoring ahead with Paint improvements.
Keeping safe online is about to get a lot easier for Edge users thanks to a major security update from Microsoft.
The software giant has revealed it is working on an upgrade for its web browser that will bring “enhanced security” as a default for users everywhere.
This includes adding additional operating system and hardware protections for Edge that the company says, when combined, will help provide “defense in depth”, making it more difficult than ever before for a malicious site to use an unpatched vulnerability to write to executable memory and attack an end user.
Edge enhanced security
Going forward, users will now see an additional banner with the words “added security” in the URL navigation bar in Edge, instantly letting you know you have extra protection for that specific site.
“Microsoft Edge is adding enhanced security protections to provide an extra layer of protection when browsing the web and visiting unfamiliar sites,” the company wrote in a blog post announcing the news.
“The web platform is designed to give you a rich browsing experience using powerful technologies like JavaScript. On the other hand, that power can translate to more exposure when you visit a malicious site. With enhanced security mode, Microsoft Edge helps reduce the risk of an attack by automatically applying more conservative security settings on unfamiliar sites and adapts over time as you continue to browse.”
More security for Edge
Users will be able to create exceptions for certain trusted websites, where enhanced security can either be disabled or enabled permanently. Enterprise admins can also configure for certain websites to be blocked or allowed,
In its entry on the official Microsoft 365 roadmap, the company noted enhanced security mode is being turned on by default to “Balanced” mode for x64 Windows, x64 macOS, x64 Linux, and ARM64 systems.
The update is still listed as being “in development” for the time being, but has a scheduled rollout start date of July 2023, when users across the globe will be able to access it.
Recent Statcounter figures show that Microsoft's ongoing efforts to push users towards Edge may not be having the desired effect. Its most recent report found that Edge had lost its second place in the global browser market to Apple's Safari offering, which now claims 11.87% of users, compared to Edge's 11% – although both trail far behind runaway leader Google Chrome (66.13%).
Bing AI should soon be usable in other browsers besides Edge, so the army of Chrome users out there can get a piece of Microsoft’s chatbot if they so wish.
Neowin spotted that Microsoft’s head of Advertising and Web Services, Mikhail Parakhin, told us more about where Bing AI will be headed in the near future (on Twitter).
In addition, larger context size for Balanced, big improvements in disengagement rate (especially for code writing), improvements in Bing Image Creator, hopefully first experiments in enabling third party browsers.May 30, 2023
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That includes the “first experiments in enabling third-party browsers”, as you can see from the tweet.
Can’t you already get the Bing chatbot in Chrome (or other browsers for that matter)? No, not as such, although admittedly there are workarounds in the form of unofficial extensions (clunky fudges, really) for Chrome and Firefox to enable Bing AI within their walls.
Official support would obviously be much better to have, though, and it’d be a good way for Microsoft to get more folks using the chatbot, too.
As well as third-party browser support, Parakhin talks about major improvements for the ‘disengagement rate’, meaning cures for when the chatbot falls over and fails to respond, ending the current session abruptly.
We’re also promised that Bing Image Creator will get better, so there are some useful tweaks inbound for Microsoft’s AI.
All this will apparently be part of a bigger update than normal for Bing AI in June, and this will also include a “large-scale plugin rollout”.
In a previous tweet, Parakhin notes: “We are turning everything into a plugin (including different facets of Search!) – and it results in a very significant metrics improvement.”
As we’ve been told before, plug-ins will be available across all manner of platforms, such as Spotify and Trip Advisor to pick out a couple of quick examples.
Analysis: One Bing to rule them all
The news that the Bing chatbot is coming to other browsers before too long, and won’t just be exclusive to Microsoft Edge, is obviously great for anyone who doesn’t want to use Edge. And that’s a fair few folks, of course (particularly those who might be tired of Microsoft trying to persuade them that its browser is great, and that it should be the default choice, via a bunch of ads and various prompting within Windows).
This move will help Microsoft, too, in terms of creating a much wider potential audience for its Bing AI.
It represents a change of tack, because instead of leveraging the chatbot to attempt to get folks using Edge, now Microsoft will be working things the other way around – looking at bringing more users on board the AI via Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers. And that surely is a key consideration, particularly when we see how crazy everything is around AI right now. The artificial intelligence bandwagon is positively groaning under the weight of everyone clambering aboard.
That third-party plug-in rollout will also drive Bing AI usage, too, and improvements in lessening the frequency of the chatbot’s abrupt halting of sessions in some cases will doubtless be useful in persuading people of the AI’s merits.
Microsoft has already removed an important hurdle that may have stopped a number of folks from using its chatbot – namely the requirement to sign in with a Microsoft Account (though the AI is more limited if you don’t). All of which underlines the pressure Microsoft evidently feels to push the adoption of Bing AI over pretty much every other service or product right now.
Microsoft recently released a feature update for Windows 11 called Moment 3, which was full of useful upgrades and performance enhancements, that could even win over many Windows 10 users in the battle to get them to upgrade to Windows 11.
According to Neowin, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer Panos Panay had reminded people that the newest iteration of Windows is focused on quality, and that Windows 11 is the “most reliable version of Windows ever.”
The official blog post from Microsoft with the rather unsubtle title ‘Delivering Delightful Performance for More Than One Billion Users Worldwide’ dives into all the major changes made thus far that Windows users should be grateful for.
There’s been no shortage of negative news stories, crashes and bugs crawling around Windows 11 and subsequent updates and fixes this year, so the blog post comes across like doubling-down from the tech giant. While the Moment 3 update was definitely welcomed with open, almost desperate arms, it does seem a little strange for Microsoft to put out a blog post detailing every ‘good’ change it’s made so far.
The improvements boasted by the tech giant are listed in full in the post, with some notable mentions like making PCs more sustainable, Microsoft Edge starting up faster and increasing users productivity by speeding up how long it takes to get to the desktop.
Microsoft still needs to entice more people to move over to Windows 11, and the recent string of bad headlines definitely hasn’t helped with the migration, but the new blog post could be persuasive. If you’re apprehensive about upgrading to Windows 11, having every major change listed out could help settle any concerns and aid your decision to upgrade or stay put. That being said, some of the listed upgrades are a little vague, perhaps purposely so.
The Moment 3 update is definitely a step in the right direction and does show that Windows has moved pretty far away from the dark days of Windows Vista. Giving users a whole blog post on all the changes you’ve been making is a straightforward step towards enticing people to upgrade, and we will have to see just how persuaded users are.
Windows 11 is finally getting a feature I’ve been keenly awaiting since the OS was released – yes, a ‘never combine’ option is coming to the taskbar. Oh, a joyous and rapturous day indeed (ahem).
This is one of many changes brought forth with a new preview build (23466) in the Dev channel, and it has been previously speculated about in a number of leaks.
Turning on 'never combine' mode for the taskbar means that apps are always kept as individual entries on the bar, even when multiple copies of the same application are open at the same time.
With multiple instances of apps, by default Windows 11 stacks them up – combines them, so to speak – into one entry on the taskbar. Never combined, as the name suggests, means this doesn’t happen, and they all stay separate – and you can see the labels on those individual instances (telling you which web page is currently active, for example, in a browser window).
Not all testers will see this straightaway, Microsoft informs us, as it’s a gradual rollout. So even if you’re a Windows Insider hanging out in the Dev channel, it may still be some time before you receive the option.
Happiness is a non-combining taskbar
The introduction of the never combined option for the taskbar is a big one for me, as the lack of this feature is pretty much the biggest reason why I’ve not upgraded to Windows 11 yet. (There are other niggles, too, but let’s not stray off-topic).
That probably sounds a bit overblown, but seriously, stacking up apps on the taskbar is a deal-breaker as far as I’m concerned. I hate this way of working – it truly bugs me – so I was pretty mystified when Windows 11 turned up without never combine (as it’s known in Windows 10 – I’m not sure why it’s now ‘combined’ in Windows 11, but it doesn’t really matter).
It’s never a good idea to remove choice as far as I’m concerned, but Microsoft didn’t do this out of some arbitrary desire, we were told. The chatter from the usual insider sources suggested that adding what seems like a simple bit of functionality on the face of it was actually a pretty complex issue around how the interface of the latest OS was built from the ground up.
I’m not sure how far I buy into that, but I can accept the basic premise. I just can’t understand why it has taken so very long for Microsoft to introduce this for Windows 11 – clearly, it was pretty far down whatever interface priority lists were drawn up internally.
But hey, it’s here now, if only in testing. Hopefully, Microsoft will manage to push this change through in the big update at the end of the year (23H2). After all, the groundwork should’ve been the hard bit here, so honing the feature shouldn’t be that much of a task. I hope.
Then I can fire up that Windows 11 upgrade, finally, and get with the OS times. This feels a bit more like a pressing need following the announcement that Windows 10 won’t get any more features at all (save minor tweaks – there’ll be no 23H2 update for the older operating system, as you may recall).
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