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Has Windows 11 Copilot AI disappointed you so far? The AI could soon get supercharged
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Windows 11’s Copilot AI, which has only just entered testing, is still in a very barebones state, but a hint has been dropped that this could change soon, and the assistant should be getting considerably more extensive powers.

PhantomOfEarth, a Windows tester and regular leaker on Twitter, made the discovery that the new preview build 23506 of Windows 11 contains the first signs of Windows Copilot inbox plugins.

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What does that mean? Windows Copilot is essentially the Bing AI integrated into the OS via a side panel, capable of all the things the chatbot can do when interacted with online. However, the key difference is the ability to get the AI assistant to do stuff with Windows 11, such as changing settings. Meaning you might ask to ‘help me focus’ and Copilot can turn on a bunch of options to do this in one sweeping move.

And seemingly much of that fiddling with settings will be implemented via these plugins. In this way, as Windows Latest (which spotted this) points out, Microsoft can avoid bloating Copilot and slowing the experience down. (You won’t necessarily need all the plugins, of course – you can pick and choose).

While none of these plugins highlighted on Twitter work yet – these are just the first signs of them turning up in Windows 11 – we can see what the various features delivered as plugins might end up being (or some of them). As ever, though, just because they’re present in the background in testing doesn’t mean they’ll ever be realized.

With that caveat firmly in mind, the abilities spotted so far include an intriguing one: ‘boosting the user’s PC’, which should apply a bunch of tweaks to help the system run faster.

Other plugins are aimed at giving Copilot the ability to fire up (or close) apps, to set alarms or timers under Windows, to configure settings in general, to search for files the user needs, and even to offer ‘store suggestions’, which we presume means recommendations for apps to grab at the Microsoft Store?

As well as first-party plugins from Microsoft, the idea is that third-party plugins will be available too.

Analysis: Some difficult decisions ahead for Microsoft

Okay, so it sounds great for the Copilot AI to be able to optimize the performance of your system based on a simple request to ‘make things faster’ or similar. The note of caution comes, though, in the potential for things to go wrong here.

Presumably, any settings tweaks would be easily reversible if things somehow go awry with a batch of changes Copilot implements, but even so, the AI tinkering with things and coming off the rails – making things worse, not better – will not go down well with users.

As we’ve seen, there’s a clear potential for AI systems to make errors, which means that Microsoft must be very careful that when Copilot is finally introduced to all Windows 11 users, it works flawlessly. Otherwise, the AI will not make a good first impression which will be difficult to recover from. (We can just imagine it now: “That Copilot thing – it’s just another Clippy” and so forth).

This is why we don’t think Microsoft will rush to get Copilot in the Windows 11 23H2 update later this year – as the rumor mill seems to believe – because the company can’t afford to get it wrong.

Another route Microsoft could take is to roll out Windows Copilot with its Bing AI chatbot skills and just a few select plugins, meaning only a basic level of functionality for changing things in Windows 11, keeping that all very simple to begin with, and then building on it.

Maybe this is what Microsoft is planning, but the danger here is that Copilot will still feel underwhelming compared to what we’ve been promised in early teases – and again, that’d be a wobbly first impression to make.

To us, it makes more sense to keep this as a massive new feature for Windows 12 next year, and a compelling reason to upgrade.

It’s not as if there’s any real rush for Windows Copilot, not like there was with launching Bing AI earlier this year (namely beating Google’s Bard AI to the punch) – and notably, the wheels came off then, if you recall. Best be sure all the nuts are properly tightened this time round, Microsoft…

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Windows 10 users will get to use Copilot AI after all – but with a big drawback
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Microsoft’s Copilot is exclusive to Windows 11 – we know Windows 10 is feature-locked at this point, with nothing new coming to the OS going forward – but Windows 10 users will get a taste of the AI assistant, it seems.

Not integrated with the operating system, of course, but those who use Edge on Windows 10 will get Copilot in Microsoft’s browser.

Windows Latest has got to play with ‘Copilot for Edge’ (apparently also informally known as ‘actions’) and it’s basically the same as Copilot in Windows 11, facilitating the changing of various settings, but in the browser environment rather than OS.

As the tech site points out, at this early stage, functionality is limited as you might expect, but you can, for example, turn virtual tabs on by asking Copilot in Edge. Or you can switch dark mode on with the browser.

Copilot will be bolted onto the existing Bing AI sidebar in Edge, so this basically represents additional functionality for this part of the interface.

Right now, Copilot for Edge is rolling out to select users testing the browser. This is a phased rollout, we’re told, as is usually the case with big new features, where Microsoft wants to try them out with a small audience at first while the company works out all the inevitable kinks.

Well-known Edge tester and leaker Leopeva64 (on Twitter) has also been following developments on this functionality, and observes that it works with voice input, so those with a mic can speak to Copilot for Edge and give it direct instructions.

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Analysis: Edge of tomorrow

How many folks use Edge? Not that many, of course, but this is part of the reason Microsoft will more than likely follow through with this effort. It’s very keen to push its Edge browser to as many folks as possible to move the dial in the battle against Google’s dominant Chrome browser.

While only Windows 11 users get the real Copilot actually in the desktop OS, Microsoft doubtless figures that those remaining on Windows 10 might just be a bit more tempted to try out Edge if getting Copilot features – even in a relatively small way – is on the menu.

That said, Copilot will likely be more than a flimsy carrot dangled in front of browser users. It should be an impressive step forward for Edge if it’s anything like the expected implementation of Copilot in Windows 11, which will be able to pull off all sorts of tricks – or at least that’s Microsoft's plan.

In Windows 11, you’ll be able to make broad requests like ‘adjust settings to help me be more productive’ and we can’t see why Edge’s Copilot won’t work the same way eventually, instigating a potentially sweeping range of settings changes based on a simple request.

We’re guessing that Edge for Copilot should arrive in a similar timeframe to the AI in Windows 11, which in theory is later this year (with the 23H2 update), at least if the rumor mill is right. (We’re skeptical though, frankly).

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Windows 11 could get a smart feature to help you save money on energy bills
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Windows 11 could be getting a new change to give you an idea of how much power your desktop PC chugs through on a daily basis – and per app power usage data, too.

Or at least this is a new feature spotted in the latest preview build of Windows 11 (from the Dev channel), albeit the functionality is hidden away.

The ever-present Windows testing detective on Twitter, PhantomOfEarth, uncovered the feature using ViVeTool. (That’s a Windows configuration utility that can be used to poke around under the hood and enable features lurking in the background, still yet to be enabled by Microsoft).

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As you might imagine, these features are hidden for good reason – they are still wonky and incomplete, and that’s very much the case with what we see here.

But the broad gist of it is that in build 23506, Microsoft is turning the Battery Usage panel into Energy (& Battery) Usage, meaning that it’ll be relevant not just for the best laptops out there and battery levels, but to show power usage for desktop PCs.

As PhantomOfEarth explains, the panel will show energy usage data for the Windows 11 PC, and break that down to individual apps, too – so if there’s an energy hog piece of software on your system, it’ll be clearly visible.

People running desktop computers will be able to see energy usage, but those with laptops can choose to switch between energy usage and battery level (so don’t worry, the latter isn’t being ditched).

Microsoft will also provide overall energy use and emissions data, but as the leaker observes, this is not yet finished and appears to display placeholder readings for now.

Analysis: Inbound for the 23H2 update? Perhaps…

It’s no surprise to see the feature isn’t fully working, because as we noted above, this is why the Energy (& Battery) Usage panel hasn’t yet been sent live in Windows 11 – it isn’t ready.

However, it’s something we expect will be added in time, given that it’ll be pretty useful to see a full breakdown of your PC’s power usage and environmental footprint, as it were. (At a time when those concerns are becoming increasingly sensitive, of course).

Being able to view your energy footprint and adjust your PC’s settings to see how you can do better – and save money on energy bills, hopefully, even if only a little – will be a welcome ability. Indeed, we can see this feature being tied into Microsoft’s AI project eventually, so you’ll be able to request: “Copilot, help me save energy on this PC.” Followed by a useful set of changes based on the relevant data collected here (well, hopefully).

At any rate, we wouldn’t be surprised to see this functionality arrive in the Windows 11 23H2 update (when Copilot will theoretically also pitch up, but we remain unconvinced about that rumor).

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Google just made life much easier for Windows 11 users with Android phones
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Windows 11 (and 10) users can now easily share files between their Android devices and Windows PC, thanks to Google’s Nearby Share app which has been officially released for Microsoft’s desktop operating systems.

You may recall that Nearby Share was brought to Windows 11 as a beta app in March – before that, it was a tool for Chromebooks – so this represents the full release of the now-finished software.

For the unfamiliar, Nearby Share lets you share files (or indeed website links) just by selecting the option and tapping on the destination PC. You’ll then receive a notification of the file arriving on your computer.

Or working the other way round, from a Windows desktop, you can simply drag a file to the Nearby Share app, and it’ll be whizzed over to the Android smartphone.

Google has made a couple of nifty additions for this final incarnation of Nearby Share, too.

Firstly, an image preview is shown in the device notification to allow you to see that the correct file is being shared. And secondly, the file transfer is now furnished with an estimated time to complete, which for larger files that might take a while, is pretty handy.

Windows 11 Nearby Share

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Analysis: Faster and more reliable – just plain better

Those are some useful improvements, and overall Nearby Share is a smart feature to get on Windows 11 and Windows 10, particularly now any rough edges should have been smoothed out in beta testing.

On top of those additional features mentioned, Google also notes that it has made the file transfer process speedier since the beta app, and ensured better stability with fewer crashes encountered.

It’ll be no surprise to hear that the Nearby Share app was already popular. Even as a beta, Google tells us that 1.7 million people across the globe installed the app, so we can expect those ranks to swell considerably now we have the finished version.

For those keen to take the Nearby Share plunge, bear in mind that the transfer process is all the more seamless if you’re signed into your Google account on both your PC and phone.

Via Betanews

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Windows 10 update looks like bad news for PC gamers
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Windows 10’s most recent update has been giving some PC gamers a headache, brining lag to their gaming sessions – and causing other performance issues besides.

Windows Latest picked up on feedback posted on the official Reddit thread introducing the July cumulative update for Windows 10 (patch KB5028166).

One Redditor said: “Did somebody experience after updating, game and apps became laggy?”

A bunch of replies in the affirmative then ensued, along the lines of: “Yes! I can’t do anything, it takes forever. Everything is slow.”

Another user notes: “I’ve had a few games becoming laggy and freezing at points since updating.”

A further user on Reddit observes: “The last update has given my W10 PC a bad case of constipation; Chrome and other apps take a minute or two to open, webpages often delay opening or display a ‘page is not responding’ message. I’ve not uninstalled the last update in the hope MS releases a new update soon that sorts all this out, as it doesn’t seem to be an uncommon problem.”

It doesn’t seem to be uncommon indeed, with another Redditor posting to confirm: “Had to uninstall this update, caused an ungodly amount of stuttering afterwards. Reformatted the PC, tested before and after this update after so I know this is definitely the cause of the stutter. Clearly I am not the only one and would highly recommend avoiding/uninstalling this update.”

As well as these issues for gamers and general performance slowdown, there are complaints on the same Reddit thread about KB5028166 taking ages to install.

One tech support person (presumably) notes: “On all my clients’ computers, this update takes forever after restart and there’s nothing you can do. Everyone has been calling since morning because they can’t work on their computers.”

A reply to that says the update went on for ‘many hours’ and the user ended up restarting their PC to get out of it (not advisable, really, though sometimes you may feel left with little choice after waiting for ages for an update to finish) – only to encounter the same problem again. Nasty.

Analysis: Not the first time, and likely not the last

Unfortunately, we’ve not heard anything official from Microsoft about how KB5028166 might be causing issues for gamers (indeed, we haven’t seen any official confirmation that there’s a problem at all). Clearly, though, there are a bunch of unhappy folks out there, so hopefully the software giant is investigating. Even the best PC games aren’t so great when frame rates are stuttering like crazy.

This wouldn’t be the first time a cumulative update for Windows 10 (or Windows 11) has seemingly thrown a spanner in the works for games, or has slowed down apps in general. This kind of apparently random lag attack has happened over and over throughout the years, so it’s not exactly a surprise to see this as a (potential) side-effect of KB5028166. The sad truth is that vague problems like this can be difficult to pin down, and sometimes remain ongoing issues for a while.

All we can do is keep our fingers crossed that Microsoft looks into this, and how to cure the affected PCs, and does so quickly. Or at least gives us some indication of what’s going on here. Meanwhile, you can’t really avoid the update on Windows 10 Home – only for a limited time – so you’re going to have to install it soon (besides, there are important security fixes in the patch).

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Microsoft brings Copilot to more Windows 11 testers – but it doesn’t seem confident in the AI
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Windows Copilot, Microsoft’s AI assistant for Windows 11, is now rolling out to many more testers.

Neowin spotted that Microsoft quietly updated its blog post for build 23493 in the Dev channel to let us know that Copilot is being made available to every tester.

You may recall that when this build was first released at the end of June, Copilot was only made available to a limited number of testers in the Dev channel, as Microsoft noted that it was going to “monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone”.

Well, the feedback has evidently been received, and going by it, the software giant clearly feels it was sound enough to fully roll out Windows Copilot to everyone.

Microsoft updated its blog post to say: “The Windows Copilot Preview is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Insiders may need to reboot to have it show up.”

Analysis: Mixed messages with confidence levels here

This is a slightly odd one. On the one hand, Microsoft must have a certain level of confidence in how Copilot is doing in testing to flip the switch to broaden the rollout to everyone.

On the other hand, Microsoft did this very quietly with just a quick update on its blog, and hardly made any fuss about what is in fact quite a major move. In that sense, the tech giant's confidence in Copilot appears shakier, and it all feels a bit under the radar. (Why not announce a full rollout with the next preview and blog post? Because it seems like a sizeable step forward for Copilot).

Maybe we’re reading too much into this – it wouldn’t be the first time – but we find it difficult to believe Microsoft is all that happy with Copilot, not based on the online feedback we’ve seen from Dev testers thus far. Those comments mainly revolve around how very barebones Copilot is – with barely any Windows settings that can be adjusted in this initial incarnation – and also how buggy it is.

Neowin underlines the latter point in its report, noting that Copilot currently has a lot of bugs that make it rather a ‘frustrating’ feature to use.

Thus far, then, the Copilot rollout seems a bit of an odd process, and compounding this matter is that the AI turned up in Dev first, and Canary testers – the earliest channel for cutting-edge additions to Windows 11 – haven’t got a look in yet. Indeed, some people have switched from Canary back to the Dev channel because of this.

Mind you, Canary testers, or anyone else, could always avail themselves of an alternative to Copilot on the Windows 11 desktop – namely a resurrected ChatGPT-powered Clippy (yes, really).

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Windows 11 makes life better for PC gamers in two ways with new update
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Windows 11’s cumulative update which started rolling out to PCs last week comes with a couple of nifty features for gamers.

Windows Latest noted that Microsoft reminded them of one feature that comes with the July cumulative update (KB5028185), namely a change that’ll benefit some of the best gaming mice out there.

A software engineer at Microsoft told the tech site: “Some of you will see better gaming performance with the July 2023 update. This [July 2023 Update] improves performance when you use a mouse with a high gaming report rate.”

A high report rate, otherwise known as polling rate, means the mouse is checking its position more often, which leads to better accuracy.

However, the problem with such high polling rate mice is that Windows 11 causes some stuttering with these peripherals, due to demands made on the operating system’s input stack (which can get overloaded when using a high report rate mouse plus a bunch of other gaming accessories used for, say, streaming).

Those stuttering blues are now fixed with the KB5028185 patch, thankfully.

Another major boon for PC gamers here is the fix for a nasty bug that caused Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) errors.

These can result in a game freezing up or crashing out, so they’re pretty frustrating at times, especially in cases where you might lose progress if you haven’t saved, of course.

Analysis: Goodies for gamers aplenty

Early feedback on the TDR error resolution in testing looks positive – and the same goes for the polling rate fix – so it seems the July update is pretty much a must-have affair for PC gamers.

Not that you have any choice about installing a cumulative update anyway, seeing as they are mandatory, mainly because of the security fixes applied with these patches. Microsoft doesn’t want any users exposed to vulnerabilities, so that’s understandable (though you can put off installing a patch for a short while on Windows 11 Home).

Gamers have some other goodies to look forward to in the near future, including the Dynamic Lighting hub, which will allow Windows 11 users to control all RGB peripherals from one central place, rather than having to bloat their system with third-party apps.

DirectStorage – which offers an extra speed-up for SSDs in Windows 11 compared to Windows 10 – is also finally seeing some more PC games planning to support the tech. Diablo 4 should get DirectStorage eventually, a dev recently let us know, as well as Hunt: Showdown, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Those will join Forspoken which already supports DirectStorage, and we’re hoping for more announcements soon.

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Microsoft seemingly won’t give up pushing Bing AI onto Windows 11 users
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Windows 11 is continually badgering folks to use Microsoft’s Bing AI in test builds of the operating system, it may not come as much of a surprise to hear.

PhantomOfEarth pointed out on Twitter that this is happening in preview versions of Windows 11 – most notably the Beta channel – and as you can see, the pop-up springs from the search box on the taskbar, urging users to launch Bing AI from that part of the interface.

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It's an annoying nag to use the AI, and what’s more, the Twitter leaker notes that there doesn’t appear to be any obvious way of telling Windows 11 that these pop-ups are unwanted.

Or rather, PhantomOfEarth clarifies that there are “two buttons to get it to go away” but that even after using those, it “tends to pop up occasionally with no way to turn it off (afaik)”.

Another Twitter user suggests there may be another way to switch it off under notifications, which PhantomOfEarth says they’ll try, but we didn’t hear anything about that being successful since the tweet at the weekend.

So, the jury’s still out on that, but whatever the case, it looks like this nag isn’t an easy one to rid yourself of – if you can get rid of it at all.

Analysis: This pop-up just doesn’t make a lot of sense

As we already observed, Microsoft trying to push Bing AI is no surprise from a general point of view (the software giant has been working hard to improve the AI, and doubtless wants a lot of eyeballs on it). Indeed, of late, Microsoft has been trying all sorts of angles for recruiting more users to its various services, whether that’s the Bing chatbot, or OneDrive to pick a couple of obvious examples. (OneDrive has recently been promoted via ‘badging’ in the Start menu – basically just ads veiled as suggestions).

What’s a bit odd here is seeing this rather persistent prompt for Bing AI kicking around in the taskbar when Copilot has just been introduced in testing.

As you’re likely aware, Windows Copilot is essentially the Bing AI dropped into the heart of Windows 11 (in a side panel), complete with additional abilities to intelligently adjust Windows settings (there aren’t many of those to begin with, though).

So, with Copilot on the horizon – and due in the 23H2 update, according to some rumors (we’re not convinced it’s at all ready, mind) – why mess around with search box prompts for Bing AI at this point? Especially when the possibly close-to-launch Copilot has full integration into Windows 11.

It doesn’t make a lot of sense to us, particularly when – as you can see from PhantomOfEarth’s reaction in the above tweet – this is annoying testers right now.

We’re hoping, then, that this is a piece of experimentation in test builds that Microsoft will soon do away with. That said, we can’t say the same about the ads already in place with Copilot in testing…

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Another 2-year wait is almost over for Windows 11 users, this time for Paint’s dark mode
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Windows 11 users are finally getting a Paint app with dark mode, as first promised way back by Microsoft – albeit this feature is still progressing through testing for the moment.

Microsoft let us know that an updated Paint app – version 11.2304.26.0 – is now rolling out to testers in the Beta channel, as The Verge spotted. It carries the dark mode among other features.

The Beta channel is the step just before the Release Preview channel in Windows 11 testing, meaning that the dark mode is now coming close to release.

As well as the dark mode – which will automatically be employed if you’ve turned on dark mode in Settings for Windows 11 – the new version of Paint will have an improved zoom feature. The latter allows for finer zoom adjustments, and custom zoom values (alongside the existing preset levels of zoom). Furthermore, there’s a capability that fits the image to the size of the screen (and its resolution) with a click. Nifty.

Analysis: Some swift progress (finally)

The pretty swift progression of the dark mode for Paint in testing, going from the Canary channel at the start of June – which represents the very earliest test builds of Windows 11 – through the Dev channel, and to Beta now, gives us hope that the app will get this feature soon enough.

It’s been a long wait, though – a very long one – because Microsoft actually promised this feature before Windows 11 even arrived on the scene. Since then, there has been lots of clamor to get dark mode added for Paint, but it really has taken some time. At least it looks like Microsoft is sprinting as it nears the finish line.

This isn’t the only instance of a feature taking forever to arrive in Windows 11, of course. Just this week, 3D-style emoji arrived in testing (Canary channel), another feature that was promised for the launch of Windows 11. So, these are both capabilities we’ve had to wait the best part of two years for.

Paint fans should check out some of the mods which have been floating around for the app of late, too – they’re pretty nifty indeed.

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Windows 11 gets a troubleshooting tool for one of its most controversial spec requirements
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Windows 11 requires the TPM 2.0 security feature (at least officially), but what if you’re having trouble with that particular chip (which remains a controversial system requirement)?

Well, help could soon be at hand, at least going by a new feature spotted in testing – by ever-present leaker PhantomOfEarth on Twitter – with Windows 11’s latest build (25905) in the Canary channel.

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As you can see, the Windows Security app now carries a ‘TPM troubleshooter’ option. As the text for the feature lets us know, this is useful for finding and fixing problems with your TPM 2.0 module.

For the uninitiated, TPM (which stands for Trusted Platform Module) can be a separate hardware chip, or firmware TPM (fTPM) that uses your CPU, and it’s a system that provides tighter security for your PC. (There’s a lot more to it than that, mind, but that’s the gist).

Why is TPM 2.0 so controversial, then? Because a lot of older PCs don’t have it – or even not-all-that-old machines – and people feel that being forced to upgrade (either their motherboard and CPU, or adding a TPM security chip) is an unfair stipulation to get Windows 11. (Windows 10 does not have this requirement, of course).

Microsoft, however, has made it quite clear that beefing up security requires TPM 2.0, and argues that this is something implemented for the good of users, and protecting them against being exploited by hackers.

Analysis: A handy extra to help with TPM woes (we hope)

What might this troubleshooter actually do, then? Well, as Neowin, which spotted the tweet revealing the presence of this feature in testing, points out, it’s possible to encounter odd errors with TPM. For example: “Can’t get TPM information. Contact your device manufacturer.”

That’s not a very helpful error message, and with the new feature, what you’ll be able to do is fire up a Windows troubleshooter to look further into the issue. Hopefully, that might give you further clues as to what’s gone awry (and maybe even solve the problem, with any luck – though Microsoft’s troubleshooters are not always that reliable).

Whatever the case, having some help on-hand is certainly better than nothing (plus there’s another option here to reset your TPM back to default settings, too). Provided, of course, this feature makes the cut for the release version of Windows 11, if it proves useful and well-received in testing. Currently, we’re told that this capability is a limited rollout, so not every Canary channel tester is seeing the TPM troubleshooter.

That’s not unusual, as with many features, Microsoft deploys them to only a small subset of testers to begin with, just to check if there are any major problems, and to monitor early feedback.

Given the controversy around TPM 2.0 – and the fact that it’ll definitely be a requirement for Windows 12 too – we can guess that this troubleshooter is likely to be something that’ll appear in the finished version of Windows 11. Because anything that makes running TPM a smoother experience has to be useful.

This functionality could even pitch up in the 23H2 update, which we’ve just heard some news on – something that makes us think that the Copilot AI, which is rumored for inclusion in 23H2, won’t actually be part of that upgrade due later this year.

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