While Microsoft’s Build developer convention is still underway, the company just announced that Windows 11, 24H2 edition, the annual feature update of the operating formula, is now available to Insiders in the Release Preview channel. The Windows Insider team said the update will be available “later this calendar year,” but the first Qualcomm-powered Copilot PCs arriving in June will ship with this update.
Microsoft has been testing Windows 11 24H2 edition with Insiders in the Dev channel for a few weeks now. This update will bring innovations to Copilot on Windows, File Explorer, the taskbar, and many other Windows features. However, the AI-powered reminder feature announced through Microsoft on Monday will only be available on Copilot PCs at launch.
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Here’s the key included in Windows 11 24H2 edition:
Copilot improvements: Copilot on Windows becomes a standalone app that can be moved around the screen and resized. The Copilot shortcut will move to the center of the Windows taskbar.
Voice clarity: This AI-powered feature was once exclusive to Surface devices and can improve audio quality in apps and games by employing the communication signal processing mode.
File Explorer improvements: Users will be able to create 7-zip and TAR archives in addition to existing ZIP support.
Sudo for Windows: Windows 11 adds the Linux-like sudo command to elevate individual commands to administrator permissions in an unlifted terminal window.
Wireless Connectivity Innovations: This update will be loaded for Wi-Fi 7 and will bring innovations for connecting Bluetooth Low Energy Audio devices.
Quick Settings improvements: Microsoft is a drop-down Quick Settings drop-down view from the taskbar.
Power Saving: This new feature will force power consumption and increase battery life by restricting certain background activities. It will also work on desktops without a battery.
Support for HDR backgrounds: Users with HDR presentations will need to set Arrayjxr photos as their desktop background and render them in HDR.
For Windows Insiders in the Release Preview Channel, Windows 11 24H2 edition is recently available through the “finder” experience in Windows Update. Commercial consumers enrolled in the Windows Insider for Business program can get it through Windows Update for Business (WUfB). and the Windows Server Update Service (WSUS), coming soon to the Azure Marketplace. Finally, the ISO for the update (Build 26100. 712) will also be available today on the Windows Insider ISO download page.
Laurent, senior editor-in-chief of Thurrott. com. Il has written about the tech industry for many years and his favorite topics are big tech, media, and gaming.
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