Tag: Windows 11

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Microsoft might change up the Windows 11 update naming scheme

Microsoft is once again experimenting with a new naming scheme for Windows updates.

Twitter user ‘XenoPanther‘ spotted a name change in the ‘Get Started’ app that appears when you set up a new PC (via The Verge). The name change swaps the upcoming ’22H2′ update to ‘Windows 11 2022 Update.’

The new naming scheme would be easier for end users to understand than 22H2. Plus, with Microsoft reportedly planning to move towards a yearly big update cadence, it makes sense to name those updates after the year they came out. That said, the name could also be a placeholder, and we could still get the 22H2 update or even the update with a different name entirely. Given that XenoPanther followed up the original tweet with a note that the ‘Windows 11 2022 Update’ text vanished, this seems more likely.

The thing is, Microsoft has been all over the place with update names for years. As noted by The Verge, there was the ‘Creators Update’ for Windows 10, the Windows 10 May 2021 Update, and the Windows 10 21H2 update.

However, most other tech companies use an even simpler, more effective naming scheme: numbers. Android 13, iOS 16, etc. You have one big number for major releases, then a decimal number for major updates. For example, instead of the 22H2 update or the ‘Windows 11 2022 Update,’ just call it Windows 11.1. Wow, that’s so much simpler!

Whatever name Microsoft ends up with, the next big Windows 11 update is expected to arrive on September 20th, sporting improvements like app folders in the Start menu, drag and drop on the taskbar, and more.

Source: XenoPanther (Twitter) Via: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Windows 11 update adds animated widget notifications to the taskbar

Microsoft is rolling out a taskbar update to Windows 11, and no, it doesn’t bring back the ability to move the taskbar to another edge of the screen. Instead, this update adds live animations to taskbar widgets.

As detailed by The Verge, all Windows 11 users will soon see new widget notifications appear over the coming days and weeks as part of an update to the ‘Windows Web Experience Pack,’ a bundle of Windows 11 software that can be updated through the Microsoft Store. The Web Experience Pack powers the widgets feature in Windows 11 and includes the widget animations update.

Microsoft says that the update will now show an “announcement” in the taskbar when something important happens related to a widget. The company describes these announcements as “quick and glanceable,” and notes they’ll go away if users don’t interact with them.

For example, if there’s a weather alert for your area, you might see the weather taskbar widget turn into a storm warning icon. Along with the weather, there will also be alerts for stocks.

Left: Windows 11 weather widget. Right: Weather widget with storm warning. | Image credit: The Verge

The Verge’s Tom Warren says he’s had the widgets on his Windows 11 PC for a few days and describes the new announcements as “rather distracting,” especially the stock alerts. Weather alerts, however, can be useful.

Moreover, Warren says it appears Microsoft doesn’t have an easy way to disable or customize these notifications at the moment. I can see this being a problem for people who find the animations distracting and want to disable them — hopefully, Microsoft adds a way to fine-tune these widgets.

Overall, the widget update is a small change in comparison to the big Windows 11 update expected to come in September. The update is expected to bring folders to the Start menu, drag-and-drop on the taskbar, and more.

Source: Microsoft Via: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

The next major Windows 11 update could come next month

Microsoft plans to launch the next big Windows 11 update, version 22H2, on September 20th with several new features, including a Task Manager overhaul.

The Verge said sources “familiar with Microsoft’s plans” confirmed the September 20th date, which senior editor Tom Warren teased on Twitter last week. Windows Central also published details about the 22H2 update on August 16th.

Microsoft reportedly has been testing the update for months. It’s expected to ship with several improvements, including new Live Captions, app folders in the Start menu, drag and drop in the taskbar, new touch gestures and animations, a new Voice Access tool, and more.

File Explorer tabs | Image credit: The Verge

The Verge highlighted plans to add a refreshed Task Manager with dark mode and a new layout with a command bar. Plus, the new Task Manager will offer an ‘efficiency mode’ to limit apps from consuming resources. The company plans to further expand its ‘Snap Layouts’ feature — the ability to position and organize your windows with a click. Finally, several other features Microsoft previously shared will arrive, including the tabs interface for File Explorer — although The Verge notes that will come shortly after the 22H2 update.

Windows Central shared a few other details, including plans for another update later this year to build on 22H2. This would include the File Explorer tabs, as well as a new ‘Suggested Actions’ feature that will show a small menu of options whenever users copy certain information, like a date or phone number.

Moreover, The Verge reported that Microsoft plans to mark the 10-year anniversary of its Surface line with new products this fall. It expects these devices will ship with the new 22H2 update. Of course, Microsoft hasn’t officially announced 22H2 or plans for a Surface event yet. That said, the company typically unveils new Surface products in the fall, so this all tracks.

Finally, it’s worth noting that those curious to see what 22H2 has in store can enroll in Microsoft’s ‘Release Preview’ group and test out the 22H2 build early.

Source: The Verge, Windows Central

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Mobile Syrup

Developer gets closer to running Windows 11 on Surface Duo

A developer has been working on a project that aims to get Windows 11 running on a Surface Duo. What can only be described as a passion project, Gustave Monce is making incremental advancements in this pursuit and has hit a new milestone.

In a new video Monce recently shared, the developer explains that the performance is now better than they expected. They compare the performance to a Lumia 950 XL, and notes that the difference is an “ocean.” Monce also confirms that the thermals of the Surface Duo are “very good.”

Although it’s far from perfect, Monce can run a form of Windows 11 across the two screens of the Surface Duo. The video shows the File Explorer window being dragged across the left to the right before snapping to the right screen. Monce also briefly demos Microsoft Edge running on the left screen.

Following the initial clip, Monce shows that the Adreno GPU and shaders are all working well. The developer controls the systems and apps using a Bluetooth mouse. They states that there is no touch support currently but say that it’s coming “soon.”

However, there are some glaring issues. For example, there are on-screen glitches during the demo and there’s no LTE support. With Windows 11, the Surface Duo’s camera and gyroscope are also not working.

It’s also worth noting that Monce’s work is on the original Surface Duo. None of these advancements appear to be operational on the Surface Duo 2.

It’s unclear why Monce is putting so much work into getting Windows 11 running on the device, especially since the Surface Duo is already a pretty niche device. That said, seeing Windows 11 work across the Surface Duo’s dual-screen is still still pretty impressive.

Image credit: @gus33000

Source: @gus33000 Via: Windows Central

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Mobile Syrup

Microsoft reveals new Windows 11 features, including tabs in File Explorer

Microsoft held a Windows 11 event today where it unveiled several new things coming to the desktop operating system. While many of the announcements were centred on work, there are plenty of other little changes and tidbits worth paying attention to.

We’ve rounded up some of the best and most interesting new Windows 11 features below:

File Explorer tabs

File Explorer tabs | Image credit: The Verge

Next up, Windows 11’s File Explorer app is finally getting tabs. This feature has been a long time coming, and MobileSyrup recently reported Microsoft was testing it in a Windows Insider build.

The addition of tabs will allow Windows 11 users to navigate multiple folders in a single File Explorer window. It should help boost productivity, especially for people dealing with files spread across multiple folders.

Alongside the tabs, File Explorer will get a new homepage with the typical Quick Access folders, recent documents, and a new favourites option. There will be an updated sharing dialogue as well.

Source: The Verge

Live Captions

According to XDA Developers, Windows 11 will soon get a ‘Live Captions’ feature than can automatically generate captions for audio generated by any app or website. It sounds like this new system-wide capability will work similar to Google’s Live Caption feature for Android and Chrome.

Integrating Windows 365 cloud PCs to Windows 11

Windows 365 Switch | GIF credit: The Verge

This is purely a business feature, but I wanted to include it because I think it’s pretty neat. Microsoft added PCs to the cloud with Windows 365 last year — the feature allows businesses to access cloud PCs from anywhere to stream a version of Windows 10 or 11 inside a web browser.

Now, Microsoft is integrating the feature into Windows 11’s virtual desktop (dubbed Task View) feature. That will allow Windows 11 users to switch between their desktop and a cloud PC with ease.

Microsoft is calling it ‘Windows 365 Switch’ and it will come alongside some other improvements for 365, including ‘Boot’ to let users directly log into a cloud PC at startup, and a new offline feature to let people work locally when they don’t have connectivity to access a cloud PC.

You can learn more about these features via The Verge.

Focus feature, Start folders, and other small changes

Rounding things out are a few other smaller updates. That includes a new ‘Focus’ feature with a timer so users can focus for a period of time. Along with that, Microsoft detailed other small benefits coming to Windows 11, such as app folders in the Start menu.

Snap Layouts will gain touch support soon, making it easier for users on touch devices to snap windows into different configurations.

That looks like it for now, but we’ll add any other new features to this post as they arrive.

Source: The Verge, (2), XDA Developers

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Mobile Syrup

Windows 11’s Phone Link app gets redesigned interface and spotlight for notifications

Microsoft has taken the Your Phone app and given it a refresh in the form of a UI overhaul and new features. Moving forward, the app is now called Phone Link and puts notifications out front for added exposure.

The tech giant announced the next step in the evolution of the Your Phone app. Phone Link will now be taking the mantle. It will still be a crucial tool to access photos, texts, and other important features on your computer.

This tool was first introduced three years ago and the overhaul comes at a time when the Phone Link app needed to reflect Windows 11. The design changes mean that the app features Windows 11’s colour pallet. The app now features the rounded corners of Windows 11, updated iconography, and overall aesthetic.

Microsoft has also added the ability to filter notifications on your Windows PC and receive phone calls when your device is charging elsewhere or out of reach. Android mobile apps are accessible on PC now too.

The most significant addition to the Phone Link app is how notifications are upfront for the user’s benefit. Thanks to this change, it should be much easier to see alerts and notifications pop up throughout the day. Tabbed notifications are also in the update. This ensures users have access to manage calls, apps, messages and photos.

In addition, the next Windows 11 update brings the ability to set up Phone Link during the initial set-up of a PC. This feature utilizes a QR code that users can scan with their device and streamline that process.

Windows 11 has been progressively bridging the gap between PC and Android. The improvements made and subsequent changes to the Phone Link app only strengthen that notion. The improvements Microsoft is bringing to the table should only enhance multitasking and update the ways users can share media between devices.

The release of the Phone Link app comes hand-in-hand with the Link to Windows app on Android. This was formerly known as the Your Phone Companion and is an important facet between a PC and a smartphone.

Via: Engadget

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Microsoft adds new constant reminder that Windows 11 doesn’t support your PC

Windows 11 will soon get a new desktop watermark that will display in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen on PCs that don’t meet the operating system’s strict hardware requirements.

As spotted by Ars Technica, the change is currently live in the Windows Insider Release Preview channel that serves up release-candidate builds a few days or weeks ahead of official deployment. Build 22000.588 adds the warning message, which reads:

“System requirements not met. Go to Settings to learn more”

The message presumably appears on PCs that don’t meet one or more of the system requirements of Windows 11 — requirements that stirred up significant debate back when Microsoft announced the OS.

Windows 11 watermark | Image credit: Ars Technica

A short, simple summary is that Microsoft added various system requirements to Windows 11 to improve the baseline security of Windows. Unfortunately, many of those requirements resulted in dropped support for a wide range of devices from pre-2018. Requirements include support for TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, as well as running certain up-to-date CPUs.

Part of the controversy around Windows 11 hinged on TPM 2.0 support — something that many PCs had, but was turned off by default. In other words, many people had PCs (often custom-built ones) that could meet the requirements if they enabled TPM 2.0, although it often wasn’t clear how to do that. By now, though, most people will hopefully have figured this out.

Still, that leaves tons of perfectly fine, albeit old, Windows machines out there that can’t run Windows 11 because Big Daddy Gates said so (obviously this is a joke and Bill Gates likely had no impact on this since he stopped handling day-to-day operations at Microsoft in 2008). For example, Ars noted that it saw the message on a PC that supports TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, but runs an unsupported 6th Gen Intel Core CPU.

Moreover, although Microsoft added all these system requirements, it also allowed users to work around them and install Windows 11 on unsupported PCs. That said, the company warns people about doing that during the install process and the company has threatened to withhold updates from unsupported systems (but hasn’t done so yet).

All this means is that people with unsupported PCs on Windows 11 will start seeing the watermark reminding them that their PC is unsupported soon, assuming they keep on top of updating their PC. At this time, it doesn’t appear that the update impacts functionality at all, besides adding the watermark. So, if some text on your screen doesn’t bug you, there’s not much to worry about (and if it does bug you, there might be a way to remove it if you’re tech-savvy).

Perhaps the most worrisome part is that the addition of the watermark could herald future changes that further separate supported and unsupported Windows 11 PCs.

Source: Ars Technica

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Microsoft is testing banner ads for File Explorer in Windows 11

Microsoft says that ads appearing in Windows 11’s File Explorer were a mistake and “not intended to be published externally” after a Windows Insider tweeted about them.

Insider MVP Florian Beaubois shared a picture of a banner ad in File Explorer on Twitter, noting — aptly — that “people will go mad” if Microsoft adds ads to File Explorer.

In a statement to The Verge, senior program manager for Windows Brandon LeBlanc explained the ad was “an experimental banner that was not intended to be published externally and was turned off.”

Unfortunately, saying “we didn’t mean for this to happen” doesn’t mean Microsoft will never put ads in File Explorer. Plus, it’s clear now that Microsoft can run ads in File Explorer if it wanted to.

Which, it does. The company has a track record of putting ads into Windows, although typically for its own services (an ad is an ad, however). The Verge points out that Microsoft experimented with a banner ad in the Windows 10 File Explorer for promoting OneDrive back in 2017.

The company also put ads into the Windows 10 lock screen, the Start menu, and has added all kinds of pop-ups and other intrusive, ad-like things to push its Edge browser on users.

All this is to say, while Microsoft may not be putting ads into File Explorer right now, it can and probably will.

Source: Florian Beaubois (Twitter) Via: The Verge

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Developers got Windows 11 running on the original Surface Duo

They did it. They finally went and put Windows 11 on the original Surface Duo — and you can too.

Engineering student Gustave Monce and developer Simone Franco have put out a guide explaining how to install Windows 11 on a Surface Duo. But, it’s probably not something you want to do for a variety of reasons.

First, you’ll need at least a 128GB Surface Duo since you’ll have to dual-boot Windows 11 and Android — that gives you 64GB for both operating systems. Moreover, you’ll need a PC to actually boot Windows on the Duo. Otherwise, it just boots Android as usual.

Second, you’ll need to boot Windows 11 on ARM. If you’ve followed the Windows on ARM saga at all, you’ll know that it’s extremely limited, at least compared to x86 Windows.

Oh, and nothing works. Like, at all.

According to Neowin and The Verge, Windows 11 will boot on the Surface Duo, but touch controls, networking, cellular data, and the cameras all don’t function.

Finally, it’s worth noting that installing Windows 11 on a Surface Duo will likely void your warranty and could brick the device. In other words, don’t do it unless you know what you’re doing (and even if you do, proceed at your own risk).

Ultimately, seeing Windows 11 run on the Surface Duo amounts to a cool experiment more than anything. It’s both reminiscent of Microsoft’s old Windows mobile operating systems and dredges up memories of the Surface Neo, Microsoft’s Duo-like tablet that will likely never launch.

You can check out the guide to installing Windows 11 on the Surface Duo here.

Source: GitHub Via: Neowin, The Verge

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Microsoft testing File Explorer tabs in Windows 11

Source: https://twitter.com/WithinRafael/status/1501675774847246337?s=20&t=_FgipaRBZJKnm3Z5cfnc9w

The ‘File Explorer’ app in Windows 11 is finally getting tabs. Tabs in File Explorer is a much-wanted feature that will allow users to open multiple folders in one File Explorer window.

Unfortunately, Windows 11 users may have to wait a while before Microsoft actually released File Explorer tabs.

The feature was spotted in the latest Windows 11 test build by Rafael Rivera, one of the developers behind the ‘EarTrumpet‘ app for Windows. Rivera shared a picture of the feature on Twitter:

According to The Verge, tabs in File Explorer appear to be a ‘secret addition‘ in Windows 11 and Microsoft has not officially announced the feature. Windows Insider chief Amanda Langowski previously said the company would only communicate about features it purposefully enables for Insiders to test. That said, considering tabs are a high requested feature, Microsoft may make an announcement about them soon.

It’s worth noting this isn’t the first time Microsoft has dabbled with adding tabs to File Explorer. Back in Windows 10, Microsoft was working on a feature called ‘Sets‘ that would effectively add tabs to File Explorer and several other Windows apps. Unfortunately, Microsoft cancelled the project.

While many Windows users have waited for Microsoft to add tabs to File Explorer, others have taken matters into their own hands. The Verge notes that designers have created concepts of what a modern File Explorer could be like, while some developers have even created their own File Explorer apps. For example, there’s the ‘Files‘ app on the Windows Store, which already supports tabs, themes, and other modern features.

For those not willing to download a third-party file management app, it’ll likely be a long wait until Microsoft officially adds tabs to File Explorer in stable Windows 11. But hey, at least there’s a light at the end of this tunnel.

Image credit: Rafael Rivera

Source: Rafael Rivera (Twitter) Via: The Verge