Windows Weekly 931

Microsoft announces big changes to Windows 11: New Start menu, Phone Companion on Start, AI actions in File Explorer, Notepad and other updates. Plus, new Copilot+ PC features: Click to Do actions, AI agent in Search for some reason, new Photos, Paint, and Snipping Tool features, and more.

Windows 11

• Microsoft announces new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models after teasing the announcement last week
• Recall improvements, Taskbar improvements, HDR improvements, more come to Beta and Dev
• Windows 11 Enterprise 24H2 to start on hotpatching, same schedule as Windows Server 2025
• A moment of silence for Skype, we didn’t know what we had until you ensh*ttified and then killed it
• Google is secretly working on two major changes for Android 16+ - We need something like this for 25H2

Antitrust

• Apple is slapped down hard by Judge in Epic v. Apple
• Spotify, Amazon, Proton and many other change apps to avoid Apple Tax
• The walls are finally tumbling down for Big Tech
• US v. Google (ads) has a remedy hearing set for September, that should go well

AI

• Open AI: just kidding about that for-profit thing. Did Microsoft squelch this plan?
• Google’s Little Language Lessons looks like a neat use of AI
• GitHub Copilot now has over 15 million users

Xbox & gaming

• FTC may have suffered its final defeat in trying to end Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard
• Xbox/ASUS portable gaming device leaks
• Good news! Xbox consoles are more expensive now! Wait.
• New DOOM game and more are coming to Game Pass this month
• Gears of War Remastered coming to Xbox, PS5, PC, Game Pass in August
• Minecraft drops VR/MR support
• GTA VI delayed until 2026
• Backbone Pro works with phones directly but also tablets, PCs, and more wirelessly

Tips and Picks

• Tip of the week: Go passwordless
• App pick of the week: Microsoft Authenticator
• RunAs Radio this week: Building a Career in Cybersecurity with Yuri Diogenes
• Brown liquor pick of the week: Jura 10

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• Transcripts: Windows Weekly 931 Transcript

Links

• Microsoft wins appeal in FTC challenge to $69 bln Activision Blizzard deal
• Microsoft Reveals New Windows 11 Start Menu and Upcoming Copilot+ Features
• Microsoft Unveils New Surface Pro, 12-inch and Surface Laptop, 13-inch Copilot+ PCs
• What’s Next for Surface? (Premium)
• Microsoft Issues New Pre-Release 24H2 Builds to Dev and Beta Channels
• Windows 11 Enterprise to Get First Hotpatch Next Week
• Skype Has Now Been Retired in Favor of Microsoft Teams
• Android 16 Might Bring Major Changes to the Platform
• After It Willfully Violated Court Order in Epic v. Apple, Judge Comes Down Hard on Apple
• And the Walls Come Tumbling Down (Premium)
• U.S. v. Google (Advertising) Remedy Hearings Set for September
• Apple Revenues Up 5 Percent to $95 Billion
• Amazon Revenues Up 9 Percent to $155.7 Billion
• Amazon Revenues Up 9 Percent to $155.7 Billion
• Qualcomm Revenues Jumped 17 Percent to $11 Billion
• AMD Revenues Leap 36 Percent to $7.4 Billion
• Microsoft Revenues Up 13 Percent to $70.1 Billion
• Open AI Steps Back from the For-Profit Cliff
• Google Introduces Little Language Lessons
• GitHub Copilot Has Over 15 Million Users
• Asus’ Xbox-Branded Gaming Handheld Gets Revealed by FCC Listing
• Microsoft Raises the Price of Xbox Consoles and Controllers Worldwide
• May Game Pass Games Include Doom: The Dark Ages and Revenge of the Savage Planet
• Gears of War: Reloaded is Coming to Xbox, PS5, and PC on August 26
• Minecraft Bedrock Edition Drops Virtual and Mixed Reality Support
• GTA VI Has Been Delayed to May 26, 2026
• Backbone Pro works with Phones, Tablets, PCs, and More
• New Microsoft Accounts Are Now Passwordless By Default
• Microsoft Authenticator App Will Soon Lose its Password Management and Autofill Features
• Brave for Android Lets You Block Site Elements
• Opera for Android Gets a Big Tab Management Update
• Building a Career in Cybersecurity with Yuri Diogenes
• Jura 10 Year Old