Microsoft Weekly: Copilot is the new Start button, Windows 11 23H2 vs 22H2, and Edge cringe

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we look at brazen Microsoft Edge behavior (again), final Windows 11 preview builds in 2023, performance comparisons between Windows 11 version 22H2 and 23H2, even more deprecated features in Windows, updates for Office apps, rumors about an ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming tier, app updates, and more.

Table of contents:

1. Windows 11 news
2. Updates are available
3. Gaming news
4. A blast from Microsoft's past
5. Random fact about Microsoft

Windows 11

Here we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And of course, you may find a word or two about older but still supported versions.

The December 2023 Patch Tuesday updates are now available for download for those using supported Windows 10 (22H2) and Windows 11 (22H2 and 23H2) versions. Interestingly, the last Patch Tuesday update of the year contains nothing but security updates.

A little more than a month ago, Microsoft released Windows 11 version 23H2. As usual, some users are reluctant to upgrade, fearing potential performance downgrades or slowdowns. To refute those fears (or prove them), we published a detailed performance comparison between Windows 11 version 22H2 and version 23H2, running on the latest hardware from Intel and NVIDIA.

The list of deprecated features in Windows 10 and 11 received an addition: the legacy console mode is no longer in development. This utility for running outdated console apps that do not support the latest versions will soon be removed from future Windows updates. However, users will be able to restore it using features-on-demand.

During a talk at Snapdragon Summit 2023, Satya Nadella spoke about AI in Windows, claiming that Copilot is the new Start menu and the "orchestrator of all your app experiences." This sparked a heated discussion in the comment section, with users expressing their fear of Microsoft turning half-baked Copilot into the centerpiece of the next-generation Windows. With reports of Microsoft planning a big Windows client release in 2024 with a major focus on AI, those fears are not unfounded.

Besides lackluster experience on Windows, Copilot is struggling to provide accurate answers to election questions, as revealed by two nonprofit groups tracking how AI impacts people and society. It is a reminder that modern AI is still in its early infancy.

Windows Insider Program

Here are the new preview builds Microsoft released for testing this week:

In addition to things mentioned in its changelog, build 26016 contains a hidden new section for the Settings app. It is called "AI Components," and it is supposed to let users view and uninstall additional AI-powered parts of Windows. The appearance of this section coincides with the recent report about Microsoft planning to release a big new Windows client with a major focus on AI somewhere in mid-2024.

Shortly after releasing builds 26016 and 23606, Microsoft confirmed that the "Phone Link" settings page was renamed to "Mobile Devices." The name is everything new, but Microsoft promises to add more changes in future updates.

Reminder: Builds above are the final preview updates in 2023. The next Windows 11 build will arrive once the holiday season is over. Come back soon!

Another reminder: You can always check out the latest Windows 10 and 11 preview and stable builds on Neowin's home page in the "Builds" widgets.

Updates are available

This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties.

The noradsanta.org website received a big update with new languages and hosting in six Azure Regions worldwide. This is not the first time Microsoft has helped NORAD track Santa as he travels across the globe. This year's Azure updates will allow users to load the website faster, especially during peak loads.

However, the holiday season is still several days from now, so many people still have spreadsheets and presentations to do before they get their much-deserved rest. And if you happen to own one of Meta's VR headsets, you can now write Word documents, do spreadsheets, and create PowerPoint presentations without taking it off. Microsoft's signature Office apps are now available on Quest headsets.

Other updates for Office apps, some of which are only available to Microsoft 365 Insiders, include the following:

• New features for the Shifts app in Microsoft Teams.
• Improvements for the Catch Up feature in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Video caption and subtitle support for PowerPoint on the web.
• New file-sharing features are coming soon to the Microsoft 365 app on Windows and the web.
• The School Connection feature is now available for Microsoft Teams on smartphones.

As a reminder, Microsoft will soon stop supporting its old messaging infrastructure, resulting in outdated Teams apps experiencing service disruptions, message delays, and more.

Microsoft might soon change what happens when you close the last tab in the Edge browser. The most recent preview builds contain a feature that "spawns" a new tab page when you close all tabs. You can check out this article to learn how to enable and test that change.

Microsoft revealed that starting with Edge 120, developers can utilize Copilot in DevTools to get help with warnings, errors, and other hard-to-understand messages. After enabling a flag, the browser will display a Copilot icon next to each warning, giving you a quick and easy way to troubleshoot a hiccup. Besides, you can highlight a code snippet and ask Copilot to explain it.

Moving from positive changes to somewhat head-scratching stories, here is Edge's official account posting cringe: in a now-deleted post on X, someone behind the official Microsoft Edge account audaciously replied to a user complaining about the missing "Never" button on a prompt trying to upsell Bing.

If you feel like such brazen conduct is too much and think it is time to ditch Microsoft Edge, check out Vivaldi and its latest update. Version 6.5 is now available for download with a new session panel, full history sync, workspace rules, and more.

If you use Avira to keep your system safe from all sorts of cyber nastiness, you might be exposed to a bug causing system freezes at launch. Multiple online reports emerged with complaints of 100% CPU and RAM usage on Windows 10 and 11 after installing the latest Avira update. Yikes!

Other notable updates released this week include the following:

• Microsoft Edge 121 is now available in the Beta Channel.
• Microsoft Dev Home Preview 0.8 is out with accessibility patches, UI tweaks, and bug fixes.
• PowerToys 0.76.2 is out with fixes for WPF app crashes and the WebView2 handler.
• Microsoft Store version 22311 is out with a single fix for missing items in the Library section.
• Clipchamp will soon get an auto-compose feature and a new content library tab with access to free and premium content.
• Arc is finally sending out invites for beta testing the browser on Windows.
• Bing Image Creator (powered by DALLE-E) will soon be able to store generated pictures for longer—90 days instead of the current 50-day limit.

Here are the new drivers released this week:

• NVIDIA Game-Ready 546.33 WHQL with The Finals and Fortnite Chapter 5 support.
• Intel Arc 31.0.101.5081 and 5122 WHQL with support for the latest Core Ultra processors announced this week.

And here is our weekly Microsoft 365 Roadmap series, where we track the latest upcoming features for Microsoft's productivity apps, such as Copilot in the classic Outlook and channel improvements in Teams.

On the gaming side

Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts and more.

E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo) is officially dead. ESA's official X account announced that the organization decided to pull the plug on the event after serving as a central showcase for the video game industry for more than two decades. Sadly, E3 did not survive the pandemic, and it lost its relevance in the post-pandemic world. Rest in peace!

Baldur's Gate 3, which is finally available on Xbox, has received its first patch with stability improvements. Note, however, that you must update your Xbox to resolve the potential problems with saves disappearing after a crash. Navigate to your Xbox settings and install available updates before jumping back into one of the most critically acclaimed games of 2023. Also, do not expect the game to hit the Xbox Game Pass any time soon: Larian confirmed it has no plans to add Baldur's Gate 3 to Microsoft's gaming service.

Cities Skylines II, another popular game released in 2023, received another big patch with two new maps, budget fixes, performance improvements, and more. This is the last update for the game this year, so expect the next one after the holiday season.

Fallout 4's next-generation update is also expected in 2024. Earlier this week, Bethesda said developers need more time to finish the work. Besides announcing the delay, the studio shared more information about Starfield updates scheduled for 2024. Expect the recently released game to receive city maps, new ways to travel, FSR 3 support, and many more.

Minecraft fans, especially those playing on modern Xbox consoles, will soon get access to a new mob and 4K support. The latest preview update introduces armadillos and high-resolution support on Xbox Series X|S.

As usual, each week, more games become available in NVIDIA's GeForce NOW streaming service. This week's additions include Forza Horizon 4 and Forza Horizon 5, Minecraft Dungeons, Stellaris Nexus, and more. If you do not have a compatible computer or console to enjoy those games, feel free to sign up for NVIDIA GeForce NOW. It's not free, of course, but you get the idea.

Xbox Cloud Gaming, another cloud streaming service, is now available on Meta's Quest 2, 3, and Pro VR headsets. You can tell Xbox finally has some sort of virtual reality support. Naturally, we are talking not about traditional VR experience but about playing games on a big screen inside a virtual room.

If you think that Xbox Cloud Gaming is too expensive, good news: Microsoft might introduce a free ad-supported tier, offering, for example, two hours of gameplay in exchange for watching a 30-second ad.

Deals and freebies

This week's Weekend PC Game Deals is full of specials, coupons, bundles, and sweet discounts. In addition, the Epic Game Store has kicked off its annual holiday sale alongside daily giveaways until December 20, 2023.

A blast from Microsoft's past

John Callaham's weekly "Look back" series provides throwbacks into the past, detailing the company's products, partnerships, mishaps, and successes from years ago.

This week's look-back is all about the failed gaming promises. Check out this article where we remember some of Microsoft's games announced at E3 that never made it to the public. Those include Matter, Scalebound, and others.

Random fact about Microsoft

And here is a randomly selected piece of trivia about the company, Windows, and other Microsoft-made things.

Did you know that Microsoft once warned users about Windows 98 and 95 hanging after 49.7 days of continuous use without restarts due to their timing algorithms? However, you would be very lucky to get your Windows 95 machine run that long without a single restart or crash, so not that many users experienced the odd time-related bug.

You can find other issues of the Microsoft Weekly series using this link. Also, you can support Neowin by subscribing to our Newsletter to get regular news recaps delivered directly to your email.