Ah, the death of Windows Phone. Something I still love to think of what-if situations if it were still around. It was the cleanest and fastest mobile OS for me. The UI was drop-dead gorgeous with the live tiles and minimalistic design. And who could forget the devices? The Nokia Lumia 520, 720, 920 and 1020. Some of the best-looking phones to date.

With the imaging prowess and impeccable performance, Windows Phones were picking up when a lot of missteps killed it. Before we blame others, it was Microsoft’s fault mostly. The continuous reboot of the OS with older devices not getting newer OS updates and leadership mistakes.

Then there was the problem with apps and carriers in the US not promoting the devices. Many blame Google here for blocking their popular apps on Windows Phone and it was a big reason. A former engineer even went on Reddit to discuss how it affected the sales.

Even the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella admitted that killing off the Mobile business was not a good decision. Whatever may be the case, Windows Phone is dead and Microsoft killed it.

Fans of the former OS have always blamed Google and Microsoft for the death of Microsoft’s mobile division. Now, with the DoJ report, fans have one more organization to blame.

The report claims Apple has sort of monopolized the market and has prevented the growth of potential competitors. The DoJ charges Apple with anti-competitive processes of not allowing other app stores and maintaining their “walled garden” ecosystem.

While this is not news, Apple getting directly blamed for Microsoft shutting their Mobile division is something we haven’t heard of before:

“Many prominent, well-financed companies have tried and failed to successfully
enter the relevant markets because of these entry barriers. Past failures include Amazon (which released its Fire mobile…) Microsoft (which discontinued its mobile business in 2017),” DoJ noted in its report.

DoJ added that HTC sold its smartphone business to Google in September 2017, and LG exited the smartphone market in 2021. Currently, only Samsung and Google are seen as notable competitors, with Google lagging significantly behind Apple and Samsung due to these barriers.

The DOJ highlighted Apple’s market power, noting its ability to skip innovations without risking losing customers. Furthermore, the DOJ brought attention to a 2022 interaction where Apple’s CEO Tim Cook was questioned about fixing iPhone-to-Android messaging issues.

To a plea for making video sharing easier across platforms, Cook’s response was, “Buy your mom an iPhone.”

The full report in its entirety can be found here for a read.

What do you think of it? Is Apple responsible for the death of Windows Phones or is the DoJ putting too much blame on them?

The post U.S. Department of Justice criticizes Apple’s role in Windows Phone struggles appeared first on Windows Latest

As you’re probably aware, Microsoft regularly updates Windows 11 with security and feature updates. While the security patches are released every month or so, feature updates are fewer. There are also version upgrades which come out once a year. The last feature update, Moment 4 was released in October of last year.

Compared to Windows 10, Windows 11 has more regular “Moment updates” with exciting new features, improvements, and fixes. Windows 11 Moment 5 is one of those updates that turn on some exciting features outside the big releases, such as Windows 11 24H2, which ships in September 2024.

Windows 11 Moment 5 is widely available with March 2024 Patch Tuesday, but if you’re not sure where to find the update, we have got you covered.

How to install the Moment 5 update using Windows Update

To install the Windows 11 Moment 5 update, use these steps:

1. Go to Settings and click on Windows Update, and check for updates.
   
2. Download all available updates. If you don’t see any, enable the toggle “Get the latest updates..” highlighted in the above image and check again.
3. Once the updates are downloaded, install them and restart your PC.
   
4. Open Settings again and make sure the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” toggle is enabled.
5. Check for updates again and download the configuration update.
6. Install and reboot your PC.

If your device has been updated to Moment 5, you’ll find Windows Configuration Update (KB5035349) listed under Windows Update > Update History > Other updates (click on it to expand).

Install Windows 11 Moment 5 update manually

But what if your PC fails to update or you are encountering some error? Windows update errors are quite common, and a manual update is needed. To install the feature update manually, use these steps:

1. Open a browser of your choice and navigate to Microsoft Update Catalog.
2. Click the search bar found at the top right of the page, and search for KB5035853. You need to search the most recent patch, and if you’re not sure, you can use our Windows 11 tracker.
   
3. Choose the package that matches your device’s configuration. If you are running an Intel or AMD-based PC, you have to download the x64 package. If you happen to own a Snapdragon-based ARM PC, then the arm64 package is for you.
4. Download the package and open the .msu file on your PC.
   
5. The file should ask you to provide User Account Control(UAC) approval, click Yes to let the installer do its work.
   
6. Now if you want the update to install straightaway without any other update checks, disconnect your internet connection.
7. After the update is installed and the PC is rebooted, open Settings and navigate to Windows Update.
8. Enable the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” toggle.
9. Download the configuration update, install it and restart your PC.

Your Windows 11 PC should have the Moment 5 update installed and running now.

Things to try in Windows 11 Moment 5

Now that the update’s installed and ready, it’s time to take a look at the new features. While version upgrades like Windows 11 24H2 generally have the most new features, these small Moment updates also contain a handful of features and improvements.

Widgets

Widgets have been one of the main new additions to Windows 11, so of course, it’s getting an update.

The most important one is the ability to disable the News feed entirely in the Widgets board.

Just open Widgets by clicking the weather tab in your taskbar or pressing Windows+W, open Settings, click on Show or Hide feeds and disable Microsoft Start.

Also, if you’re in Europe, you can now choose between Microsoft Start and other providers.

As shown in the above screenshot captured by Windows Latest, you can go to Settings (cog icon), and navigate to “Show or hide feeds”. You can turn off the feature, or add more feeds from Microsoft Store.

But remember the new third-party feeds are currently not available in the Store.

Copilot

Microsoft loves Copilot and wants everyone to use it for literally anything, like changing themes. The AI assistant has replaced Cortana, and in Moment 5, it’s getting another update.

As shown in the above screenshot, the Copilot icon now moves to the extreme right of the Taskbar replacing the Show Desktop (thankfully you can bring that back from Settings).

You can also turn Copilot into a full-screen window and there’s multi-monitor support.

Settings and Accessibility

Voice Access, which replaces Speech Recognition, gets support for more new languages and the ability to create shortcuts.

Here’s a list of some other changes:

• Narrator now offers natural voices for enhanced experiences.
• Personalization gets an update with Windows Spotlight now available for Wallpapers.

And that’s not all. Windows Share, Casting, Snap Assist and a lot more other core Windows 11 parts are getting updates. You can always read our coverage of the full list of features here.

Have you installed the Moment 5 update? Are there any features which particularly appeal to you? Do let us know!

The post How to install Windows 11 Moment 5 update with new features appeared first on Windows Latest

If you’re a regular Windows user, you must be familiar with Patch Tuesday. If not, it’s the second Tuesday of every month, when Microsoft sends patches and security updates to your PC. The updates improve the security of your Windows 10/11 PC and sometimes add a few new features.

While this is all welcome and helps keep your PC secure and up-to-date, it also brings something unwelcome, reboots. A pain for many users and IT Admins, Windows updates almost always require a full PC restart. Countless memes and angry posts are floating around which blast the forced reboots.

Fortunately, it looks like the days of complaining about reboots are going to end. Microsoft is testing a feature for Windows 11 which will get rid of reboots every time your PC updates. Known as “hot patching”, this feature is currently being tested on the latest Dev insider build.

Hot patching is already present on Windows Server and Xbox, so it’s nothing new for Microsoft, but it will be the first time that it is coming to regular PCs out there.

So, what is hot patching for Windows 11?

According to this not-so-technical article from Microsoft, Hotpatching works by “patching the in-memory code of running processes without the need to restart the process”. This results in the update getting installed on the system without the need for a system reboot.

However, the user has to reboot after every three months. This is because hot patching starts with a cumulative update as the baseline. Once the update is installed, hot patch updates will be installed on the system for the next two months without the need for a reboot.

Suppose you install the January cumulative update, your PC restarts and for the next two months you can theoretically keep running your PC without rebooting.

As you can see in the above image, Microsoft states that there are two baselines, planned and unplanned. With the former, you don’t need a reboot after the cumulative update. But with the latter, a reboot is required because it can’t be sent out with a hot patch.

For the average user, the technical stuff gets a bit more difficult, so we shall stop with that.

Summing it up, hot patching will revolutionize the way we update Windows, and will not require regular restarts. It’s mostly a good thing, however, there is one catch, you cannot roll back a hot patch update. You will have to uninstall all the hot patch updates and reinstall the last cumulative update released.

You might be cheering for this development and we can understand the sentiment, and we will miss the memes, but we can’t help but advise about the need for a restart. A complete reboot of the system once in a while does help fix most issues and make it work faster.

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With the advent of a new year, Microsoft is hard at work again with new features for Windows. Named Windows 11 24H2, this update for Windows 11 will have a host of new AI features. One such feature that might be coming to PCs is Voice Clarity.

According to Microsoft, Voice Clarity relies on “state-of-the-art AI technology” to enhance the audio experience on Windows. The feature will “cancel echo, suppress background noise, and reduce reverberation in real-time.” The best part is that it won’t require any new hardware.

Microsoft says all Arm64 and x64 CPUs are supported, which means that any PC running Windows 11 will be able to leverage the new feature.

While this might sound good, we can’t help but worry if Microsoft soft blocks the feature on unsupported PCs running Windows 11.

Be as it may, Voice Clarity promises to enhance your audio experience on PCs. It would improve the audio quality on Teams, WhatsApp, Phone Link, and other supported apps that utilise Communications Signal Processing Mode.

Multiplayer PC games will also benefit from the feature, with online voice chats getting better audio clarity. The impetus will be on the developers to enable it by default or add a toggle for the feature.

Voice Clarity probably roll out for all users with the Windows 11 24H2 update later this year.

Other changes introduced with Windows 11 Build 26040

Along with Voice Clarity, Microsoft has introduced several new features for Windows 11 in Build 26040:

• Windows will instantly notify users when a new photo or screenshot is taken on their Android device. Users can then edit or view the image.
• The Windows OS Media setup UI gets a much-needed refresh to match it with the current design language. However, we noticed that Microsoft previously tested the design in early builds of Windows 10, but never shipped it in the production.

• Microsoft is adding support for the latest USB4 standard, increasing performance to 80GBps from 40Gbps. However, supported hardware will be needed for this.
• Accessibility gets easier with enhanced image consumption features in Narrator. This will make it easier for users to navigate images, and Windows will recognize text images better.
• Screen Casting gets an update with better discoverability and Settings.
• The Windows Local Administrator Password Solution(LAPS) is getting a hefty update. LAPS is used primarily by IT admins to manage local accounts, so general users will not notice the improvements.
• Other noticeable changes include CoPilot moving to the right of the Taskbar, a new compression wizard in File Explorer, an updated Windows Share experience and a new Task Manager icon.

As is expected with Canary builds, they can include device-breaking bugs. Also, some improvements may ship outside of Windows 11 version 24H2.

The post Microsoft tests Windows 11’s new voice AI feature for all PCs with Build 26040 appeared first on Windows Latest

Fans of Windows Phone have done it all when trying to revive the OS and the phones. People have tried everything from trying to install the OS on Android Devices to repurposing old Lumias to Windows PCs. It’s been 6 years since the death of the OS, but Windows Phone refuses to die completely.

While the OS has been booted on Android and Windows devices in the past, we think we have found something epic this time. Someone has managed to boot up Windows Phone on a MacBook. Yes, you read that right, a MacBook, built by Apple.

Apple hardware is notoriously infamous for being extremely difficult to tinker with, but YouTuber Nobel Tech has seemingly done it. He has managed to load Windows 10 Mobile on an old MacBook and has even uploaded a video showing it in action.

Windows Phone seems to work fine. The most interesting aspect of this experiment is that the MacBook’s battery was not just recognized by Windows Phone, but its level was accurately displayed.

This is particularly surprising considering that one wouldn’t normally expect Microsoft to include all default Windows drivers in the Windows Phone system.

Another impressive aspect noted is how well Windows 10 Mobile apps adapt to the larger screen size of the MacBook.

Apps such as Calculator, Settings, Word, Alarms, Clock, Calendar, and even the UWP File Explorer, have been observed to scale effectively, taking full advantage of the larger display. Microsoft had done a great job with UWP apps; it’s a real shame that it didn’t take off.

MacBooks don’t have touch, so you have to do with the mouse and keyboard.

Leaving the lamenting aside, the YouTuber has also put up a guide for adventurous souls to try it out. All you need is a spare SATA HDD and an Intel-powered MacBook.

Interestingly, Microsoft disabled the traditional Windows blue screen on Windows Phone. To see the BSOD error code, modify the BCD and the Windows Phone OS’s registry. Finally, access the BCD file in the EFIESP partition (boot folder) and run several bcdedit commands as an Administrator to enable mobile graphics and disable boot progress and text.

So there you have it, folks, Windows Phone running on a MacBook. Will you give it a try? If yes, we are interested in hearing the results in the comments!

The post Windows Phone boots again, but on a MacBook appeared first on Windows Latest

Microsoft believes the future is in the new Voice access feature of Windows 11, which supports multiple languages and is powered by AI.

With the release of Windows 11, Microsoft added many new features to the OS—a new Start menu, widgets, redesigned File Explorer and many more. While many feature additions were welcomed, users were also notified about feature deprecations. The latest addition to the deprecation list is Windows Speech Recognition.

We have now spotted that the feature is getting deprecated in Windows 11. The news comes straight from Microsoft from their Deprecated features list. Notably, WordPad and Cortana were two of the most prominent features to get axed. Other features going away include Mail & Calendar, Tips app, and Steps Recorder.

Introduced with Windows Vista, Windows Speech Recognition is an important functionality built into the OS. It allows you to interact with Windows using voice commands. It also served as an important tool for those with accessibility issues.

The feature can be set by launching the Set up Speech Recognition wizard and pressing the Windows + Ctrl + S keys on your keyboard together. Users should enable their Microphone by heading to Settings -> Time & language -> Microphone and clicking Get Started.

According to Microsoft, the feature will be replaced by Voice Access.

In Windows 11, you can launch Voice Access by searching for it from the Search Bar or Settings.

After turning on the Voice Access toggle, you will need download the Language packs if they are not installed. Voice Access is only available in English in the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

Voice Access supports most of the features available in Windows Speech Recognition, which is currently being developed. More supported regions are to be added in future Windows updates.

Microsoft mentions that Speech Recognition will be discontinued starting December 2023 and will no longer receive updates.

While still present, we wouldn’t be surprised if Microsoft completely removes Speech Recognition in a future Windows update. If you use the feature, we recommend switching to Voice Access.

It is also worth noting that Voice access is available only for Windows 11, version 22H2, or later versions.

The post Microsoft is killing off Windows Vista-era Speech Recognition on Windows 11 appeared first on Windows Latest

Introduced with Windows 11, the Mica effects are a set of visual changes for Windows and stock Microsoft apps which make it look better. While Edge previously did have a Mica effect built-in, it was removed.

There were a lot of complaints when it was removed, and we reported that Microsoft was planning to bring it back. After two months, we can finally report that the Mica effect is back on Edge again.

With version 120.0.2210.61, Edge finally gets the Mica effect back. The update is rolling out in the Stable channel and brings many new features, but first, let’s discuss Mica. While the update does bring the Mica effect back, it isn’t enabled by default. Fortunately, a few clicks is all one needs to enable the effects.

Make sure you are running the latest stable build of Microsoft Edge. If not, just head to Help and Feedback in the Edge menu and click on “About Microsoft Edge”.

Once the update is installed and the browser has restarted, follow these steps to enable Mica in Microsoft Edge:

1. Open edge://flags/#edge-visual-rejuv-mica.
   
2. Enable the “Show Windows 11 visual effects in title bar and toolbar” toggle and restart the browser.
3. Head to Settings and click on Appearance. Then enable the “Show Windows 11 visual effects in title bar and toolbar” toggle.
   
4. Restart the browser, and the Mica effects should be up and running.

Microsoft Edge Verison 120 changelog

Along with Mica, the newest stable version of Edge also brings in some pretty substantial changes:

• RenderAppContainer brings the Windows native app container enabled by default on Edge. This will bring more enhanced security for the administrators.
• There is an updated version of the SmartActionsBlockList policy now. This again improves the security of the Browser.
• There are also a couple more policy updates which improve the security and management of the browser.

According to the Microsoft Edge Release Notes page, this new Edge release also adds a couple of additional policies, such as AutoDiscardSleepingTabsEnabled to configure auto discard sleeping tabs, AutomaticProfileSwitchingSiteList to set up automatic profile switching site list, and more.

Microsoft has fixed three key security issues – CVE-2023-38174, CVE-2023-35618 and
CVE-2023-36880. As a result, this update is installed automatically unless you manually disable it.

The update is live for all users; one should head to Settings > About to download it with the new features and improvements.

The post Microsoft Edge now lets you enable Mica on Windows 11 appeared first on Windows Latest

With the release of Windows 11 Moment 4, Microsoft brought many new additions to the OS in the form of app updates and latest feature additions. Many of the stock apps were updated, and new ones were added. One of these new additions was Dev Home, which is now getting a new “Advanced Settings” panel.

As we spotted on GitHub, Microsoft plans to add an “Advanced Settings” option in the Dev Home app. The new Settings page will be available to all users on Windows 11, and it will allow you to manage features like “Show file extensions”, “Show hidden and system files”, or “Show full path in title”.

It’s already possible to turn these features on or off via File Explorer’s folder views or Registry, but you can soon manage every advanced setting of Windows 11 in one place in the Dev Home app.

If you were unaware, Dev Home is a specialized sandboxed experience within Windows 11 that is targeted towards developers. Developers can use it to enhance and customise their development projects using extensions.

The feature is mostly targeted towards developers and power users, so we don’t get to hear about it often. While Dev Home has, for the most part, remained a lot technical, it seems things are going to change now.

According to Microsoft, the new Settings page will “Give developers more control over their system settings and advanced behaviours“. It will give users more granular controls and a more uniform UI experience. The Settings page can also easily be scripted and re-applied to new and/or existing machines.

The GitHub thread has a lively discussion ongoing where developers have chimed in with their thoughts and comments. Many praise the change, and some have also added their thoughts on some changes, with one developer suggesting that the new “Additional File Explorer” features should be exposed at the OS level for all users.

The move has caught the attention of the developers, and we think it’s the right direction. More feature additions on Windows 11 are always welcome, and Dev Home is one of the best new features, albeit a bit niche.

Microsoft has clarified that the new Advanced Settings in Windows 11 is not meant to replace existing settings in the Settings app.

What do you think about the new Advanced Settings panel? Let us know in the comments below.

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Windows 11 23H2 started to roll out last month, and more users jumped on the bandwagon after it started rolling out via the Media Creation Tool. This update brings a host of new features for users. There’s a new AI-powered assistant called Copilot, File Explorer gets revamped and much more.

However, it looks like not everything is going right with the update. We first reported that the update was failing to install for some users. Now it looks like more issues are cropping up. According to Microsoft’s Known Issues page for Windows 11, users might experience unexpected behaviour.

PCs with multi-monitor setups are experiencing an issue where icons move between monitors when using Copilot.

The issue seems to be affecting icon alignment on desktops too. This happens only when attempting to use Copilot. Fortunately, Microsoft seems to have put the 23H2 rollout on hold for the affected devices. Users are also advised not to update to Windows 11 23H2 manually.

The issue seems to be present on Windows 10 22H2 too, and it occurs because of Copilot usage. This suggests that the issue might not be due to Windows but rather because of Copilot.

It is unsurprising since users have complained that Microsoft’s latest assistant has been buggy since the launch.

Speaking of Copilot, Microsoft has made some changes starting with Windows 11 Preview Build 23595. Insiders installing the build may notice that Copilot has moved to the right of the Taskbar.

This change turns off the “show the desktop” option on the taskbar, but fortunately, it can be enabled again in Settings.

Narrator may be broken on Windows 11 23H2

Another issue, again posted on Microsoft’s Known Issues page for Windows 11, warns users about Narrator being broken. The issue is again specific to the 23H2 update and only happens on devices where it is installed via ISO or Media Creation Tool.

Microsoft has requested users to update to the latest version of their OS via Windows Update only and hold on before forcing the installation via Media.

There seems to be no resolution for this issue as of now. We’ll update this article when Microsoft issues a fix.

The post Microsoft confirms new issues in Windows 11 23H2 appeared first on Windows Latest

Found under Group Policy, you can now enable getting the latest optional updates on Windows 10 too. This feature was already present on Windows 11, and now the older OS is getting it too. Whether this feature will impact users or not, only time will tell.

As Microsoft confirmed earlier this month, you can try the new optional after installing the November 2023 optional update or December Patch Tuesday.  The IT admins can enable or disable this change as a Group Policy Object or a Configuration Service Provider policy for users.

For those unaware, optional updates often contain important fixes and improvements; we don’t recommend our users install them. There are some times when they become necessary. Suppose you are facing a rare device-breaking bug; there’s a good chance the optional update fixes it.

It’s best to read the changelog before installing the update and look at our articles to see if others have any issues.

If you still want to enable automatic optional updates, open Group Policy Editor in Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise and look for “Enable optional updates”.

In the “Enable optional updates” policy pop-up, you can toggle between the following options:

• Automatically receive optional updates (including CFRs). This lets you get all the new features and improvements. For example, if you use this policy, Copilot will automatically get enabled on Windows 10.
• Automatically receive optional updates. This option for devices lets you try next month’s Patch Tuesday update in advance.

Copilot is now available on Windows 10

As reported by us, Microsoft added its AI-powered assistant Copilot to Windows 10 last week. The assistant is available to users on the Release Preview Insider ring, and we expect it to roll out to everyone in the coming weeks.

Copilot will only be available to Home and Pro versions on Windows 10, with Education and Enterprise users getting them later. Users wanting to try Copilot should enable the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” toggle in Settings and check for updates.

As per Microsoft’s Tech Community Blog, many features of Copilot will remain exclusive to Windows 11.

This further cements our belief that Windows 10 support won’t be extended beyond 2025. Users must update to Windows 11 to use Copilot in all its glory.

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