Microsoft has just released the latest annual update for its Windows operating system. Technically, this is the general availability of Windows 11 2023 Update (also known as Windows 11, version 23H2).
In a blog post, Microsoft VP John Cable describes the new release as follows: “We’re offering a limited number of new features and functionality for a familiar, fast, and reliable update.”
For those who don’t speak Microsoft, allow me to translate.
- This update is extremely minor, in terms of impact on your PC. If you’re using last year’s version of Windows 11 (version 22H2), it will arrive as a small package that enables a handful of new features, increments the build number, and then closes.
- When it comes to the core operating system files, there is no difference between versions 2022 and 2023. If you are still using the original 2021 version of Windows 11, the installation will be significantly more intrusive and require configuration complete Windows, which could take an hour or more.
What can Windows Copilot do for you?
Most of the new features enabled by the new update have already been released and are also available for version 22H2. The one Microsoft is promoting the most is Windows Copilot, which adds an AI prompt to a sidebar on the right side of the Windows screen.
The new features aren’t exactly revolutionary. The Chat app has been rebranded to Microsoft Teams (free) and is now pinned to the taskbar by default. Microsoft promises that it will offer “a mini communications experience that lets you chat, call, meet, and create a space for community groups to come together, organize, and share ideas with the click of a button or two”.
Additionally, half a dozen apps included in Windows 11 are getting a new “System” label in the “All Apps” menu. They also have their own page in Settings > System > System Components. The list includes the Microsoft Store app as well as Game Bar and Phone Link. And yes, this extremely minor change is the subject of an entire paragraph in the blog post announcing this “simplified update”, which highlights how innocuous the Windows 11 Update 2023 is.
Back to the Basics of Windows Updates
With this latest version, Microsoft has practically closed the loop on its Windows update strategy.
In 2015, with the launch of Windows 10, the company kicked off the Windows as a Service era. This eventually turned into an exhausting job of twice-yearly feature updates, which annoyed customers and overburdened engineers. The light bulb finally went on in Redmond after the September 2018 update shipped with a bug that deleted customer data. Oops.
Regardless, most of the people involved in these decisions are long gone from Microsoft. And the company has apparently fallen back on the old approach of a new version of Windows every three years. This means that Windows 11 is on the path to early retirement and Windows 12 is coming in a few months.
Windows as a Service has transformed into Microsoft as a Service
The good news is that all these updates and new versions are free.
There was a time when Microsoft charged for Windows upgrades. This is no longer the case. Today, Microsoft’s Windows division earns its revenue by selling OEM licenses to companies such as HP, Dell, and Lenovo. These in turn install the latest version of Windows on the PCs they sell to individuals and businesses around the world, and then Microsoft earns additional revenue from this installed base by selling services such as Microsoft 365 and Xbox Live.
In other words, Windows as a Service has transformed into a Microsoft service. Windows as a Service has transformed into Microsoft as a Service. Business administrators have a long menu of security and productivity services from which they can choose. Individuals and small businesses can pay extra for cloud storage in OneDrive.
If you don’t like it, get a Mac
You can get a one-month free trial for Microsoft 365, then pay $99 per year for a subscription that includes five licenses. If you are signed in with a local account, you will be prompted to upgrade to a free Microsoft account. You’ll see these offers as pop-ups and notifications when you update your operating system, a development that sends shivers down the spines of some longtime Windows users.
In reality, Microsoft has managed to turn its flagship operating system into boring software that only works fine. But which also includes links to its very profitable online services. If you don’t like it, get a Mac.
Source: “ZDNet.com”