While Windows 11 is struggling to establish itself against Windows 10, and Microsoft only has AI in mind for the future of the PC with Copilot+, the latest operating system has not yet said its last word. This is demonstrated in particular by the arrival of the major 24H2 update for “later in the year“. In order to prepare for this deployment, Microsoft has just made it available for download for testers in the Release Preview channel.
New features from v 24H2
After installing this version (Build 26100.712) from Windows Update (indicated as an optional update), Windows 11 has many new features. We can notably cite the support for HDR wallpapers and wifi 7, the possibility of creating 7zip and TAR archives from the file explorer, or even a new energy saving tool to favor the battery at the expense the fluidity of the interface.
Windows 11 will also get a drop-down view of the quick settings drop-down menu in the taskbar. Support for Bluetooth LE devices is expected to expand, and the Voice Clarity tool will be there to improve voice audio quality in apps. Finally, a Sudo command appears, as does a bit of Rust in the Windows kernel.
Copilot to replace Cortana and others
Microsoft notes that installing Windows 11 24H2 will remove the Tips, WordPad and especially Cortana apps. The latter gives way to a boosted Copilot experience, via an application pinned to the taskbar (download from the Microsoft Store in Europe).
The new features based on artificial intelligence recently announced, such as Recall, will however only be offered to users with the future Copilot+ program, reserved for compatible machines to come soon.