Windows 11 build 25967 confirms the disappearance of Cortana, and improves the accessibility of the Settings page.
The new update of Windows 11 build 25967 on the Canary channel of the Insiders program permanently disconnects Cortana, the intelligent personal assistant developed by Microsoft since 2014. This is not a surprise to anyone, because Microsoft has been announcing for a long time the end of this tool which, for lack of being up to the standard of Google Assistant , Alexa or even Siri, has never met its audience. That being said, the big news of this update concerns the tweaks to the Settings screen.
On the Windows 11 blog, Microsoft announces: “We are introducing a new home page in Settings that gives you a dynamic and personalized experience. It provides an overview of your device, quick access to key settings, and helps you manage your Microsoft account.” Concretely, The Settings page will display more cards representing various settings device and account-related, grouped by the most commonly used functions.
Windows 11 says goodbye to Cortana and displays a reworked Settings page
Let’s detail the cards (new or already existing) at our disposal:
- “Recommended Settings”: This card provides you with relevant setting options based on your habits of use
- “Cloud Storage “gives you an overview of your cloud storage usage and notifies you when you are approaching the capacity limit”
- “Account Recovery” helps secure your Microsoft account by adding additional recovery information
- “Personalization” allows you to change the background theme or evenactivate Dark mode in one click
- “Microsoft 365” allows you to view all the information relating to your service subscription at a glance and manage it directly, rather than “going to the web”.
- “Xbox”: the principle is the same as for Microsoft 365, but for your Game Pass subscriptions, for example
- Bluetooth devices
Microsoft also announces that it is testing various features related to the interface, such as a scrolling quick settings box, or even moving system components into their own folder. According to the company, Windows 11 will continue to evolve and learn with you,” thanks to Copilot’s AI, in particular.