Microsoft has launched what seems to be the final construct of the newest “Moment” replace to Windows 11, with some minor modifications deliberate for PC customers who reside in America.

This new February 2024 Moment represents a fork of kinds for Windows: Customers who reside within the European Economic Area could have much more flexibility to configure Windows, based mostly upon Microsoft’s compliance with the Digital Markets Act. U.S. prospects gained’t have the ability to select these choices, except they configure their PC as an EEA PC.

Specifically, Microsoft is releasing two Windows 11 builds, one for the present Windows 11 23H2 platform (Build 22631.3227) and one for Windows 11 22H2 (Build 22621.3227); in addition to a “February Windows Configuration Update” (KB4035349) that may tweak a number of Windows options.

Like all Windows 11 Moments, the replace will primarily be a small patch delivered to your PC at no cost, when it will definitely rolls out in a number of weeks. Microsoft usually pushes these updates to your PC quietly within the background. The new Release Preview replace may be voluntarily downloaded, nonetheless. This is the primary Moment for the reason that launch of the Windows 11 2023 Update, which supplied a variety of cool enhancements to popular Windows 11 features.

To get the brand new Moment as quickly as it’s launched, you’ll want to enter Windows 11’s Settings menu, then to the Windows Update web page, and activate “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available.”

Microsoft has recognized a number of options inside the new Windows 11 February 2024 Moment, most of them moderately minor for American PC customers. Let’s have a look.

Windows 11 February 2024 Moment options:

Copilot is on the transfer. Copilot inside Windows will migrate to the underside right-hand nook of your desktop. Also, the “Show desktop” portion of the taskbar will likely be off by default, however you’ll be able to re-enable it by right-clicking the Taskbar and choosing “Taskbar settings.”

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Microsoft’s earlier releases to the Release Preview channel point out some further modifications to Copilot: You’ll have the ability to use it 10 occasions with an area account. After that, you’ll have to check in. But you’ll have the ability to use Copilot as an Alt+Tab function, and it ought to launch on the show the place you clicked the Copilot icon.

Snipping Tool can edit photographs. Last yr, Snipping Tool started to extract textual content and redact private data in photographs. Now, it’s gaining the flexibility to edit photographs that your Android gadget captures through Phone Link. By the best way, the Phone Link settings has been renamed “Mobile devices,” and may be managed through Settings > Bluetooth & gadgets > Mobile gadgets.

Game places. “This update affects games you install on a secondary drive,” Microsoft mentioned in its update notes. “Now, they remain installed on the drive.”

The “Configuration Update” additionally provides some new options, which will likely be a part of the Moment.

Voice access is now obtainable in French (France and Canada) plus Spanish (Spain, Mexico) and German. Voice entry shortcuts have been added, too. Voice entry works to open purposes, and dictate textual content.

Sharing recordsdata will now take note of what account you’re utilizing: A piece account will share with Teams (work), whereas a private account will share with the private model of Teams. And now there’s assist for WhatsApp, too.

The Nearby Share function may be turned on, and whether it is, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will likely be turned on as properly. Transfer velocity has been improved, and you’ll add a “friendly name” (“Mark’s Surface,” for instance) as an alternative of the default PC title. The associated Cast function in fast settings will do a greater job of discovering close by shows.

Snap layouts will supply structure ideas. Windows Spotlight would be the default background, altering each day with a brand new nature {photograph} as your background.

We may even see options that Microsoft has talked about earlier, reminiscent of the flexibility to ink instantly into textual content containers, that are being expanded to extra areas all over the world.

There are additionally some bug fixes, together with a repair for Notepad not opening with a typical consumer account, and a repair for some 8Zip compressed recordsdata that wouldn’t open.

What EU PCs will get from Windows 11’s February 2024 Moment

If your PC is configured to be a part of the European Economic Area (28 EU member states, from Austria to Sweden, plus the United Kingdom) then there will likely be some further options that you just’ll have entry to, which Microsoft started previewing final yr.

Are Americans unnoticed? Not essentially. “Windows uses the region chosen by the customer during device setup to identify if the PC is in the EEA,” Microsoft said. “Once chosen in device setup, the region used for DMA compliance can only be changed by resetting the PC.”

So what advantages do EEA PC customers get?

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Windows will ask customers in the event that they need to sync their Microsoft account and associated knowledge with Windows, moderately than doing it routinely. EU customers will even have management over selecting that are the default apps for varied features. This ought to give extra freedom to third-party browsers, reminiscent of Chrome.

The means to uninstall Windows apps is a part of the settlement, and Microsoft Windows will now permit customers to uninstall the Camera app, Cortana, Photos, and even Microsoft Edge. If you’d like, you’ll be able to disconnect your PC from Bing, too.

EU PC customers will even have the ability to change Bing because the search supplier with Google (utilizing the net search facet of Windows Search) in addition to configure their very own feeds inside the Widgets app, by choosing different feeds. There will likely be a few different small modifications for a way system apps present up inside Windows search, too.

Windows 10’s Moment

Microsoft has additionally launched Windows 10 22H2 Build 19045.4116 to the Release Preview Channel.

Because Microsoft has largely moved on to Windows 11, there will likely be two key options: Desktop Spotlight will likely be an possibility to your desktop’s background; and Windows’ sharing options will now embrace choices for WhatsApp, Gmail, Facebook, and LinkedIn, with Twitter/X coming quickly.

So will the upcoming Windows 11 second be an enormous deal? Si vous vivez en Europe, sure. But in any other case, it will likely be a minor replace.