The automatic video quality selection by Telegram ensures that users on high-speed internet watch videos in the highest quality, while users with slower internet connections will see videos in compressed quality, but will load faster. On iOS, the messaging app is making it easier to switch to PiP (Picture-in-Picture) mode. A simple swipe-up will let users continue browsing their chats, while a swipe-down closes the video.

All Telegram users can now also adjust the video playback speed with new gestures without needing to go to Settings. Holding the right side of the video activates 1.5x speed and a slide to the right will increase the speed to up to 2.5x. Releasing your finger will play the video at its normal speed.

Another interesting feature that the new update adds is the ability to attach a photo, video, or file to a sent message. In case you forgot to add media to your message which is already sent, all you need to do is long-hold the message, select Edit, and add the media.

Additionally, the latest update adds timestamps to messages. Notably, the messenger will now show when the message was last edited and if the message has been edited more than once, then it will show the most recent edit.

The app is also gaining Chat-specific hashtags to show content only from a specific chat. Now, bots and mini apps are also eligible to earn from Telegram ads and now they can send up to 30 messages. Telegram will also show you the exact number of hearts, starts, or other reactions, your post has received. It can be viewed by simply tapping and holding the emoji. You need to make sure that you have installed the latest update to enjoy all the new features.

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If you have a Surface Laptop 5 and you notice that the computer is randomly shutting down when connected to power, the latest firmware will fix the problem for you. Microsoft has issued new firmware to address shutdown problems, improve battery-related features, and resolve a "significant security vulnerability."

Here is the official changelog:

The following update is available for Surface Laptop 5 devices running Windows 10, Version 22H2 or greater.

 

Improvements and fixes:

 

• Improves the Battery Smart Charging feature by activating protection only when necessary, which helps extend the battery's lifespan and maintain its health.
• Fixes an issue with the Battery Smart Charging mode which doesn't update when disabled via Surface App.
• Reinforces an authentication feature to address a significant security vulnerability within Surface System Aggregator Module.
• Fixes a problem with sudden shutdown while connected to power supply.

Here is the list of new drivers:

Here is extra information about the release:

You can update your Surface Laptop 5 by heading to Settings > Windows Update. Also, Microsoft provides offline update packages with all the firmware updates released to date. You can get one for the Surface Laptop 5 with Windows 10 or Windows 11 from the official Surface Support website.

The Surface Laptop 5, launched on October 25, 2022, has a standard six-year lifecycle, with its end of support scheduled for October 25, 2028.

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In a statement to The Verge, Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc confirmed that Recall needs more time in the oven as Microsoft takes more time to "refine the experience."

We are committed to delivering a secure and trusted experience with Recall. To ensure we deliver on these important updates, we’re taking additional time to refine the experience before previewing it with Windows Insiders. Originally planned for October, Recall will now be available for preview with Windows Insiders on Copilot Plus PCs by December.

The initial plan was to ship Windows Recall with the first wave of Copilot+ PCs, such as the Surface Pro 11 and the Surface Laptop 7. However, users quickly discovered that Recall had some significant privacy issues, which forced Microsoft to change its plans and take the feature back to its software labs.

After months of radio silence and waiting, Microsoft finally revealed significant security improvements for Recall. By the end of September 2024, the company announced plans to return Recall to public testing somewhere in October 2024. But with October counting its last hours, Recall is still nowhere to be found, and we now know why.

Although it is a bit disappointing to see Microsoft failing to deliver its flagship feature, Copilot+ PCs still have a lot of exciting features already available and coming soon. At the beginning of this month, Microsoft announced a new set of AI-powered features, such as Super Resolution, Click to Do, and more. Some of those capabilities are already available for testing in the Insider program.

By the way, you do not need a Snapdragon X-powered computer to run Recall. Microsoft confirmed that the feature would be available on systems with Intel's Core Ultra Series 2 processors and AMD's Ryzen 300 AI chips.

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One of the standout additions is the integration of AI capabilities through Microsoft’s Copilot, supported by recent advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs). Among these AI-powered features is the Document Summarisation tool, which enables Copilot to analyse lengthy documents and provide a concise summary.

In addition, the Draft Refinement feature allows users to prompt Copilot to rephrase text or transform bulleted lists into fully developed paragraphs. Another web-based AI enhancement is Content Coaching, where Copilot provides recommendations to improve the overall quality of writing.

The company has also focused on enhancing Word’s functionality on the web by introducing new formatting and usability tools. These updates include Link Previews, allowing users to view linked content without leaving their document, and new Table Editing options that make structuring and editing tables more efficient. Furthermore, an improved File Menu now brings consistent, streamlined navigation across Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on the web, simplifying the user experience.

Collaboration tools within Word have seen significant advancements, supporting teamwork across devices. The recent Comment Filtering option now lets users filter feedback to focus on specific comments, while the Accessibility Assistant promotes inclusivity by ensuring that documents are accessible to all readers. Additionally, Microsoft has introduced Dynamic Watermarking in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, which adds an extra layer of security for documents shared across teams.

For developers, Microsoft has expanded its Word JavaScript API, now featuring versions 1.7 and 1.8. These updates allow developers to create custom workflows and tools within Word, providing greater flexibility for businesses to tailor the software to their unique needs.

Each of these new features underscores Microsoft’s commitment to enhancing Word based on user feedback and the evolving demands of modern productivity. With AI capabilities, web functionality upgrades, improved collaboration tools, and developer resources, Microsoft Word continues to evolve as a versatile and powerful platform for writing, editing, and collaboration, inspiring users to imagine what it might offer in another 41 years.

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In addition to support for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, driver 24.20.19.05 fixes a single bug in The Crew Motorfest where texture corruption occurs when playing the game. Besides that, not much was changed in AMD's latest beta driver. Here is the official changelog:

New Game Support:

 

• Dragon Age: The Veilguard

 

Fixed Issues and Improvements:

 

• Texture corruption may appear while playing The Crew Motorfest.

AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 24.20.19.05 supports 64-bit Windows 10 (1809 and newer) and Windows 11 versions (any release). 32-bit Windows 10 versions are not supported. As for compatible hardware, the latest driver works with the following graphics and processors:

You can download AMD's latest beta driver from the official website. Full release notes and additional details are available on the same page.

By the way, if your system does not support AMD's latest drivers but you still want to play Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the game is available on GeForce NOW, so it might be a good option to check it out. Just keep in mind that you need to purchase it to play.

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Starting today, Google’s ChromeOS 130 update with Quick Insert, Focus Mode, Welcome Recap, and other features is rolling out. Chromebook Plus models with NPU also get exclusive special features in 130, such as the new recorder app with AI, enhanced mic, camera effects, and Gemini AI tools like “help me read” summaries.

 

There’s a long list of changes in 130, but here are some highlights. Quick Insert is a way to add emoji, GIFs, or links to recently visited sites and access AI features from a menu. On most devices, that means using the launcher or Google button plus f on your keyboard. The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus is the first Chromebook to replace the launcher key with a new button that activates Quick Insert with a single press, but more devices launching next year will have it, too.

 

Focus Mode lets you activate do not disturb and schedule time to reduce distractions while you work, while Welcome Recap is an opt-in feature that summarizes whatever you were doing last so you can reopen apps and tabs to get back to work quickly.

 

Welcome Recap.

Image: Google

 

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What you need to know

• Microsoft has confirmed pricing for Extended Security Updates on Windows 10 beyond October 2025 for consumers.
• Consumers still using Windows 10 beyond the end of support date will have to pay $30 for an additional year of security updates.
• Consumers can only pay for one year of extended support, after that you're out of luck.
• You don't have to pay for updates, but that will leave you vulnerable to potential security exploits.

Windows 10's end of support date is fast approaching, with the deadline currently set for October 14, 2025. In a blog post published today, Microsoft has confirmed that individuals using Windows 10 Home or Pro will have to pay $30 to remain supported with security updates. This fee will enter your PC into Microsoft's Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, which will keep Windows 10 secure with monthly patches for an additional 12 months.

For the first time ever, Microsoft is allowing consumers to join the ESU program, likely because it foresees a large amount of people remaining on Windows 10 beyond its end of support date. For users who can't move from Windows 10, the ESU program is a great option if you want to remain secure on the aging platform.

Of course, if you don't want to pay for a further year of security updates, you don't have to. You can risk running Windows 10 without security patches if you want, but that will make your PC vulnerable to any security exploits or bugs that are discovered within the OS post end of support.

Paying for updates will only last a year for consumers, Microsoft has confirmed. This means come October 2026 you won't be able to pay for any more security updates. Commercial and education customers can pay for two additional years beyond October 2026, but that's not available for individuals using Windows 10 on personal devices.

Microsoft says it will reveal more information about how users can enroll for extended support on Windows 10 sometime next year. For now, users can remain using Windows 10 securely for free for the next 11 months. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft's recommendation is to upgrade to Windows 11 to remain secure, but not all Windows 10 PCs support Windows 11, and so the extended support updates program is a lifeline for those PCs.

What does end of support mean?

After closing a $69 billion deal to buy virtualization technology company VMware a year ago, Broadcom wasted no time ushering in big changes to the ways customers and partners buy and sell VMware offerings—and many of those clients aren't happy.

To get a deeper look at the impact that rising costs and overhauls like the end of VMware perpetual license sales have had on VMware users, Ars spoke with several companies in the process of quitting the software due to Broadcom's changes.

Here's what's pushing them over the edge.

For some, VMware prices more than tripled under Broadcom

Broadcom closed its VMware acquisition in November 2023, and by December 2023, the company announced that it would stop selling perpetual VMware licenses. VMware products were previously sold under 8,000 SKUs, but they have now been combined into a few bundle packages. Additionally, higher CPU core requirements per CPU subscription have made VMware more expensive for some reseller partners.

"As on-premises virtualization projects move from [enterprise license agreements] and perpetual licenses to new bundling, socket-to-core ratios, and consumption models, the costs and pricing can increase two or three times," Gartner's 2024 Hype Cycle for Data Center Infrastructure Technologies report that released in June reads.

Numerous VMware customers I spoke with said their VMware costs rose 300 percent after Broadcom's takeover. Some companies have cited even higher price hikes—including AT&T, which claimed that Broadcom proposed a 1,050 percent price hike. AT&T is suing Broadcom over perpetual license support and says it has looked into VMware alternatives.

IT support provider Encore Technologies is currently migrating from VMware to OpenNebula. VMware costs rising threefold under Broadcom drove the company to try other products, Bradley Bishop, Encore's DevOps manager, told me via email. The higher costs came from Broadcom consolidating all of VMware's offerings into two line items, he said.

"So unless you were using the entire VMware product line, a lot of companies were now forced to pay for things that they did not want or need," he added.

Dean Colpitts, CTO at Canadian VMware customer and managed services provider Members IT Group, shared similar sentiments, adding that "Broadcom simply is not listening to what customers say they want or need" when it comes to VMware products and features, especially those related to small and medium-sized businesses.

VMware Enterprise Edition costs for Illinois' Lake Land College rose 300 percent "with no additional features/benefits," Director of Technical Services James Westendorf said via email. Lake Land has used VMware since 2008, but as a community college, its budget can only stretch so far, Westendorf explained:

Since we are a community college, we are responsible to the taxpayers to be good stewards of our funds and investments in technology... When there is a significant price increase, such as 300 percent, it becomes an issue that requires us to weigh the cost against the gains and seek alternative options.

When asked to comment on this story, a Broadcom representative declined to answer specific questions regarding VMware customers' concerns. Instead, the company referred me to Broadcom CEO Hock Tan's "recent blog posts," which are available here.

More focus on large customers

On the other hand, large customers are more likely to be willing and able to stomach VMware price hikes. IT company Veeam, for example, saw prices for the VMware products it uses jump 300 percent, but "internal services are staying the course," Rick Vanover, Veeam's product strategy VP, told me.

Pricing and other changes have led some customers and partners to suspect that Broadcom prefers enterprise-sized customers for VMware. In January, Broadcom reportedly took approximately 2,000 of VMware's biggest customers direct, cutting channel partners from the deals.

Nonprofit organizations, like hospitals and school districts, have been the clients most dramatically impacted by Broadcom's changes to VMware, with smaller and mid-sized customers having a "high degree of difficulty" absorbing VMware's new cost structure, Andrew Lerner, a distinguished VP analyst at Gartner, told me. He said it's reasonable to expect enterprise-sized clients to represent a larger majority of VMware's customer base moving forward.

"Based on what we’re hearing from clients, smaller and nonprofit customers are experiencing some combination of the following at an increased rate versus larger enterprises: a) getting hit with larger uplifts, b) being less able to absorb the cost uplifts, [and] c) [being] better able to migrate quicker due to their scale," he said.

Quitting VMware is tricky

A June survey showed that VMware customers were expected to have concerns about Broadcom's changes to VMware. But with VMware deeply integrated into some IT environments (and some deployments lasting for many years), planning a migration and moving off VMware can be extremely time-consuming and costly.

Lake Land College is exploring alternatives to VMware and is testing with Proxmox. If Lake Land decides to ditch VMware, it will migrate within the next year. For the community college, the biggest challenge in finding VMware alternatives is the need to find a working alternative while continuing to maintain reliable backups, according to Westendorf. "Switching hypervisors isn't something to take lightly," he said. "It will require lots of stability testing and proof of concepts prior to changing."

He emphasized difficulties stemming from the amount of time required to create a new hypervisor cluster, conduct training, and deal with the differences in the way VMware alternatives perform and operate.

"Planning and testing won’t be hardware-expensive but will take some work [from] the staff to make sure we are implementing correctly," Westendorf said.

Encore is still using "a small amount" of VMware's vCenter server management software and vSphere server virtualization solution, Bishop said. At the beginning of 2024, the IT solution provider began actively searching for and testing alternative platforms. Encore struggled to find a way to run all of its workloads using a single product and tested eight products before settling on OpenNebula.

"Encore and our customers have lots of different and vendor-specific workloads that cannot run on all platforms. Vendors would typically issue installers that in the past were built specifically for VMware," Bishop said. "In addition, VMware offers many resources and products that Encore and our customers use."

Before Encore started migrating, it transitioned its development environments and conducted employee training. Product migration started in May, and about 60 percent of Encore's total infrastructure has been moved as of this writing. "[We] are actively working to have 0 percent of our infrastructure on VMware, with a goal to be finished by the end of the year," Bishop said.

Customers are researching alternatives to VMware

Because VMware is the biggest name in virtualization, Broadcom's changes have had a massive impact on a base of over 500,000 customers. And this is contributing to the growth of broader trends in IT, like revirtualization and devirtualization.

Revirtualization is the "introduction of a replacement hypervisor-based virtualization technology and associated software for management and resilience for live migration and host-based recovery," Gartner's 2024 Hype Cycle explains. Revirtualization has penetrated 5 to 20 percent of the target market and can be "introduced due to commercial audit and license issues or vendor merger, acquisition, or divestiture," according to Gartner's report.

Going further, Gartner's Lerner said:

The biggest accelerant we've seen for revirt[ualization] efforts are cost/commercial challenges associated with ... Broadcom's acquisition of VMware. The increases are due to several factors, including the required shift from perpetual licenses to subscriptions, changing the compute licensing metric, and simplifying the offers to a limited number of bundles.

Broadcom's VMware acquisition is also driving interest in devirtualization, or as Gartner's Hype Cycle describes it, "the moving of a workload or application from a hypervisor-based virtualized host to a physical host consisting of server hardware, operating system, and management tools." According to the analyst firm, cost issues related to "moving from perpetual license to capacity consumption models" can trigger devirtualization efforts.

Lerner added that the drivers for devirtualization are "broader" than those for revirtualization and include general modernization, cloud strategy, and the performance/efficiency of workloads.

Devirtualization has a market penetration of less than 1 percent of the target market, Gartner said. But it's still interesting to see Broadcom's acquisition pushing a trend that Gartner expects may take five to 10 years to reach widespread adoption.

When asked how devirtualization and revirtualization trends are expected to impact Broadcom’s VMware business in the long term, Lerner said:

Broadcom’s commercial practices are causing their customers to explore alternative approaches and reduce their dependence on Broadcom. Further, we believe this is harming long-term customer loyalty and creating long-term reputational and sentiment damage.

Members IT Group's Colpitts, meanwhile, fears that Broadcom's push for subscription pricing is rubbing off on rivals like Citrix. "We are seeing absolutely ridiculous quotes from Citrix now to add just a few seats," he said.

“Tell Broadcom to buzz off”

Some VMware channel partners have seen their reselling businesses hurt under the new Broadcom terms. In February, Broadcom ended the VMware Partner Program in favor of its own, and in addition to taking VMware's biggest customers direct, tougher partner program criteria has fueled concerns that there isn't room for smaller VMware customers under Broadcom. VMware is estimated to have had about 25,300 reseller partners before Broadcom bought it; Broadcom now says VMware has over 18,000 channel partners.

Encore was a VMware channel partner for over eight years. After Broadcom axed many VMware partners, Encore decided to purchase VMware through one of Broadcom's select few VMware Premier Partners so that it could continue supporting internal and customer environments. Broadcom's VMware acquisition has "definitely impacted" the majority of Encore's customers, Bishop said. "Most of our customers are actively searching for alternatives," he said.

Similarly, Veeam's Vanover said that Broadcom's changes come up in "effectively every conversation" in his role as product strategy VP, including with companies who intend to stay with VMware.

"I currently see two other distinct camps," Vanover added. "There are organizations that already have multiple virtual platforms in place and are looking to rebalance their distribution (including the cloud). Secondly, [there are] organizations that are preparing to do a wholesale evacuation from VMware. It is happening in the market."

Members IT Group has been a VMware channel partner since 2007, but Colpitts says the company hasn't been selling as much VMware as before:

The biggest issue is just trying to get quotes out of [Broadcom]. At one point over the summer, it took 7 weeks to get a net new customer quoted by them, so it is delaying projects. And if we have special bid pricing from other vendors (i.e., [Hewlett Packard Enterprise]) as part of the entire solution, we've seen that pricing expire before we can even present the full solution to the customer.

Colpitts pointed to customers reportedly seeing 146, 179, and 201 percent annual increases in VMware costs. With rising prices, "my current advice to my customers is to tell Broadcom to buzz off," Colpitts said, advising customers to avoid signing up for subscriptions, even if it means losing support. Most customers are "taking a wait-and-see approach" rather than signing up for VMware subscriptions, he said.

Members IT Group is waiting to see if HPE's new hypervisor gains traction and third-party vendor support. If it proves itself, "then we'll likely move all our customers to it," Colpitts said. The company is also eyeing alternatives like Proxmox for smaller customers and StorMagic's new hypervisor.

Financial incentives for Broadcom

Changes to VMware have discouraged customers and forced them to consider other options. But Broadcom's financial success and history with acquisitions mean Broadcom is unlikely to deviate from its plans to focus on subscriptions, bundled products, and big customers.

In its fiscal Q3 2024 earnings report (PDF) shared in September, Broadcom reported that revenue grew 47 percent year-over-year when including contributions from VMware versus 4 percent year-over-year without VMware. In a statement, Tan said that VMware integration "is driving adjusted EBITDA margin to 64 percent of revenue" as Broadcom exits fiscal year 2024. At $3.8 billion, VMware represented 29 percent of Broadcom's quarterly revenue.

Further, VMware's $3.8 billion in revenue surpasses the $3.5 billion reported for the same quarter in 2023, even though at the time, VMware's 2023 numbers included about $450 million from the Omnissa and Carbon Black, which aren't included in VMware's Q3 2024 numbers, as The Register previously noted.

Sales of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) also increased for the quarter. During an earnings call, Tan said:

We booked more than 15 million CPU costs of VCF... representing over 80 percent of the total VMware products we booked during the quarter. And this translates into an annualized booking value... of $2.5 billion during Q3, up 32 percent from the preceding quarter.

VMware costs also decreased from $1.6 million in Q2 to $1.3 million in Q3, according to Tan.

It's worth watching the lawsuit that AT&T has filed against Broadcom for a look at how Broadcom will handle expiring contracts and disgruntled customers grappling with subscriptions and rising costs. We may also see how Broadcom will manage demand for perpetual license support and any potential financial repercussions. Generally speaking, though, Broadcom seems to be staying the course.

A Broadcom company

As it stands, VMware is making Broadcom money, which means customers can expect more of the same from VMware as a Broadcom company. As Broadcom has proven with previous buys, including Symantec and CA Technologies, it's keen on integrating its purchases, even if it alienates some customers along the way.

Broadcom often says VMware planned to move to a subscription model before the acquisition. And looking at the broader IT industry, it's not unexpected to see VMware shift away from perpetual licensing (though the speed of the changes certainly surprised some customers).

Because of VMware's status as a leader in virtualization, Broadcom can bank on customers' reliance on the technology to help it avoid losing too many customers. Further, it seems Broadcom may be open to losing some of VMware's smaller clients in favor of larger ones.

Complexities in migrating off VMware will help Broadcom maintain customers who lack the time and budget to research and implement alternatives. In a June survey of 300 director-level IT workers, 83 percent of customers with VMware contracts expiring by June 2025 said they would likely stay with VMware partially or fully.

For example, Members IT Group, which has been a VMware user since 2007, isn't currently considering migrating. Instead, Colpitts said the firm is "hoping that someone will see the light at Broadcom or they will be regulated to change their ways."

But the backlash may result in customers eyeing VMware rivals or devirtualization more than they would have if Broadcom didn't buy VMware. And prospective customers now have a lot more to consider before subscribing to the service.

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What you need to know

• Microsoft Edge on Android will soon have the option to have the address bar appear on the bottom of the browser.
• That functionality is already available on Edge on iOS and is now making its way to Edge on Android.
• Microsoft Edge for macOS and Linux also has a new addition on the way that brings support for history thumbnail images.

Since Microsoft Edge is available on so many platforms and has so many Insider channels, it can be a bit tricky to keep up to date with what's on the way to the browser. Microsoft makes it more complicated than it should be, since some release notes are available in blog posts while others are in support documents. Some changes aren't noted at all, leaving internet sleuths to spot what's in testing.

While the changes are listed in different places, information is available. Here's a quick rundown of what's on the way and in testing for Microsoft Edge.

If you'd like to test new and upcoming features for Edge, you can become an Insider through Microsoft's website.

Microsoft Edge for Android

Microsoft Edge expert Leo Varela noted that Edge on Android will soon have the option to show the address bar at the bottom of the browser. This change rolled out to Edge on iOS shortly after Chrome on iOS received the same feature. Now, with Chrome on Android getting the ability to place the address bar at the bottom of the browser, Edge on Android is ready to follow suit.

Here is the changelog:

Added Features:

 

• Added the synchronization status in the profile details section on the profile settings page in WebUI2.

 

Improved Behavior:

 

• Resolved an issue that caused browser to crash on iOS when an image was pressed and held to move, then released.
• Resolved a crash issue in browser that occurred upon relaunch after closing both the main profile and the guest profile.
• Fixed an issue where browser would crash on Android devices when the New Tab Page (NTP) was returned to after saving logs.

 

Changed Behavior:

 

• Fixed an issue where icons were being cut off in the browser uninstall dialog.
• Resolved an issue where Feeds did not retain the previous browsing position after navigating back to the New Tab Page (NTP).
• Fixed an issue where the wallpaper would slightly shrink when sliding on the New Tab Page (NTP) for the first time.
• Fixed a layout issue with group headers under tab groups.
• Resolved an issue where the button sizes in the top row were inconsistent in the tab center.

 

Android:

 

• Resolved an issue where the Workspace would not close upon opening a link in browser on android.
• Fixed an issue where the ‘Add to Home’ page did not transition correctly between landscape and portrait modes on Android devices.

 

iOS:

 

• Resolved an issue where feedback from iOS users did not automatically contain URL information.
• Fixed a margin issue with the PDF toolbar icons on iOS.
• Resolved an issue where the initial letters of ‘Online PDF Toolbar’ were not capitalized in the edge: //flags settings on iOS.
• Fixed an issue where the ‘Close’ button was missing from the video player when selecting ‘Drop’ from the overflow menu on iOS.
• Fixed an issue where clicking ‘Send to devices’ would open the ‘Sign in’ panel, but interactions with the ‘Sign in’ panel were unresponsive on iOS.
• Resolved an issue where browser was unable to open or search for images via the context menu in online document files on iOS.

You can download Microsoft Edge Dev 132 from the official website. The update is expected in the Stable Channel on the week of January 9, 2025.

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Google is making some maps more detailed.

Credit: Google

Google revealed today how it plans to use generative AI to enhance its mapping activities. It's the latest application of Gemini, the company's in-house rival to GPT-4, which the company wants to use to improve the experience when searching for something. Google Maps, Google Earth, and Waze will all get feature upgrades thanks to Gemini, although in some cases only with Google's "trusted testers" at first.

Google Maps

More than 2 billion people use Google Maps every month, according to the company, and in fact, AI is nothing new to Google Maps. "A lot of those features that we've introduced over the years have been thanks to AI," said Chris Phillips,VP and general manager of Geo at Google. "Think of features like Lens and maps. When you're on a street corner, you can lift up your phone and look, and through your camera view, you can actually see we laid places on top of your view. So you can see a business. Is it open? What are the ratings for it? Is it busy? You can even see businesses that are out of your line of sight," he explained.

At some point this week, if you use the Android or iOS Google Maps app here in the US, you should start seeing more detailed and contextual search results. Maps will now respond to conversational requests—during a demo, Google asked it what to do on a night out with friends in Boston, with the app returning a set of results curated by Gemini. These included categories of places—speakeasies, for example—with review summaries and answers from users.

As for trusting the accuracy of those results, "we use the Gemini model to actually look at the facts and the data that we have in the maps database, which include our places data and reviews to then pull back and answer, curate it, and it does the grounding fact check," Phillips said. Phillips said that the system will link and attribute information from third parties like blogs, but that "when we're answering the question about the place details and the facts of the place and the reviews on the place, the Gemini model is specifically looking at the data sets that we manage and operate and fact checking it there."

Google says it has made it easier to explore side quests when you're planning a route, with suggestions for landmarks and other sites of interest available with a click of the "add stops" button. At the end of a route, Maps will now start suggesting places to park and then switch to pedestrian directions to your final destination, complete with augmented reality if you need it. That should be available to all iOS and Android users this week, Google says, along with the ability to report weather disruptions and a more immersive view of 150 cities around the world.

And next month, Google will start adding more detailed lane information to some metropolitan areas.

Waze

Now fully merged into Google's Geo division, Waze continues to offer an alternative road navigation experience, and it too will benefit from AI-enhanced natural language processing, with the addition of conversational reporting. In practical terms, that means no more scrabbling to hit the right icon on your phone to report that tire in the middle of the highway or the traffic cop hiding behind a bush.

The feature, which will only be available to Waze's trusted testers at first, lets users verbally describe what they see, potentially asking follow-up questions.

Waze also said it's making it easier for map editors to add school zones to the map, and it will alert users when they're passing through one. That feature rolls out to iOS and Android later this year, Waze said.

Google Earth

A demonstration of Google Earth's new AI-enhanced search and analysis

The enhancements to Google Earth will probably be of most interest to urban planners, although they'll need to request access to Google Earth's trusted tester program, which rolls out to those beta testers next month. Here, Gemini is being leveraged to add complex searches like "map the five zip codes with the fewest EV chargers relative to their geographic area size." After determining the answer, Google Earth then creates a helpful visualization, as seen in the video above.

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Microsoft has acknowledged that after installing KB5043131, one of Windows 10's recent non-security updates (released in September), users might have problems with launching apps from non-admin accounts. Microsoft says affected apps include Quick Assist, Microsoft Teams, Windows Narrator, and more. In fact, any app with UIAccess set to "true" will fail upon launch from a non-admin profile.

After installing the September 2024 preview update (KB5043131), released September 24, 2024 or later, you might observe that apps such as Quick Assist, Microsoft Teams, Windows Narrator, etc might fail to start if you are a non-admin user. You might experience this issue on any app that sets UIAccess=true while trying to run the app as a non-admin user. The uiAccess=true attribute in an application's manifest file is used to request that the application be granted higher privileges. Apps using this attribute launch from a secure path, such as :

 

• %ProgramFiles% (including subdirectories)
• %ProgramFiles(x86)% (including subdirectories for 64-bit versions of Windows)
• %systemroot%\system32
• %systemroot%\syswow64 (for 64-bit versions of Windows)

The bug affects systems with client versions of Windows 10 version 22H2. To mitigate the problem, Microsoft applied the trusty Known Issue Rollback feature, which can undo problematic update bits without requiring any action from the end user. However, the workaround might take up to 24 hours to propagate, so the best course of action is to restart your system if it cannot launch certain applications.

As for managed devices, IT admins have to apply a special policy to undo changes that cause apps to break with recent updates. The policy is available for download via this link. A permanent solution will be available in a future update.

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According to a new notification published on the official Windows Health Dashboard, Task Manager in Windows 11 version 24H2, after applying KB5044384, incorrectly shows the number of running apps and background processes on the "Processes" tab. In fact, it shows zero running apps and background processes, to be precise. Microsoft says the bug appears specifically when the list of processes is grouped by type, but we managed to recreate it even with the default sorting.

After installing the October 2024 non-security preview update (KB5044384), users will encounter an issue where the number of Apps, Background Processes, and Windows Processes in Task Manager display a count of zero, despite having active applications running. This issue appears specifically on the Processes page when the "Group by Type" view is enabled.

 

Normally, Task Manager displays the count of processes next to each group name (e.g., Apps, Background processes), providing users with a quick view of active processes. However, due to this issue, Task Manager instead shows (0) for each group, regardless of the actual number of running processes.

There are no workarounds for this bug at the moment. Fortunately, it does not prevent you from viewing all the running apps and processes or interacting with them—you can still check all the details, terminate apps, run new processes, and more. Microsoft says it is working on a fix, which should be available in future cumulative updates.

For now, if you are already on Windows 11 version 24H2 with its latest updates, you will have to deal with this small inconvenience. As for older Windows versions, Microsoft says the issue does not affect them—only Windows 11 version 24H2 is experiencing the bug with Task Manager showing zero apps and processes.

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For instance, the optional feature that can be disabled in settings might sense that other open tabs are reducing the speed of your current tab. As a result, it might suggest that you deactivate the tabs using extra resources.

Chrome will display a "performance issue alert" notification, and you can simply click on "Fix now" to improve your browsing experience. The company has updated Chrome's Memory Saver feature, which now offers three different modes: Moderate, Balanced, and Maximum.

In a blog post, Google explained that the Moderate mode deactivates tabs based on your system's requirements, the Balanced mode takes your system needs and browsing habits into account, and the Maximum mode "deactivates tabs after you stop using them more quickly than the other two modes."

For reference, the Memory saver feature allows Chrome to free up Memory from inactive tabs, which can be utilized to fuel other tabs and apps on the system. You can switch between Memory saver modes by going to Chrome settings > Performance, the company said.

Additionally, updated Chrome settings let you tweak the performance controls even more. For instance, you can enable/disable visual indicators for inactive tabs and memory usage in tab hovercards. You can configure important websites to remain active all the time, like the ones that do important work in the background.

On the Performance page in Chrome settings, you can find the option called "Always keep these sites active." Click the "Add" button next to it and manually insert the URL you want to exclude from the memory saver feature or choose from the currently open tabs.

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With NLS, players can search for games using ordinary conversation language to find more relevant titles. NLS can compensate for any errors such as misspellings, acronyms, synonyms, and other variations. Microsoft said NLS can handle these errors "much better than traditional search services."

The other feature, thumbstick calibration for the Wireless Elite Controller sees a thumbstick calibration tool added to the Xbox Accessories app for the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. This feature lets players recalibrate their controller thumbsticks to make sure they're working properly "for the best gaming performance."

The full release notes are as follows:

Release date: 10/30/2024
OS version: 10.0.26100.2499 (xb_flt_2410ge.241024-1700)

 

Natural Language Search

 

• Natural Language Search helps players find the right game for them using conversational language. This new search feature returns relevant results for queries such as "cozy farming games with fishing", "FPS games with zombies", or “puzzle games for kids”. Natural Language Search can also handle misspellings, acronyms, synonyms, and other variations much better than traditional search services.

 

Thumbstick calibration for Wireless Elite Controller

 

• The thumbstick calibration tool in the Xbox Accessories app is now available for the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. This feature allows players to recalibrate the thumbsticks on their controllers to ensure they are functioning properly for the best gaming performance.

This is the first Xbox system update this month and will likely be the last. Typically, we see updates twice a month, the last time there was only one update in a month was in July.

You can find which OS version you're on by pressing the Xbox button, going to Profile & system, then selecting Settings. From there go to System > Console info > OS version > Shell version.

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Microsoft removed some options to upgrade Windows 11 that worked previously. FlyBy11 supports both options that remain. It is not the only tool that does so. Rufus, for example, supports one of the options as well.

FlyBy11 Update adds more options

When you launch FlyByScript now after the download, you still get the dreaded "are you sure" security warning on Windows 11. Once you accept it, you see more options. The initial options, now called Method 1 and Method 2, are still available.

If you plan to upgrade to Windows 11 version 24H2 on an unsupported system, these are the options that you may try. First the easier option, method 1, but if that does not work for whatever reason, the Registry hack that is method 2.

The third option that is now available is for systems that do meet the hardware requirements. You can initiate the upgrade on these systems right away. That may be easier than having to wait for Microsoft to show the upgrade when you run checks using Windows Update.

Another excellent addition is that you now get checks that tell you if method 2 or the direct option is enabled already. A small detail but still useful for verification.

Plugins are introduced

The second big addition is a plugin system. This is not the first app of the developer with a plugin system. You activate it by selecting the import option in the main interface.

A total of ten plugins are provided. Not all are useful in all situations. There is Windows Old Remover, which you may run after a successful upgrade to free up disk space.

Other plugins remove OneDrive from the system, restore all built-in apps, or create restore points. All in all, these can come in handy and there is the prospect of future plugins that may automate certain processes before or after upgrades are installed on the system.

You do not need the plugins, but they may come in handy.

Closing Words

FlyBy11 is an easy to use script to upgrade to the latest version of Windows 11 on systems that do not meet the minimum system requirements.

The plugin system could turn into a great addition. For now, it feels unlinked from the scripts main purpose, the upgrading.

Have you tried the script yet? Or do you have no need for it? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

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WABetaInfo spotted that the messaging platform is working on a search feature for channels. Using this search feature, users will be able to search for anything inside a WhatsApp channel. Currently, if you are on a channel, and you are looking something specific, then you need to scroll through numerous messages to locate that specific information. This is quite a tedious task and you end up frustrated.

The upcoming WhatsApp search option inside channels, will allow you search for a specific information by simply typing the keywords or phrases. This will make it easier to locate information in a channel that sends frequent updates each day, you can easily look for a particular update by using the search feature without having to scroll.

The search feature can be accessed by opening a WhatsApp channel, tapping on the channel name, and then selecting the "Search" logo. Alternatively, users can tap the three-dot menu icon and choose "Search," as they would normally do to access search option for a normal chat. Notably, the new WhatsApp channel search feature is under development, and is available to a few WhatsApp Android beta testers. It is expected that the feature may make its way to general public via future update.

This is not the only channel-related feature WhatsApp is developing. Apparently, the messaging platform will soon let you share channels through QR codes. Moreover, using the QR codes for channels, can be printed and pasted during events and meetups, allowing attendees to scan them with their phones and access the channel instantly. Businesses can also print these QR codes on their retail boxes to give more information about the variety of products they sell through their channel.

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"We're also using AI internally to improve our coding processes, which is boosting productivity and efficiency," Pichai said during the call. "Today, more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers. This helps our engineers do more and move faster."

Google developers aren't the only programmers using AI to assist with coding tasks. It's difficult to get hard numbers, but according to Stack Overflow's 2024 Developer Survey, over 76 percent of all respondents "are using or are planning to use AI tools in their development process this year," with 62 percent actively using them. A 2023 GitHub survey found that 92 percent of US-based software developers are "already using AI coding tools both in and outside of work."

AI-assisted coding first emerged in a big way with GitHub Copilot in 2021, and the feature saw a wide release in June 2022. It used a special coding AI model from OpenAI called Codex, which was trained to both suggest continuations to existing code and create new code from scratch from English instructions. Since then, AI-based coding has expanded in a big way, with ever-improving solutions from Anthropic, Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Replit.

GitHub Copilot has expanded in capability as well. Just yesterday, the Microsoft-owned subsidiary announced that developers will be able to use non-OpenAI models such as Anthropic's Claude 3.5 and Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro to generate code within the application for the first time.

While some tout the benefits of AI use in coding, the practice has also attracted criticism from those who worry that future software generated partially or largely by AI could become riddled with difficult-to-detect bugs and errors.

According to a 2023 study by Stanford University, developers using AI coding assistants tended to include more bugs while paradoxically believing that their code is more secure. This finding was highlighted by Talia Ringer, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who told Wired that "there are probably both benefits and risks involved" with AI-assisted coding, emphasizing that "more code isn't better code."

The only constant is change

While introducing bugs is certainly a risky side-effect of AI coding, the history of software development has included controversial changes in the past, including the transition from assembly language to higher-level languages, which faced resistance from some programmers who worried about loss of control and efficiency. Similarly, the adoption of object-oriented programming in the 1990s sparked criticism about code complexity and performance overhead. The shift to AI augmentation in coding may be the latest transition that meets resistance from the old guard.

"Whether you think coding with AI works today or not doesn’t really matter," posted former Microsoft VP Steven Sinofsky in September. Sinofsky has a personal history of coding going back to the 1970s. "But if you think functional AI helping to code will make humans dumber or isn’t real programming just consider that’s been the argument against every generation of programming tools going back to Fortran."

Strong preferences about "proper" coding practices have circulated widely among developers over the decades, and some of the more extreme positions may seem silly today, especially those concerning quality-of-life improvements that many programmers now take for granted. Daring Fireball's John Gruber replied to Sinofsky's tweet by saying, "I know youngster(s) won’t believe me, but I remember when some programmers argued that syntax coloring in text editors would make people dumber."

Credit: Karen Moskowitz via Getty Images

Ultimately, all tools augment or enhance human capability. We use tools to build things faster, and we have always used tools to build newer, more complex tools. It's the story of technology itself. Draftsmen laid out the first silicon computer chips on paper, and later engineers designed successive chips on computers that used integrated circuits. Today, electronic design automation (EDA) software assists in the design and simulation of semiconductor chips, and companies like Nvidia are now using AI algorithms to design them.

Does that mean current AI models are capable of generating flawless, high-quality code that developers can just insert and forget? Likely not. For now, skilled humans with experience still need to be in the loop to ensure everything works properly, which seems to be the practice Google's CEO was touting in the earnings call. Like any tool, AI assistance in skilled hands may significantly accelerate a task—and yet a hammer alone cannot build a house.

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Shortly after the release, users noticed that Super Resolution, a feature intended to be a Copilot+ PC exclusive, appeared on traditional x86-based PCs with Intel and AMD processors. In the updated blog post, Microsoft has now clarified that that was a bug, which is now fixed.

We investigated and fixed an issue where super resolution was appearing on PCs it shouldn’t be. The fix is rolling out now.

The main reason why Super Resolution is not available on PCs with older x86 and ARM processors (in other words, non-Copilot+ PCs) is the NPU. Microsoft says Super Resolution in the Photos app users Neural Processing Units in Qualcomm's Snapdragon X processors to deliver fast results without sending pics to clouds for upscaling.

Super resolution leverages the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) on the Copilot+ PC to deliver enhancements quickly and efficiently, all done locally on your PC. You can access super resolution from the Photos Editor to enhance your images within seconds.

Super Resolution in the Photos app can enlarge your photo by up to eight times—all you have to do is open any picture in the Photos app, select Super Resolution, and specify the scale you want.

If you have a Copilot+ PC and want to try Super Resolution before it gets to everyone outside the Insider program, enroll your computer in one of four channels and update the Photos app to version 2024.11100.17007.0 or newer. More information about this feature is available in a post on the official Windows Blog via this link.

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What you need to know

• An avid tech enthusiast and developer recently shared an interesting project featuring Microsoft's discontinued office assistant, Clippy.
• The project dubbed AI-Snip leverages Clippy's smarts, explaining obscure details captured in screenshots.
• The developer also claims the project can be used for translation or custom prompts.

It's barely been a week since Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff slammed Microsoft for reportedly disserving the AI industry while referring to Copilot as the new Microsoft Clippy. Now, the virtual assistant is seemingly back from the Microsoft Graveyard. In a surprising yet fun turn of events, an avid developer recently shared a project dubbed AI-Snip on Reddit.

According to Developer Yannik Keller:

"I found this to be super useful for everyday use. Anytime I do not understand anything, I just make a screenshot and get it explained. It can do other things as well such as translation or custom prompts."

Demo of GPT-4o as an Image to Text model that makes MS Clippy explain the screenshots you take. from r/OpenAI

The project has sparked interest on Reddit, with multiple users sharing nostalgic memories of the virtual office assistant. "My old heart jumps from joy... no, wait, that's too much jumping, stop it... stop..damn you again, Clippyyyyy," one user indicated. "It's a great idea," another user added. "I'm surprised Microsoft isn't promoting something fun like this."

The project is reminiscent of Google's Circle to Search feature on Android phones. The feature lets you search for anything on your Android phone without switching apps by simply circling, highlighting, scribbling, or tapping the area that sparked your interest. More details about the highlighted region will be presented in real time.

Perhaps more interestingly, Microsoft Edge also features a similar feature dubbed Circle to Copilot, which serves the same purpose as Google's Circle to Search (although the forthcoming Click-to-Do is even more powerful).

According to the developer, the easiest way to run AI-snip on your Windows device is to download the binary from the releases page. Tech-savvy users with vast Python knowledge could alternatively clone the repository and follow the step-by-step instructions highlighted in AI-Snip's repository in GitHub.

In addition, the driver improves performance in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered by up to 6% at 1080p Very High settings.

Here are the release highlights:

Intel Game On Driver support on Intel Arc A-series Graphics GPUs and Intel Core Ultra with built-in Intel Arc GPUs for:

 

• Dragon Age: The Veilguard
  • Initial game launch load times are significantly improved on Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs. As such, the Graphics Driver package size has temporarily increased.
• Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
• REDACTED
• Red Dead Redemption

 

Game performance improvements on Intel Arc A-series Graphics GPUs versus Intel 31.0.101.6129 software driver for:

 

• Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered (DX12)
  • Up to 6% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Very High settings

The latest driver does not contain any additional fixes, but the list of known issues is still pretty extensive:

Intel Arc A-Series Graphics Products:

 

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6* (DX12) may exhibit darker than expected shadows in certain campaign scenarios.
• Doom Eternal (VK) may exhibit intermittent flickering corruption in the game menu and during gameplay.
• Topaz Video AI may experience errors when exporting videos after using some models for video enhancements.
• Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Studio may experience lower than expected performance.

 

Intel Core Ultra Series 1 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

 

• SPECworkstation3.1 may exhibit system instability while running certain workloads.
• PugetBench for Davinci Resolve Studio V19 may experience errors intermittently with benchmark preset set to Extended.
• Davinci Resolve Studio v19.0 may experience errors while rendering OpenVino test scenarios.

 

Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

 

• Adobe Premiere Pro may exhibit corruption in the output video after performing 8K AV1 Encode.
• Davinci Resolve Studio v19.0 may experience errors while rendering OpenVino test scenarios.
• Star Wars Outlaws (DX12) may experience sporadic crash during gameplay.

You can download Intel's latest non-WHQL graphics driver from the official website using this link. Full release notes are available here (PDF).

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In addition, Firefox 132 supports Wide Color Gamut WebGL for a wider range of colors on the web on monitors with 8-bit color support. Other changes include new macOS 15 features support, additional privacy improvements, and more.

Here are the new features in Firefox 132:

• Microsoft PlayReady encrypted media playback is now being rolled out to select sites on Windows. Through this support, we are gradually rolling out a 1080p baseline and 4K Ultra HD support with key streaming partners. An added benefit is that viewers get less battery drain and better performance when streaming their favorite movies and shows.
• Wide Color Gamut WebGL is now available for Windows and macOS users! With this support, Firefox is bringing a richer, more vivid range of colors to the videos, games, and images on your screen. This implementation currently supports wider color (P3) profiles in 8-bit.
• WebRender hardware accelerated rendering is now enabled for most SVG filter primitives, improving performance for certain graphics-heavy content. Accelerated filters are feBlend, feColorMatrix, feComponentTransfer, feComposite, feDropShadow, feFlood, feGaussianBlur, feMerge and feOffset.
• Added support for macOS’ new screen and window sharing selection features on macOS 15 and later. Support for macOS 14 will be added in a future release.
• The macOS session resume feature has been enhanced. Firefox will now automatically relaunch if it was open before a system restart, like after an OS update.
• Firefox now blocks third-party cookie access when Enhanced Tracking Protection's Strict mode is enabled.

And here is what was changed:

• As a follow-up to our work to upgrade mixed content starting with Firefox 127, HTTP-favicons will now also be blocked if they can not be received over HTTPS instead.
• The Copy Without Site Tracking option is now grayed out when no known tracking parameters are found within the link. Additionally, more tracking parameter support has been added for websites such as LinkedIn and Shopee. Please report tracking parameters that aren't removed by filing a bug in Bugzilla.

You can download Firefox from the official website. If the browser is already installed, it will update itself automatically in the background. Alternatively, go to Menu > Help > About Firefox to force-download the latest release. For Windows users, Firefox is also available from the Microsoft Store.

Full release notes for Firefox 132 are available here.

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Unfortunately, it appears that many users are finding it difficult to unlink or remove their phones from the Windows 11 Phone Link app. According to multiple users (via XDA Developers), the Phone Link app on Windows 11 has lost some of its functionalities, with the most notable being the ability to remove a device from the app.

Previously, you could easily remove your device from the app by tapping the 3-dot menu icon next to the device name under the "Devices" section inside "Settings" and selecting "Remove." Windows users on the Microsoft Feedback Hub have reported that the 3-dot menu icon is now missing from the "Devices" section.

At the moment, it is unclear whether the removal of the phone unlink feature is intentional or not. A Microsoft engineer on the Feedback Hub attempted to resolve the issue by simply providing the old steps to unlink the device from the 3-dot menu icon, which suggests Microsoft may not be aware of this feature removal.

Fortunately, you aren't stuck with your phone connected to the Phone Link app forever because there is a workaround available. All you need to do is sign out of the account that you have used to set up Phone Link to unlink your device. The downside of this solution is that it will remove all linked devices if you have more than one connected under the same account.

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What you need to know

• Microsoft Teams will see a major revamp in the near future that changes how chats, channels, and teams are organized within the app.
• Teams will no longer have a dedication teams section, instead shifting all text-based communication to the chats section of the app.
• The new experience will enter public preview this November and be available on the iOS, Android, and desktop versions of Teams.

Microsoft Teams has a massive change on the way that alters chatting within the app. The new chat and channels experience removes the dedicated "teams" section of the app and brings chats, teams, and channels under one header. Now, all of your text-based communication will live within the "chats" section of Teams.

Before you get too worried, Microsoft is not removing the concept of teams within Teams, even though the tech giant will remove the Teams section of the app when the new experience rolls out in public preview in November. That public preview will be available on iOS, Android, and the desktop version of Teams.

The redesigned Microsoft Teams will have an onboarding experience that helps you customize the app's interface. The app will feature custom sections that can be filled with chats, channels, meetings, and AI agents. There will also be a favorites section by default, which will show pinned chats and channels from the current version of Teams.