What is new in Microsoft Edge 126.0.2552.0?

Added Features:

 

• Implemented a mute button on the taskbar.
• The capture menu toolbar has been added to the PDF file.

 

Improved Reliability:

 

• Fixed an issue where the browser would crash when users clicked on ‘Leave workspace’.
• Fixed a browser crash on android.
• Fixed an issue that caused the browser to crash upon closing the final tab.

 

Changed Behavior:

 

• Resolved an issue where the share box would briefly appear blank and then vanish after a few seconds.
• Fixed an issue where tabs that had been deleted reappeared after restarting.
• Resolved a problem where there were visual style discrepancies on the product detail page, including issues with margins, colors, border radius, and shadows, within the extension.
• Resolved a problem that caused visual distortions when tabs were grouped in a vertical layout.
• Fixed an issue where horizontal scroll bar and vertical bar appeared in FRE.
• The issue where the side pane would unexpectedly open after FRE has been resolved.
• Fixed an issue where the page at edge://settings/appearance/CustomizeToolbar was displaying as blank.
• Fixed an issue that prevented the sharing of screenshots via Outlook.
• iOS: Fixed an issue where the string in the toolbar settings page needed to be changed.
• Mac: Resolved an issue where the Send Feedback feature initially displayed a blank screenshot. Subsequent attempts would then show the previously captured screenshot on Mac.
• Android:
  • Resolved a problem where the keyboard focus was not moving to the ‘Earn More Rewards’ link within the Microsoft Rewards section on Android.
  • Fixed an issue when altering the background color, the page no longer flashes on Android.

Microsoft Edge Dev is available on the official Edge Insider website.

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Nowadays, "Copilot" seems to be the only word Microsoft knows how to say. You will hear this on every product, including Windows 11, 10, Microsoft 365, Bing, and virtually every service. I remember when the company only knew how to say "developers, developers, developers."

But have you stopped to ask what Copilot actually is? Microsoft Copilot isn't just one thing. It's a suite of AI tools designed to help you in different ways, and here are the answers to your questions.

What is Microsoft Copilot?

By definition, Microsoft Copilot (or simply Copilot) is a chatbot that combines the power of OpenAI artificial intelligence and the Bing search engine using Prometheus technology to answer questions in a conversational human style using current information from the web. 

This is just an overview that describes the technology, but since Copilot is available in different products, it also means something different depending on the product.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

For example, Copilot for Windows 11 is technically your new digital assistant that replaces Cortana. The version of Copilot available on Windows 11 is the same as the one on the web. However, it has a deeper integration into the operating system since it can also perform advanced tasks, such as changing system settings.

Copilot is also available on Windows 10, but this version only provides the same capabilities as the web version of the chatbot, and it's not possible to perform certain tasks, such as changing settings.

You also have the web version of Copilot and the Copilot on Bing. In this case, these two are the same chatbot. The only difference is that you would access the web version on Copilot.Microsoft.com, whereas the Bing version is available on Bing.com/Chat.

Finally, there is Copilot for Microsoft Edge, the one for Microsoft 365 apps, and other variants of the chatbot for business applications.

Does Microsoft Copilot use GPT-4?

Technically, yes, Copilot uses the Prometheus model, which is based on GPT-4 from OpenAI, which Microsoft has tweaked for the general public. However, the company claims that Copilot uses GPT -4 and GPT -4 Turbo. Actually, the company has also said that it has replaced GPT-4, and now it uses GPT-4 Turbo exclusively in the free tier.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

At the time of this writing, GPT-4 Turbo is the latest model from OpenAI with knowledge information up to April 2023. On the other hand, GPT-4 knows information up to September 2021. Usually, the more up-to-date the information, the better the chatbot is at answering questions.

Other improvements include a 128K context window, which runs more efficiently, so it costs less to operate. You can find out more on the OpenAI models overview page.

Does Microsoft Copilot use ChatGPT?

No, Copilot doesn't use ChatGPT. However, to understand this response, it's important to note that ChatGPT is an application from OpenAI that connects to GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 to provide a chatbot AI experience. In the case of OpenAI, GPT-3.5 is available for free, while GPT-4 is a paid product.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

This answer sometimes confuses people because of Microsoft's close relationship with OpenAI. However, the company's GPT and ChatGPT are different products.

Is Microsoft Copilot free to use?

Yes, Copilot is free to use. However, the company also offers a paid tier known as "Copilot Pro," which gives users several additional benefits. 

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

The free version of Copilot gives you access to the chatbot AI using GPT-4 Turbo on any of the supported platforms, including Windows, macOS, IOS, and Android. You can also use text, image, and voice for conversational search, access to plugins, and 15 tokens every day to generate AI images with Designer. 

On the other hand, Copilot Pro costs $20 per month per user, and the subscription gives you priority access to GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo during peak hours. You can build custom Copilot GPTs (or chatbots) for different skills. The subscription gives you access to the chatbot AI from the Microsoft 365 apps, and you get 100 tokens every day to generate AI images with Designer. 

Is Microsoft Copilot included in Microsoft 365?

Copilot isn't part of the Microsoft 365 offering. It's a separate product. If you want to access Copilot on the Microsoft 365 apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook), you will need a Personal or Family subscription plus a Copilot Pro subscription.

In the case that you have the Family subscription, you will need a Copilot Pro subscription for each of the members of the group wanting to access the chatbot AI.

When was Microsoft Copilot released?

Microsoft launched Copilot on February 7, 2023, but at the time, it was known as "Bing Chat," and it was first only available on the web and through the Microsoft Edge browser.

Shortly after, the company shifted its marketing strategy and decided to use the "Copilot" branding, as the same name was already being used for other services that the company was building to offer the chatbot AI.

During the second half of 2023, Microsoft also launched the Copilot integration for Windows 11. Originally, the plan was to roll out the chatbot with the release of the "2023 Update," but then the company decided to push the new feature earlier through a cumulative update for devices running the "2022 Update."

Finally, Copilot also arrived as a cumulative update for Windows 10 devices at the end of 2023.

It's important to note that the chatbot AI is still available in preview and is slowly rolling out to compatible devices. 

What is the Microsoft Copilot available on Edge?

In addition to the version of Copilot in the desktop version of Windows, Microsoft also has a Copilot for Microsoft Edge.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

In terms of capabilities, the chatbot available through the web browser is the same as the one you can access on the web or through the Taskbar (without the connection to change settings). However, the interface also includes the "Compose" tab, which includes tools to help you write content in different tones, formats, and lengths. 

The "Compose" tool is now also available as a "Writing assistance" feature that allows you to select some text and rewrite it using Copilot. (You can always turn off this feature with these instructions.)

What does Microsoft Copilot do?

Microsoft Copilot is an assistant that can take text or audio input using natural language to produce answers to any question on any topic. You can also have a normal conversation as you would with another human, meaning that it's context-aware, so you can continue asking questions without providing additional context.

Now, depending on where you're using the assistant, you will have access to different capabilities. For example, if you have Copilot Pro, you can use the assistant to create or modify content from a Word document, analyze data on Excel, and create a PowerPoint presentation with a single prompt.

You can also ask it to generate an AI image by providing a text prompt of what you want. The image creation capability is available virtually everywhere, including on the web, on Windows, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft 365 apps, and Paint app.

Copilot also includes plugins, which allow the chatbot to expand its capabilities by connecting with other services.

If you're on Windows 11, it's also possible to use the chatbot to change settings. However, this feature is still limited, and in most cases, the assistant won't actually change a specific setting for you. Instead, it will open the corresponding settings page so you can configure the feature manually.

It's important to note that while Copilot is meant to make your life easier, it will make mistakes, like any other large language model. As such, you should always review every answer and never take a response as fact or something final.

Does Microsoft Copilot collect my data?

Copilot collects prompts and responses to analyze and respond to them. These are saved as "Chat History," which you can view and delete at any time from your account. According to the company documentation, the history data is stored for 90 days from the last update to the conversation.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

Although the company provides different security protocols to safeguard your privacy, it's always wise to be cautious about what information you share with AI assistants.

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Wintoys, which is another popular such application, has also received a steady stream of updates lately. The most recent version of the app now lets users skip SYSTEM account scheduled tasks. The SYSTEM account is like the OS' own account and helps Windows run its various processes and services.

Besides that, the new release also fixes an issue related to loading corrupted scheduled tasks.

In some of the previous updates, various other fixes have rolled out too. These include improvements and bug fixes related to the UI and UX, services, among others.

The full changelogs for the recent Wintoys updates are given below alongside their versions:

v1.3.8.0

 

• added startup entrance animation for the Home page
• updated some translations and added a missing one
• fixed services not updating correctly after internal or external changes
• fixed not being able to delete a manually added startup app
• fixed a crash caused by double clicking on a dialog button that would sometimes result in trying to open the same dialog twice
• fixed an issue where restoring the window after opening the app maximized would place it into a weird position
• stabilization

 

v1.3.12.0

 

• a service start mode can now be changed even if the service is stopped
• fixed an issue where the Junk Cleaner would not open again after being closed
• fixed an issue when loading the Store apps

 

v1.3.15.0

 

• fixed an issue when stopping SYSTEM account owned scheduled tasks (SYSTEM tasks are now skipped)
• fixed an issue when loading corrupted scheduled tasks
• fixed an issue while closing the app

If you want to try the latest version of Wintoys, you can download the app from Microsoft Store.

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The Mac user, with the pseudonym "Hazel," posted earlier this week that Firefox didn't restore her browsing session, which had over seven thousand tabs (7,470, to be exact) at the time. Following help from fellow users, she restored the old Firefox session from the profiles cache and said, "I feel like a part of me is restored."

Hazel commented on Firefox's performance and added that "the memory impact is marginal; the session file which contains the tab information is only about 70mb, and Firefox only loads a tab in memory if I've opened it recently."

A Mozilla representative echoed a similar stance and confirmed to PCMag that having countless tabs opened in the Firefox browser eats "practically no memory whatsoever," adding that some profile and tab group features are on the way.

"While we think it’s amazing that anyone has 7,000 active tabs, it also shows the degree to which tab management is a common problem," the representative said.

With that said, the engineer doesn't have plans to say goodbye to those browser tabs anytime soon, mostly for nostalgia reasons. She told the publication that she likes to scroll back through the old tabs, and "it's like a trip down memory lane."

Source: PCMag

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The new build also brings Task Manager improvements. It will finally correctly read DDR RAM speed as MT/s instead of MHz. DDR or Double Data Rate essentially means that the data throughput is doubled per frequency. So for a DDR5-6000 memory stick, the RAM frequency is actually 3000 MHz instead of 6000 MHz as was incorrectly reported by the Task Manager previously. So now this will correctly display 6000 MT/s.

The full changelog is given below:

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*

[File Explorer]

 

• We’re rolling out the ability to duplicate a tab by right-clicking on a tab in File Explorer.

Option to duplicate tab when right-clicking on a tab in File Explorer highlighted in a red square.

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*

[File Explorer]

 

• Fixed a memory leak when interacting with archive folders in File Explorer.
• Fixed a few issues impacting File Explorer reliability.
• Made a change to help fix an issue which could cause the spacing between your desktop icons to become extremely wide.
• Fixed a timing issue where if you start a search from Home in File Explorer, it may unexpectedly show no results the first time you tried.
• Did some work to help address an issue where the address bar dropdown might appear unexpectedly while you were using File Explorer.

 

[Task Manager]

 

• Updated the units (from MHz to MT/s) for DDR speed.
• Fixed an issue where the Safely Remove Hardware option for ejecting USB devices wouldn’t work if Task Manager was open.
• Did some work to ensure Task Manager releases process handles quickly when terminating processes.
• Made some more improvements to help with Task Manager reliability.
• We have improved the performance when changing the sort order.
• Made multiple improvements to overall accessibility of Task Manager, including improving keyboard focus, tab navigation, text scaling, names of items read out by screen readers, and more.
• We made it a little easier to resize Task Manager when trying to resize by grabbing the top of the window.

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to everyone in the Beta Channel

[Copilot in Windows**]

 

• Over the last few months, we’ve been trying out different experiences for Copilot in Windows (Preview) with Windows Insiders across the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels. Some of these experiences include the ability for Copilot in Windows to act like a normal application window and the taskbar icon animating to indicate that Copilot can help when you copy text or images. We have decided to pause the rollouts of these experiences to further refine them based on user feedback. Copilot in Windows will continue to work as expected while we continue to evolve new ideas with Windows Insiders.

Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel

[Start menu]

 

• We fixed the issue causing a component related to upgrading and restoring data from Windows Backup called “Global.WindowsMigration” to incorrectly show under the Start menu > All apps.

 

[Copilot in Windows**]

 

• We are rolling out a fix for the issue causing Copilot to auto-launch unexpectedly for Windows Insiders in the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels after restarting their PCs. This issue was unrelated to the auto-launching experience we tried out with Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels in early February which we stopped rolling out in March.

Known issues

[General]

 

• We are investigating an issue where Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work after installing this update.

 

[Widgets]

 

Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel who have the new position for the Widgets entry-point on left-aligned taskbars may see the following known issues:

 

• Swipe invocation for Widgets may not work if taskbar is center-aligned instead of left-aligned.
• Unpinning Widgets from the taskbar may not work if taskbar is center-aligned instead of left-aligned.
• The Widgets board is incorrectly positioned when Copilot is in side-by-side mode.
• Turning on/off Widgets in taskbar settings may refresh the taskbar.

You can read the official blog post here on Microsoft's website.

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Microsoft also notes there will be changes in how members of the Dev Channel will receive future updates:

Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel will now receive updates based on Windows 11, version 24H2 via an enablement package (Build 26120.xxxx). For Insiders in the Dev Channel who want to be the first to get features gradually rolled out to you, you can turn ON the toggle (shown in the image below) to get the latest updates as they are available via Settings > Windows Update. Over time, we will increase the rollouts of features to everyone with the toggle turned on. Should you keep this toggle off, new features will gradually be rolled out to your device over time once they are ready.

 

Turn on the toggle to get the latest updates as they are available to get new features rolled out to you

 

Going forward, we will document changes in Dev Channel builds in two buckets: new features, improvements, and fixes that are being gradually rolled out for Insiders who have turned on the toggle to get the latest updates as they are available and then new features, improvements, and fixes available to everyone in the Dev Channel.

Here is the change log:

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Dev Channel with toggle on

 

[General]

 

This update includes a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience for Insiders running this build on their PCs.

 

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to everyone in the Dev Channel

 

[Copilot in Windows]

 

Over the last few months, we’ve been trying out different experiences for Copilot in Windows (Preview) with Windows Insiders across the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels. Some of these experiences include the ability for Copilot in Windows to act like a normal application window and the taskbar icon animating to indicate that Copilot can help when you copy text or images. We have decided to pause the rollouts of these experiences to further refine them based on user feedback. Copilot in Windows will continue to work as expected while we continue to evolve new ideas with Windows Insiders.

 

Fixes for everyone in the Dev Channel

 

[Copilot in Windows]

 

We are rolling out a fix for the issue causing Copilot to auto-launch unexpectedly for Windows Insiders in the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels after restarting their PCs. This issue was unrelated to the auto-launching experience we tried out with Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels in early February which we stopped rolling out in March.

You can check out the full blog post here.

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You’ve got it! That genius epiphany, that brilliant screenplay idea, that jolt of terror that you’ll forget to pick up the dry cleaning. It’s come to you in a flash, and you need to jot it down now before this ephemeral whiff of remembrance floats out of your brain forever. So you pull out your phone and start swiping through your apps. But there’s no good option for dictating your thoughts. All your apps are either too slow or too cumbersome to whip open in a pinch. Or, if you do have a go-to app, it’s all so cluttered and impossible to organize that your wonderful idea vanishes into the void of all your other half-formed notions. What you need is a great notes app, one that makes it easy to organize all the disparate ingots of thought in your life. We’re here to help.

Every app in this list lets you do the same basic sorts of things: write down quick ideas, make checklists, set reminder notifications, incorporate drawings and images. There isn’t any single best app for every note-taker out there. But out of all the options, these are the best we’ve used.

Google Keep

Photograph: Google

If you’re an Android user, try Google Keep—it’s preinstalled on your phone, and features just about the best mix of simplicity and functionality of any notes app. Easily tap open a new note, or use voice commands to transcribe your spoken words. On the main screen, all your items look like Post-it notes pasted up on a board. You have several options for style and color-coding, and you can slide notes around to organize them in your own way.

Keep is especially useful if you already use the rest of the Google suite. You can access Keep within Gmail, where a little bar will pop up along the side showing all your notes. As with Google Docs, notes in Keep are easy to share, and you can invite others to collaborate.

For a simpler, more action-oriented chore tracker that keeps you firmly rooted in the Google ecosystem, try Google Tasks. These handy timestamped checkmarks automatically integrate into your calendar, and can be found in the same sidebar along with Keep notes in Gmail.

Notion

Notion is the big kid’s note-taking app. It’s varied, complex, and very capable of capturing all manner of projects, from simple to-do lists to carefully plotted out budgets and planning documents. It comes with a variety of templates for things like habit tracking, personal finance, travel planning, hobbies, career building, and food and nutrition tracking. It’s also great for collaboration, and just about anything can be shared with other users. You can use the sharing features to coordinate calendars, edit documents, and keep track of tasks as a group.

And because AI is inside every app these days, Notion has an embedded AI assistant. A little star icon on the side of the text box offers prompts for the AI to help brainstorm ideas, form outlines, or just spitball blog posts.

New users opening it for the first time might find the user interface to be a little obtuse, but once you get the hang of Notion’s peculiarities and learn to navigate the app, its powers become clear.

Microsoft OneNote

Photograph: Microsoft 

If you’re looking for a notes management system that integrates with all of your other productivity software, but you're a Microsoft person and not a Google person, then Microsoft OneNote is for you. It has much of the same functionality as Google Keep, but it syncs with the tools in Microsoft's Office suite—Word, Excel, and Outlook—instead of Google's suite.

On the desktop, it operates a lot like Microsoft Word, with a file menu up at the top and all of the familiar layout and formatting options for your text-based notes.

Notes are nested inside custom category tabs; think color-coded tags in a three-ring binder. You can attach specific notes to meetings via Outlook and prioritize them using urgency tags of various levels. If you’re looking for a “professional” notes app, OneNote is a great option.

Plus, if you have a subscription to Microsoft 365 on the desktop, you can then take advantage of Microsoft’s Copilot AI integration in OneNote. The AI helper can create summaries and to-do lists, collate information from various sources, or just rewrite your notes to make them more clear and coherent.

Apple Notes

Photograph: Apple

If you use an iPhone, then Apple Notes is an obvious choice. It comes installed on your phone, and, like Google Keep, it excels in its simplicity. While there are more advanced features, like the ability to add attachments and to clip text and images from the web, they don’t clutter things up.

Organization is also superb if you take the time to set up category folders and nest subfolders inside them. If you’ve already gotten used to Apple Notes, there’s nothing wrong with sticking with it. Oh yes, and if you’re feeling adventurous, you can dictate notes to Siri—it's not as knowledgeable as the other AI-powered assistants out there, but it transcribes speech pretty well.

Bear

Photograph: Bear

Meet Apple Notes’ more refined cousin. Bear notes offer a bevy of styling options that allow you to change themes, adjust formatting, and play with the typography of your notes. (It is available on iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers only.) Functionally, Bear works the same as any of the other apps on this list, albeit with a lot more flair. It packages all its features in a warm, cozy style that won Apple’s design award in 2017.

One of Bear’s most helpful features is the ability to link notes together via tags. Just tag your thoughts with the appropriate category (work, wedding, books to read) as you jot them down, and Bear will sort them into their proper folders. If it feels like your thoughts come from all over the place, or if you're bad at keeping things organized in folders, this can be a great way to keep your digital life in order.

Bear got a big version 2 update last year, which was a labor of love that gave it a bunch of new features. The updated app is better at organizing tables, has the ability to add footnotes, and offers better in-note search. It's all wrapped in a more pleasant design too.

Bear is a free app, but a Pro version costs $30 per year and offers additional features like custom themes, the ability to sync with iCloud, and the option to export notes in more formats like PDF and HTML.

Evernote

Sorry to say, but we can't recommend Evernote anymore. Once the most innovative of the cloud-based notes apps, Evernote has since evolved into a sad shadow of itself. The app now is a cluttered mess that has jammed together just about every feature imaginable: group chat, photo transcription, web clipping, and integration with other online services. As a result, it’s much more cumbersome to use than the others on this list when you just want to jot down a simple idea. We were also turned off by the sheer volume of pop-up ads that appear over and over to prompt you to subscribe to Evernote’s $130 per year premium tier. (Evernote’s current new parent company, Bending Spoons, laid off its entire US workforce last year.)

Unfortunately, lots of people still use Evernote, and probably feel locked into its now-degraded ecosystem. It may be hard to make that switch to a new app, but if you’d like to, it’s possible to remove your notes from Evernote. Sadly, exporting your stuff off the app has become almost as cumbersome as using the app itself. Still, if you plan to make the switch, here’s how to do it:

First off, you’ll need to do it on the desktop app, as neither the website nor mobile app offer an option to export your data. Download the desktop client if you haven’t already, then go into Notes on the left-hand sidebar.

Select all your notes by hitting Edit, Select All (or control/command+A). With everything selected, right-click the notes and hit Export, or go to File and then Export. Evernote lets you export only 100 notes at a time, so you may need to repeat the process to grab everything. You can export the files as a web page (HTML) or a .enex file, which can be opened by some other popular note apps, or by one of the free .enex file readers you can find online.

When you import your files into another notes app, the formatting might not translate perfectly, but at least you still have your thoughts written down.

Or Just Scribble for Real

Sometimes, a simple note app can’t keep up with your output—especially if you’re someone who takes copious notes for work. Maybe you just like to write things out longhand but want the ease of digital searching later on. In that case, it may be time to consider a dedicated note-taking tablet. This is obviously a bigger investment than a simple, mostly free app, but these portable devices can be quite handy. They can capture all of your pen strokes, sync them to the cloud, and make them shareable and editable later on.

You have a few solid options. The $500 reMarkable is the most prominent. Not only does the E Ink screen offer a phenomenal writing experience, it works as an ebook reader as well. If you’re really into writing on paper, the $150 Moleskine Smart Writing Set Ellipse is a digital note-reader and ink-on-paper tablet in one. Another good choice is the Sony Digital Paper ($500 and up). It’s much the same as the reMarkable, but there’s a version with a slightly smaller footprint.

And of course, there ain’t nothing wrong with some good pen and paper. It’s easy to get lost in our phones sometimes, and having that tactile experience of writing in a nice hardbound Leuchtturm notebook or other paper planner can be a nice break from those omnipresent screens.

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The company has also detailed each of the features:

Faster split-screen setup

ChromeOS lets you use two apps simultaneously, by arranging them side by side. Now, with ChromeOS M124, the Faster split-screen setup "offers a quicker way to set up your window layout by showing an overview of your open windows on the other side of the screen." Meaning, that once you lock a window on one half of the display, ChromeOS will show you an overview of all open apps on the other half of the screen. You can choose the app for the other half from there or from the shelf.

WiFi QoS on ChromeOS

The ChromeOS M124 update also includes support for Wi-Fi Quality of Service (QoS), which, according to Google, "ensures better traffic prioritization of video conferencing and gaming applications on congested Wi-Fi networks." This would result in smoother video playback. However, the feature will not be available for managed users initially.

Large mouse pointer size

With the ChromeOS M124, Google now offers users mouse pointers in even bigger sizes, allowing for better visibility for people with vision impairments. As per Google, "This can be helpful for people who have low vision, for teachers who want students to follow along during a lesson while presenting, for people who are presenting on a video call, or if you just want to have a larger mouse cursor."

Fast Pair for HID

Fast Pair has now arrived for mice on ChromeOS with the latest update. Now, you can bring a Fast Pair-compatible mouse near your ChromeOS device and pair it with just a single click.

Material You for the Settings page

Although Google hasn't officially mentioned it, folks at 9To5Google spotted that the ChromeOS Settings page now has Material You applied all over it. Every section opens up as a page inside a container.

Google says that the ChromeOS M124 update is rolling out gradually to all users. ChromeOS users who still haven't received it will receive it in the coming days.

Source: Google

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Explaining the feature in a blog post, Google said:

This option can help reduce screen clutter and focus on video-enabled participants, meanwhile users with their videos off can be shown on screen if they speak. Note that this feature, same as other layouts options, is only specific to your meeting view and does not impact what other participants see or set for their layouts during the meeting.

The company has added a new toggle button called "Hide tiles without video" in the Change Layout section in Google Meet, which you can access by clicking on the three-dot menu button at the bottom of the screen.

Hide tiles without video is available to all Google Workspace customers and people with personal accounts. The rollout to Rapid Release domains will take about two weeks, after which the feature will roll out to Scheduled Release domains, Google added.

Apart from that, the search giant has pushed an update to the ultra-low latency live streaming feature currently available for Google Workspace editions with 100,000 viewers. Google said the ultra-low latency viewing experience for meetings live-streamed within an organization now supports the first 25,000 viewers, up from 10,000.

Viewers with ultra-low latency experience see improvements such as a "virtually lag-free streaming experience, significantly increased speaker video resolution, improved automatic camera cuts that focus on the most relevant speakers and content, and more."

The update is available now for live streams on mobile and web for various Workspace editions, including Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Education Plus, Essentials Starter, and Essentials users.

Image via Pixabay

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Edge's built-in speed test tool now sits at the top of the default "Tools" sidebar app, which also includes additional convenient utilities, such as world clock, calculator, translator, unit converter, and more. However, clicking "start" opens a new Microsoft Bing tab with its speed tester instead of running it inside the sidebar. The whole idea of having the sidebar is so that you can use apps and tools without switching from your current tab, so it is a bit odd to see this behavior.

Here is the changelog for version 124.0.2478.80:

Feature updates

 

• Sidebar Tools App - SpeedTest. Adding a SpeedTest answer by default to the Tools app in the Microsoft Edge sidebar. For more information, see Manage the sidebar in Microsoft Edge.

 

Microsoft has released the latest Microsoft Edge Stable Channel (Version 124.0.2478.80) which incorporates the latest Security Updates of the Chromium project.

As for security updates, version 124.0.2478.80 patches two Chromium security vulnerabilities of high severity:

• CVE-2024-4331: Use after free in Picture In Picture in Google Chrome prior to 124.0.6367.118 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)

• CVE-2024-4368: Use after free in Dawn in Google Chrome prior to 124.0.6367.118 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: High)

Microsoft Edge updates itself automatically in the background. However, you can force the browser to get to the latest update by heading to edge://settings/help.

In other news, Microsoft recently announced new memory controls for the Edge browser. They are now available in Microsoft Edge 125 Beta, which was released for public testing this week. Those controls allow you to specify how much RAM Edge can use while you are gaming or doing other tasks.

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If you like using PowerShell and scripts, then you are likely to enjoy using tiny11 builder. With this tool, the developer wants to help users automate the creation of debloated and streamlined Windows 11 images using Microsoft's own DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) command-line interface.

With this latest release earlier today, tiny11 builder can now support ESD files as well in addition to WIM. It also completely removes all elements of Microsoft Edge and fixes a logging bug as well. The release note for the latest update says:

Tiny11 builder - 01-05-24 release

 

This new release of tiny11 builder enables the ability to use images that has ESD files instead of the standard WIM. It also suppresses some of the output, making it a bit easier to track what is going on.
It also cleans up the last remains of Edge! Last, but not least, it fixes an issue with logging.

The dev has also left instructions on how to use tiny11 builder:

Instructions:

 

1. Download Windows 11 from the Microsoft website (https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11)
2. Mount the downloaded ISO image using Windows Explorer.
3. Select the drive letter where the image is mounted (only the letter, no colon (:))
4. Select the SKU that you want the image to be based.
5. Sit back and relax
6. When the image is completed, you will see it in the folder where the script was extracted, with the name tiny11.iso

More details are available on its official GitHub repo.

In case you may not be aware, ESD or Electronic Software Download, like WIM or Windows Imaging Format, is an image format for the purpose of distributing Windows OS. Unlike WIM though, ESD is encrypted and it is generally how WIM files are published on Windows Update.

ESD images are created from WIM utilizing the LZMS compression algorithm and it is done using what is referred to as "solid compression." This means the files are not compressed individually which is why ESD files are not mountable or easily customizable or tweakable, unlike WIM. However, the benefit is that ESD files are smaller than WIM.

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In a blog post, Microsoft says it has put in what it calls performance controls in Edge 125 Beta (first spotted in late March). To enable them, go to the Settings and more (…) menu, click on Settings, and then select System and Performance.

You should then see the Manage your performance section with the new Resource controls toggle. When you click on the toggle to activate it, you should see some new options. One is the default, which lets you control RAM only while PC gaming. You can click on the other option, which lets you control the RAM usage on Edge all the time. There's also a slider that lets you set a specific RAM amount Edge can use.

Microsoft has also added a new RAM monitor to its Browser Essentials sidebar. The blog post states:

Browser essentials let you toggle efficiency mode and monitor the memory usage related to sleeping tabs. And now, if you have enabled the new resource controls setting, the RAM usage section will also appear.

 

Note that there may be moments when the memory usage appears to be higher than your set limit. This is expected, Edge tries its best to keep usage below your set value but may not always be able to do so.

Besides these new RAM performance controls, Microsoft Edge 125 Beta has a number of other new features, such as its ability to auto-discard any sleeping tabs you might have. It also gives each Workspace its own dedicated color, and it is shown as an outline on the browser window.

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What you need to know

• Windows 11 saw a dip in market share in April 2024 while Windows 10 saw a rise in usage.
• In contrast, Steam gamers are almost evenly split between Windows 11 and Windows 10, with the former increasing in usage each month.
• A variety of factors likely contribute to the fact that gamers adopt Windows 11 at a higher rate than non-gamers, including the fact that many gaming PCs are newer systems that ship with Windows 11.
• Enterprise PCs are often kept on older operating systems for stability and there are also many computers that cannot upgrade to Windows 11.

Despite Windows 10 marching toward its end of support, the operating system is growing in market share. According to the most recent figures from Statcounter, just over 70% of desktop users in the world run Windows 10. Not only is that a drastically higher market share than that of Windows 11, which sits at 25.69%, it marks an increase month-over-month for Windows 10. The increase in Windows 10's market share is somewhat surprising, given that Windows 11 has been out for years, but it's particularly interesting because the trend does not extend to gamers.

Earlier today we reported on the fact that 45.15% of Steam users run Windows 11. That figure is still lower than the 51.02% of Steam gamers that use Windows 10, but the gap is much smaller than what's seen in the overall desktop market. Additionally, Windows 11 usage is going up when it comes to Steam users. The Windows 11 share went up 3.54% in April 2024, according to the latest Steam monthly hardware survey. Windows 10's share went down 3.38% in the same timeframe, so it's not like gamers are scurrying off to macOS or Linux.

Why aren't people upgrading to Windows 11?

There are a variety of reasons that non-gamers stick with Windows 10, including the fact that some prefer to

stick with what they know works.

(Image credit: Future)

Since there are over a billion PCs running Windows, there are several factors when it comes to upgrading to a new version of the operating system. Windows 11 has strict minimum requirements that prevent many PCs from upgrading. There are also users who prefer to keep using what works and that will only transition to Windows 11 when they have to. While the disparity wasn't as dramatic, many Windows 7 users kept using that operating system until it reached end of support.

There are also plenty of PCs that aren't controlled by the primary user of the device. Enterprise customers tend to value stability over getting the latest features onto work PCs. Organizations that manage employee devices may stay on Windows 10 as long possible, including past the October 2025 cutoff date for Windows 10 support.

I doubt Microsoft would offer extended support and security updates for Windows 10 if there wasn't demand. Keeping Windows 10 secure will cost $61 per device for the first year and that cost will double annually for three years.

Everyday users who rely on Windows for a few apps and a web browser may not find a compelling reason to upgrade to Windows 11 either. Many of our readers are enthusiasts and study the ins and outs of all Windows updates, but millions of people only use their PC for a few specific tasks. I suspect a lot of those from the latter group take the approach of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Why do gamers upgrade to Windows 11?

The best gaming laptops and best prebuilt gaming PCs ship with Windows 11 rather than the ever-aging

Windows 10.

(Image credit: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy)

Gamers are a different type of Windows user than the non-gaming audience. Those who game on their PC often want to get the most out of their systems and get the best performance of their games. If a specific feature is exclusive to Windows 11, gamers are likely to upgrade, assuming their system supports it. 

While many PC gamers build their own systems, prebuilt PCs and gaming laptops are popular as well. The best gaming laptops and best prebuilt PCs are generally going to be newer systems with the latest CPUs, GPUs, and other components. As the launch of Windows 11 moves further in the rearview mirror, more gaming PCs ship with Windows 11 rather than Windows 10.

I also suspect that people who play games through Steam are more technical users than those who only use their PC for general productivity. Steam players are going to understand the pros and cons of upgrading to Windows 11. Based on the latest Steam survey, it's clear that gamers are moving to Windows 11 at a higher rate than general users.

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You're welcome

In a separate article, the company also detailed another security fix for a BitLocker Secure Boot bypass vulnerability that is being tracked under ID "CVE-2024-20666." Microsoft said that the security flaw could allow threat actors to bypass BitLocker encryption if they managed to get physical access to an unpatched PC.

The issue was addressed by KB5034441 (on Windows 10) and KB5034440 (on Windows 11) which were WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment) updates.

Microsoft, however, also cautioned that inadequate space on the recovery partition could lead to a "0x80070643 - ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE" error message when trying to install the WinRE WIM (Windows Imaging Format) update.

The issue can be resolved by allocating an additional 250 MB of storage space to the recovery partition. Details on how to do that can be found in this dedicated article.

The company had promised a fix was in the works, and later also officially confirmed that those without a WinRE partition could entirely skip it.

However, at least on Windows 10, Microsoft has acknowledged that an automatic resolution for this issue will not be released and as such, the only way to fix this is manually. Microsoft says:

Resolution: Automatic resolution of this issue won't be available in a future Windows update. Manual steps are necessary to complete the installation of this update on devices which are experiencing this error.

 

The WinRE partition requires 250 megabytes of free space. Devices which do not have sufficient free space will need to increase the size of the partition via manual action. For guidance on making this change, review the following resources:

 

• A code script can be used to extend the partition size. A sample script has been provided in the documentation for adding an update package to WinRE. See Extend the Windows RE Partition.
• Guidance to manually change the WinRE partition size can additionally be found in KB5028997: Instructions to manually resize your partition to install the WinRE update.

 

Completion of these manual steps will allow the installation of this update to succeed.

Hence, it looks like Microsoft has given up on an automatic fix for the issue at least on Windows 10. Hopefully, the same does not happen with Windows 11 as the issue is still open there.

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However, the stern system requirements for Windows 11 are what has prevented many from upgrading to the latest OS. As such, when the tech giant reminds users about the end of servicing for Windows versions, it also points to upgrading ineligible PCs too. The same was the case for Windows 8.1 as well.

Interestingly, those on Windows 8 who do not wish to upgrade their hardware or may not have the budget to do so, have a legitimate way to experience Windows 11.

Twitter (now X) and tech enthusiast Bob Pony found that Windows 8 users who do not have a PC compatible with Windows 11 can upgrade by selecting the Windows 11 version 24H2 IoT Enterprise Edition during the OS setup.

Unfortunately, this trick is unlikely to work with those who sport some really old processors that lack PopCnt or SSE4.2 instructions. In case you have not been following, the company is experimenting this block on 24H2 Insider builds.

This happens to be one of the several ways that the system requirements on Windows 11 can be bypassed. Earlier last month, in April, another way to bypass the block was discovered which involves selecting the Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC edition and it works on non-LTSC machines as well.

As the Windows 11 24H2 slowly approaches RTM, Insider testing for hardware compatibility is currently underway.

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170+ views, you're welcome...

"65000" error code was being displayed in the "Require Device Encryption" setting on Intune for Mobile Device Management (MDM). The tech giant noted that other than Intune, similar third-party apps may be affected too.

It explained:

Using the FixedDrivesEncryptionType or SystemDrivesEncryptionType policy settings in the BitLocker configuration service provider (CSP) node in mobile device management (MDM) apps might incorrectly show a 65000 error in the "Require Device Encryption" setting for some devices in your environment.

 

Affected environments are those with the “Enforce drive encryption type on operating system drives” or "Enforce drive encryption on fixed drives" policies set to enabled and selecting either "full encryption" or "used space only". Microsoft Intune is affected by this issue but third-party MDMs might also pe affected. Important: This issue is a reporting issue only and does not affect drive encryption or the reporting of other issues on the device, including other BitLocker issues.

Back then Microsoft had promised a fix and for the meantime, offered a workaround.

A few days ago, Microsoft finally confirmed that the bug had been fixed. The issue was already resolved via January updates, though Microsoft may have been conducting further tests to validate that the fix definitely works before closing the issue.

On its Windows health dashboard website, it writes:

Resolution: This issue was resolved by Windows updates released January 23, 2024 (KB5034203), and later. We recommend you install the latest security update for your device. It contains important improvements and issue resolutions, including this one.

You may know more about the issue on this page on Microsoft's official website.

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However, VPN (Virtual Private Network) problems are not isolated to third-party causes. Multiple times in the past, Windows updates have broken VPN settings, leading to connection failures and slow speeds, among other problems. Thankfully, Microsoft has also managed to fix such problems, even for preview builds for Insider channels.

The latest Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 11 (KB5036893), Windows 10 (KB5036892) as well as Windows Server, have VPN issues, the company has confirmed. The issue was posted on the Windows health dashboard.

This is outside of the several problems we have already reported about in a dedicated article, as well as the profile picture bug.

On the dashboard, Microsoft has explained the issue as well as how the Get Help app may be able to help affected users on Client. It does not, however, go too much into the details of what is causing the problems. Perhaps the company needs more time for that:

Windows devices might face VPN connection failures after installing the April 2024 security update or the April 2024 non-security preview update.

 

Next steps: We are working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release.

 

Windows support:

 

Home PC: If you need support with your personal or family account, use the Get help app in Windows.

 

Enterprise devices: Request help for your organization through Support for business.

 

Affected platforms:

 

Client: Windows 11, version 23H2; Windows 11, version 22H2, Windows 11, version 21H2, Windows 10, version 22H2, Windows 10, version 21H2.

 

Server: Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008.

You may find more details about it on this page on the Windows health dashboard.

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According to Statcounter, in April 2024, Windows 11 lost 0.97 points, going down from 26.68% to 25.65%. All those users seemingly went for Windows 10 since the OS, which will soon turn nine, crossed the 70% mark for the first time since September 2023, gaining 0.96 points.

It is interesting to see Windows 11 losing quite a significant chunk of users in the middle of its cycle. Even Windows 8 and 8.1, universally considered not great versions of Windows, only went down after the release of their successors. True, Statcounter is not 100% accurate in its estimates, but an almost 3-point decline for a product with over 1 billion devices is too big to dismiss.

Some argue that Windows 11 still offers little to no benefits for upgrading, especially in light of Microsoft killing some of the system's unique features, such as Windows Subsystem for Android. Add to that the ever-increasing number of ads, some of which are quite shameless, and you get an operating system that has a hard time winning hearts and minds, and retaining its customers.

Later this month, Microsoft will showcase new AI features for Windows 11, which could become the first solid reason to leave Windows 10 behind. However, rumors indicate some of the most exciting parts will not be available on existing hardware. Therefore, customers who do not plan to upgrade their PCs simply have no reason to stay with Windows 11.

As for Windows 7, despite the no-support state and the continuous developer support exodus, it is still alive and kicking. Statcounter says about 3% (-0.04 points) of all Windows PCs are still powered by Windows 7, which was fully discontinued in January 2023. Some developers still release updates for Windows 7, but most mainstream apps and browsers ditched the old OS many months ago.

1. Windows 10: 70.03% (+0.96 points)
2. Windows 11: 25.65% (-0.97 points)
3. Windows 7: 3% (-0.04 points)
4. Windows 8.1: 0.53% (+0.09 points)
5. Windows 8: 0.36% (+0.08 points)

You can find more information about the April 2024 report from Statcounter on the official website.

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Google Chrome, the most popular browser in the world, currently has a 65.94% market share. In April 2024, it increased by 0.17 points. Google does not want to give away its users, so it recently made sure that those who plan to buy next-gen Windows 11 AI PCs with ARM processors can continue using Chrome without interruption. As such, Chrome now has a native ARM64 version on Windows.

Moving to Edge, Microsoft's browser is currently at 12.82%, a modest 0.12-point increase over the previous month. However, this is not its highest value—in January 2024, Statcounter reported Edge's all-time high market share of 12.96% on the desktop market.

Safari closes the top 3 desktop browser list with 8.44%. Although Apple's browser lost 0.19 points during April 2024, it is still pretty far from Firefox, which has a 6.67% market share. The latter increased by 0.06 points.

1. Google Chrome - 65.94% (+0.17 points)
2. Microsoft Edge - 12.82% (+0.12 points)
3. Apple Safari - 8.44% (-0.19 points)
4. Mozilla Firefox - 6.67% (+0.06 points)
5. Opera - 3.09% (-0.07 points)

Here is what is happening on the mobile side of the market, where Chrome is also the undisputed king, with Safari in second place and Samsung Internet in third.

1. Google Chrome - 65.68% (+0.39 points)
2. Apple Safari - 23.75% (-0.51 points)
3. Samsung Internet - 4.33% (-0.08 points)
4. Opera - 2.17% (-0.03 points)
5. UC Browser - 1.43% (-0.01 points)

The mobile version of Microsoft Edge is in 9th place with a 0.39% market share.

You can find more information about Statcounter's latest browser report on the official website.

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It's expected that these unreleased features, being tested alongside internal builds of iOS 18 and macOS 15, could make their way to the end users as part of Safari 18 later this year, the report says.

Safari's revamped user interface consolidates essential controls into a single, easily accessible page controls menu in the address bar. The menu puts several options such as zoom, reader mode, privacy controls, content blocking, extension shortcuts, Web Eraser, and AI summary tool, in one place.

Apple's Intelligent Search could work similarly to the article summary feature available on the Arc browser, as per the publication. The feature is designed to summarize text by identifying key phrases and topics on the webpage.

Intelligent Search supposedly uses Apple's on-device AI technology, specifically the Ajax language-learning model, to deliver AI-enhanced browsing and text summarization. However, on the test builds of Safari 18, the feature needs to be activated manually from the new page controls menu.

Another feature in the works is called Web Eraser, which is again accessible through the page controls menu. As the name suggests, the feature lets you remove unwanted parts of a web page such as banner ads, text, images, or entire page sections.

The report says that Web Eraser remembers the content removed from a webpage, It will remain that way even if you close the original tab or window. The erasure tool will remind you about the modifications on your next visit, offering the option to roll back the changes and see the unedited version.

With that said, Safari isn't the only Apple software getting the AI treatment. It was previously reported that the Cupertino giant is readying generative AI features for iPhone's upcoming software upgrade, namely iOS 18. Apple was also reportedly spending millions of dollars a day on its ChatGPT rival.

Source: AppleInsider

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Some speculated that that could be a sign of Microsoft preparing an application for transferring data from other operating systems to Windows. In reality, however, things turned out to be much less exciting.

Brandon LeBlanc, Senior Program Manager at the Windows Insider team, explained that the spotted application is just a part of the Windows Backup app that, for some reason, incorrectly showed up in the Start menu's "All Apps" list.

Here is what Microsoft added to the official release notes for build 22635.3566 to clarify things:

[ADDED 4/29] A component related to upgrading and restoring data from Windows Backup called “Global.WindowsMigration” is incorrectly showing under the Start menu > All apps and will be fixed in the next Beta Channel flight.

Unlike Microsoft, Apple offers a special migration tool that lets customers transfer user data, such as contacts, calendars, email accounts, files, and more, from a Windows PC to a Mac. Last month, Apple released a new version with official macOS Sonoma support and other changes.

Although Windows 11 build 22635.3566 is a relatively small update, it contains several great changes. The "Show desktop" button is back at its place in the bottom-right corner of the screen, File Explorer's address bar "breadcrumbs" are working again (that is drag and drop to the address bar), you can duplicate tabs and create TAR or ZIP archives, plus the new "All Apps" layout received additional improvements.

Full release notes for Windows 11 build 22635.3566 are available here.

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What is new in Microsoft Edge 125 Beta?

• Microsoft Defender Application Guard extension deprecation. Because Application Guard is deprecated, there won't be a migration to Edge Manifest V3. The corresponding extensions and associated Windows Store app will not be available after May 2024. This affects the following browsers: Application Guard Extension - Chrome and Application Guard Extension - Firefox. If you want to block unprotected browsers until you're ready to retire MDAG usage in your enterprise, we recommend using AppLocker policies or Microsoft Edge management service. For more information, see Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Defender Application Guard, Deprecated features in the Windows client - What's new in Windows, and Microsoft Defender Application Guard - Windows Security.

   

• Auto-discarding Sleeping Tabs. Tabs that have been sleeping for a long time are discarded to save memory. When a user navigates back to a discarded tab, the tab needs to be reloaded. This can be managed through the AutoDiscardSleepingTabsEnabled policy. This policy is enabled if the SleepingTabsEnabled policy is enabled. Note: This feature is a controlled feature rollout. If you don't see this feature, check back as we continue our rollout.

   

• New Workspaces color display: browser window outline. Workspaces each have a dedicated color, and that color is now displayed as an outline on the browser window. The previous experience applied the color across the entire tab strip in horizontal tab orientation, and across the title bar in vertical tab orientation. Note: This feature is a controlled feature rollout. If you don't see this feature, check back as we continue our rollout.

   

• Full Favorites Bar available in Workspaces. Workspaces now display a user's full set of favorites in the Favorites Bar, with a dedicated workspace folder accessible from the bar. The previous experience replaced the Favorites Bar with the workspace favorites folder. Note: This feature is a controlled feature rollout. If you don't see this feature, check back as we continue our rollout.

In addition to new features, Edge 125 Beta contains fixes from the three recent Dev releases:

• Microsoft Edge Dev 125.0.2492.1

• Microsoft Edge Dev 125.0.2506.0

• Microsoft Edge Dev 125.0.2518.0

   

Finally, here are the new policies in Edge 125 Beta:

• ImageEditorServiceEnabled - Enable the Designer for Image Editor feature
• ZstdContentEncodingEnabled - Enable zstd content encoding support
• RAMResourceControlsEnabled - RAM (memory) resource controls enabled
• QRCodeGeneratorEnabled - Enable QR Code Generator

Microsoft Edge 125 Beta is available on the official Edge Insider website. Supported platforms include Windows 11, 10, macOS (10.15 Catalina and newer), Linux, and Android.

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The Mountain View-based firm said that with the latest Chrome update (M124), Google has integrated machine learning models into the omnibox or search bar. Machine learning will help Chrome provide accurate suggestions aligned with what you are searching for.

Google says that the browser previously relied on 'hand-built and hand-turned formulas' to suggest search results. However, the main problem with this was that these weren't flexible enough to bring improvements to or be adopted in new scenarios.

With the new machine learning models infused in the Chrome search bar, Google can 'collect fresher signals, re-train, evaluate, and deploy new models' as time passes. Since the number one answer when asked for ideas to improve the omnibox was to 'improve the scoring system', the adoption of machine learning in the search bar is a big deal because, as noted by Google, "the scoring system went largely untouched for a long time."

According to Google, the machine learning model in the Chrome omnibox will take into account your previous actions over a URL when suggesting a web page. Meaning, that if you navigated away from a web page in the last few seconds or minutes, the machine learning model will rate that web page a lower score based on its understanding that it was not the site that you were looking for.

Going forward, Google believes that this new machine learning model will open up "many new possibilities to improve the user experience by potentially incorporating new signals, like differentiating between times of the day to improve relevance."

Additionally, Google says that the relevance scoring system should change with time, and thanks to the new scoring system, it can now "simply collect fresher signals, re-train, evaluate, and deploy new models periodically over time" for better results.

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What you need to know 

• Popular alternative web browser Arc that first debuted on Mac is now available on Windows 11.
• It's the first app ever to be brought to Windows using Apple's Swift development language.
• The app also uses WinUI 3.0, which means it looks and feels like a native Windows app.

The Browser Company has finally released its popular Arc web browser, which first debuted on Mac to critical acclaim, for Windows 11 today. The browser is unique in that it features an unusual interface layout that places open and saved tabs on the left, and utilizes spaces and groups to better manage and organize your browsing habits.

I've been using Arc for Windows for a number of weeks, and it's been quite an eye opening experience. It's really different, in a good way. It makes you rethink how you browse the web. The Arc sidebar is the main reason why this browser is so different, as it's where all your open tabs and bookmarks are stored. The address bar has been de-emphasized, and clicking it will present you with a text field that appears in the middle of the browser.

The browser also includes a feature called Spaces, which lets you group specific tabs and bookmarks into separate sidebar views which you can switch between. This is great for separating your work life from your home life, or organizing your browsing tabs into segregated projects for you to keep track of. You can even customize the color of the browser in each space, and give them names to better differentiate them. 

(Image credit: The Browser Company)

Other Arc features include split view, which lets you view two tabs in one window at the same time. There's also Peek, which lets you view into a link without turning it into a dedicated tab, great for when you just need to see into a webpage briefly. Lastly, Arc for Windows include built-in touchscreen support, making it one of few browsers on Windows that are designed to be used with touch. 

Most notably, Arc for Windows is the first modern Windows browser to utilzie WinUI 3.0, Windows' native design language. This means the browser itself looks and feels like a native Windows app, complete with Acrylic and Mica blur effects, along with rounded corners. It really does look at home on Windows, and very beautiful.

It's interesting to see a new web browser break ground on Windows in the year 2024, as the browser market is already well established, with most users unwilling to switch from what they already use. So why build a new browser for Windows in 2024? I had a chance to sit down with engineer Alexandra and designer Ben from The Browser Company to discuss this.

"The internet has changed a lot in the past 25-30 years since the browser was created and we feel like the interface to the internet hasn't really changed that much" says Alexandra. "Windows is the largest web-based user base, and so it was pretty critical for us to bring Arc [to Windows] and also give [Windows] new Interface to use the internet."

(Image credit: The Browser Company)

My first few days with Arc for Windows were pretty tough, as the interface is so different from any other browser I've used before. You really need to give it some time to get used to it, and pretty much forget about all your old browsing habits to truly make use of Arc's unique interface. I was curious about whether The Browser Company is worried about new users potentially being scared away from Arc.

"It's just part of making something different." Ben Cunningham tells me. "I think it's important to for us to accept that this browser won't be for everyone. There's a lot of people who just really need to open up Chrome for one or two tabs, or maybe they're on Safari and just like using the defaults, and that's fine with us."

Arc for Windows has been in private testing for a number of months, and is the first ever app to be brought over to Windows using Apple's Swift development language, making Arc unique in its own right. This means Arc for Windows and Arc for Mac share roughly 80% of the same codebase, meaning The Browser Company can keep both up to date at the same pace. With that said, Arc for Windows and Arc for Mac are not yet at feature parity.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

The Browser Company has engineered its own development bridge which allows Swift apps to communicate with Windows APIs, and has even open sourced this effort so that other Mac apps using Swift can be more easily ported to Windows too. 

"It was a truly tremendous effort," says Ben Cunningham. "A big part of this effort started almost as a science project. Can we use Swift, this language that's been created and incubated by Apple for years, and make a really nice Windows app using it? We basically created a bridge that would let us write the app in Swift and share a lot of code and logic from the Mac app. But render really beautifully and natively using wind UI and Native Windows components."

Arc for Windows is available today for Windows 11, and will be available for Windows 10 in the coming weeks. The Browser Company also tells me that support for Windows on Arm is in the works, and is currently being tested internally. 

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