Windows 11 “Moment 5” Update is Reportedly Coming in February 2024

After Microsoft released Windows 11 version 23H2 this fall, a smaller “Moment 5” update is reportedly coming early next year. According to Windows Central’s Zac Bowden, new Windows 11 features that Microsoft is currently testing with Insiders across various channels will be released as part of a “Moment 5” update in February 2024.

“According to my sources, the next Windows 11 Moment update is expected to be finalized in early February, with rollout scheduled to begin a few weeks later. Internally, Microsoft also calls this feature drop the “February 2024 Moment,” which implies it will hit general availability sometime in February,” the report reads.

Bowden expects the Moment 5 update for Windows 11 23H2 to be the only “Moment” update for the OS next year until the next annual update, codenamed “Hudson Valley”, is released in the fall of 2024. This update, which may or may not be called “Windows 12”, will reportedly double down on AI features, with a new Copilot assistant that could run in the background.

In the meantime, here are the new Windows 11 features that are expected to be part of the next Moment update coming in February:

Ink everywhere you can type: Users with a PC with a digital pen will be able to ink directly into all boxes that accept text input across the OS

Changes to inbox apps and Windows Search (EU only): Users in the EU will be able to uninstall more inbox apps including Microsoft Edge. The Windows Search panel will also support adding other search providers than Bing.

Widgets changes: Windows 11 users will be able to disable the Microsoft Start feed in the Widgets panel and also pick up other news providers instead.

Windows Spotlight changes: Windows Spotlight, which offers a different wallpaper from Bing every day will be the new default wallpaper option for people who were previously using one of the default Windows wallpapers.

Nearby Share: The Windows feature that lets users share documents, photos, and more with nearby PCs by using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi will let users pick up a custom name for their PC.

Copilot improvements: The new AI assistant is getting an undocked mode, and the app’s window will also appear alongside other thumbnails when pressing Alt + Tab.

Windows 365 improvements: Windows 365 Boot will let users log in to their Windows 365 Cloud PC from the Windows 11 login screen using Windows Hello for Business. Windows 365 Switch, which makes Cloud PCs accessible from Task View, will also offer the option to disconnect from a Cloud PC from this interface.

Voice Access and Narrator improvements: Voice Access is getting multiple monitor support and the ability to create custom voice commands. Narrator will also let users use voice access to interact with the OS.

NotePad: The text editor, which is now being updated via the Microsoft Store, will get a character count display in the status bar for selected text. Microsoft will also be adding a new ‘Edit with Notepad’ option in the context menu in File Explorer

If you’re a Windows Insider on the Canary, Dev, or Beta Channel, you should likely be able to test most of these new features. As usual, some of them are rolling out in waves, which is always frustrating when you’re eager to try out the latest changes coming to Windows 11. Anyway, this list may not be complete yet as Microsoft still has time to introduce new changes before the “Moment 5” update is finalized and February.

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