Microsoft Weekly: 400+ million Windows 11 devices, PCs cooled with real blood, and more

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we look at Windows 11 and its 400+ million monthly active devices, a bunch of neat new features in the latest preview builds, performance improvements for the Microsoft Store, PCs cooled with human blood, Edge updates, Surface updates, and gaming news.

Table of contents:

1. Windows 11 news
2. Updates are available
3. Gaming news
4. Reviews are in
5. More Microsoft news
6. A blast from Microsoft's past
7. Random fact about Microsoft

Windows 11

Here we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And of course, you may find a word or two about older but still supported versions.

Let us start the Windows 11 section with some fresh stats. According to a newly published report, Windows 11 recently crossed 400 million active devices. Although it may not sound that impressive to some, considering that the OS is now two years old, the figure is higher than what Microsoft initially expected.

If you feel tired of Windows 11, checking out Linux might be a good option, especially with its performance improvements. Even Microsoft thinks you should try Linux—the company released a handy guide to help those unfamiliar with Linux get started with the operating system.

Windows Insider Program

Here are the new Windows preview builds Microsoft released for testing this week:

• Server vNext: 25977 with new Desktop Experience features.
• Canary Channel: 25977 with Bluetooth LE Audio support for hearing aids, location improvements, and more.
• Dev Channel: 23570 with fixes for File Explorer, Copilot improvements, and more.
• Beta Channel: 22635.2486 with a bunch of improvements and minor changes.
• Release Preview: 19045.3633 for Windows 10 with DST changes in Syria and minor changes across the operating system.

Unlike the latest Dev build, 25977 from the Canary Channel introduced many new features, including some hidden ones. You can now share Wi-Fi passwords using QR codes, install network drivers during the initial setup (OOBE), and have better control over your privacy thanks to new Wi-Fi network access settings. As a cherry on top, there are also new animated network icons.

In addition, users discovered that Release Preview build 22621.2500 (KB5031455) contains a new Settings app section called System Components with stock applications, such as Microsoft Store, Phone Link, Windows Security, Game Bar, and more. A few months ago, Microsoft added a "System" badge to the Start menu to help users understand the meaning of specific apps, and the new Settings section expands the idea.

Updates are available

This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties.

Microsoft announced its plan to give a helping arm to developers thinking about porting their projects to Windows on ARM (sorry). On October 16, the company unveiled the ARM Advisory Service to help app-makers ensure their apps work well (emulation or native) on Windows PCs powered by ARM processors (the Surface Pro 9 5G, for example). The program includes QAs, guidance, suggestions, code samples, and other assistance needed on the road to creating a native or porting an existing app to ARM. The ARM Advisory Service program will come in handy in light of the news about Qualcomm making a big push with its upcoming Series X processor family for Windows on ARM.

In addition to ARM Advisory Service, Microsoft announced enhancements to Test Base for Microsoft 365 to help developers test their applications for the upcoming Windows 11 version 23H2 release.

Another week, another unofficial update for the original Surface Duo. In the last Microsoft Weekly, we covered the first unofficial Android 14 ROM. Now, it is time for preliminary Surface Dial support. This quirky display accessory may soon work on displays of the original Duo.

Here are the official Surface firmware updates released this week:

• Surface Book 3 with fixes for critical security vulnerabilities in Intel's firmware.
• Surface Laptop 4 (Intel) with audio improvements.
• Surface Duo 2 with generic security patches.

Microsoft Edge Canary received a neat update for the Split Screen feature, allowing you to display two pages in one browser window by dragging a tab to the right instead of clicking a button on the toolbar. Check out this article to learn how to enable the updated Split Screen.

However, the updated Split Screen is not the only great change released in the Canary Channel this week. One of the recent updates restored the previously deleted flag responsible for enabling the Mica material. You can once again make the Edge browser look pretty by enabling translucency effects on the tab strip, toolbar, and sidebar.

The Microsoft Store also made it to the news this week thanks to significant performance improvements in the latest update. Version 22309 finally fixed the long startup time, making the Microsoft Store open in one or two seconds.

Other notable software updates released this week include the following:

• VirtualBox 7.0.12 with fixes for the black screen when using Windows, TPM issues, nested virtualization, BIOS bugs, and more.
• VMware Workstation Pro and Player 17.5 with improved vTPM support and plenty of various fixes.
• Edge 120 in the Dev Channel with new extension API to toggle PDF translate and more.
• Microsoft Dev Home Preview 0.6 with machine configuration summary changes.
• Improvements for automatic data conversion features in Microsoft Excel on Windows and macOS.

Here are the drivers released this week:

• AMD Adrenalin Edition Technical Preview 23.30.01.02 with Fluid Motion Frames support for any DirectX 11 and 12 game when running on a RX 6000 or RX 7000 graphics cards.
• AMD Radeon Software 23.10.2 with optimizations for Forza Motorsport, AC Mirage, and The Lords of the Fallen. In addition, the release turns off the Anti-Lag+ feature following reports of players getting banned in multiplayer games.
• NVIDIA 545.84 with RTX Video Super Resolution support on the RTX 2000 series and two bug fixes.

On the gaming side

Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts and more.

Forza Motorsport received its first post-launch update to resolve a large number of bugs on PC and consoles. Patch 1.0 improves stability, progression, graphics, multiplayer, tracks, and other aspects of the game.

Mojang, a studio Microsoft purchased nine years ago, held its annual Minecraft Live event this week, where it usually debuts game-related announcements, new features, mobs, and other changes. Here is what was new on Minecraft Live 2023:

• The 1.21 Vanilla Update with automated crafting, new underground structures with a new hostile mob (trial chambers), copper bulbs, and more.
• New Start Wars and Planet Earth III DLC packs.
• New content for Minecraft Legends, such as two in-game events, new units (piglins and frogs), and new allies. Minecraft Legends is available on all modern platforms, including PC and Xbox Game Pass.

Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order will soon launch their much-anticipated sequel to the original Cities Skylines on PC. Although the game is still on track to release on October 24, 2023, PC gamers may have a hard time playing the initial version.

Developers raised the hardware requirements and announced that the game would not meet their performance standards. However, gamers can expect plenty of patches and updates to resolve the situation and make the game work better on PCs that meet its hardware requirements. As a reminder, Colossal Order delayed the console release to resolve similar performance issues.

Speaking of having a hard time running some games, here are the hardware requirements for the upcoming Alan Wake II release. Spoiler alert: you need a beefier PC to run the game, as even the lowest settings at 1080p require an RTX 2060/RX 6600, 6GB of VRAM, 16GB of RAM, and at least 90GB of free space on your SSD. That is right, no more spinning hard drives.

We had no new hardware announcements from Microsoft this week, but you still have a chance to get your hands on a unique custom Xbox Series X console. Microsoft's official X (Twitter) account announced the Diablo IV Xbox Sweepstakes, giving gamers a chance to win a custom Diablo IV Xbox Series X with an appropriately-themed stand. The contest ends on October 30, 2023, so you still have time to try your luck.

If that sinister-looking Xbox Series X is not enough to impress you, here is a PC cooled with real blood. Blizzard announced a promo to encourage Diablo IV players to donate their blood at any blood clinic. Participants can win a custom-built high-end PC with real human blood in its coolant.

The PC and Xbox Game Pass catalog received a fresh batch of new games. The latest additions include F1 Manager 2023, Cities: Skylines II, Dead Space, Like A Dragon: Ishin! and more. Five other games will soon leave the subscription service, so get ready to kiss goodbye to Gunfire Reborn, Persona 5 Royal, and others. As for Activision-Blizzard games, Phil Spencer revealed in an interview that gamers should not expect those titles in the Game Pass catalog earlier than 2024.

NVIDIA's GeForce NOW service also received a host of new titles, such as Counter-Strik 2, AirportSim, Ddead by Daylight, EverSpace 2, Torchlight III, and others.

Finally, Microsoft announced a set of accessibility improvements for Game Bar on PC. The latest update makes it easier for players to locate accessibility settings for visual and audio-related controls.

Deals and Freebies

This week's PC game deals cover Jedi hits, Warner discounts, Civilization bundles, multiple discounts on DRM-free games from GOG Galaxy, and more. Also, as usual, The Epic Games Store is giving away two games: The Evil Within and Ethernal Threads.

If you still have a hard time finding an interesting title to play, check out our updated picks for the most anticipated titles coming soon to Xbox Series X|S.

Reviews are in

Here are the latest hardware or software reviews published on Neowin during the last week.

On October 16, 2023, Intel announced the 14th generation of its desktop processors. The new model lineup consists of three models and their corresponding KF variants without an iGPU. Steven Parker published a comprehensive review of the Intel Core i9-14900K and its more affordable sibling, the Intel Core i5-14600K. Both processors deliver fantastic performance, and the flagship can dethrone one of the best chips AMD currently offers. However, you need to invest into a solid cooler to tame the new Core i9 model, plus your power bill might suffer a bit due to not-so-great power efficiency.

The second review moves from computers to unconventional smartphones. Check out our review of the Outitel WP27, a rugged phone with a night vision camera, an inexpensive price tag, and a casing that can withstand your abusive behavior sparked by the smartphone's less-than-satisfactory software.

More about Microsoft

LinkedIn, a professional social network Microsoft acquired in 2016 for $26.2 billion, announced a new round of layoffs. According to a statement from the company, LinkedIn will let go of approximately 668 roles across different teams, such as product, engineering, finance, and talent. The news emerged at an interesting time, right after Microsoft closed the Activision-Blizzard merger, which added roughly 17,000 new employees to Microsoft's immense workforce.

On the more exciting side, Microsoft announced Project Silica, an attempt to create a storage solution capable of keeping a multitude of data for up to 10,000 years. Project Silica writes data into small glass plates using an ultrafast femtosecond laser, resulting in compact, durable, and passive storage. Microsoft will use the technology to help create a music vault in Norway. However, the company claims it will take at least three more development stages before Project Silica becomes commercially viable.

A blast from Microsoft's past

John Callaham's weekly "Look back" series provides throwbacks into the past, detailing the company's products, partnerships, mishaps, and successes from years ago.

During its annual Minecraft Live event, Mojang, a Microsoft-owned studio, revealed a big new update for the game and a few impressive stats. For this occasion, John Callaham published a look-back article detailing the development of Minecraft and its acquisition in September 2014 for $2.5 billion. That amount of money seemed crazy then, but we did not know that Microsoft would shell out almost thirty times more for Activision-Blizzard in less than a decade.

The second look-back article is also about gaming, albeit a much older one. Microsoft Minesweeper, released in 1990 as a part of Microsoft Entertainment Pack 1, is one of the oldest and most-known Windows games. Check out this article to learn more about its story.

Random fact about Microsoft

And here is a randomly selected piece of trivia about the company, Windows, and other Microsoft-made things.

Did you know that Windows 3.0, released in May 1990, was the first operating system from Microsoft capable of running multiple apps at once? Early Windows versions were graphical user interfaces for MS-DOS, designed to work with only one app at a time. However, with processors becoming more powerful and advanced, Microsoft developed Windows 3.0 with "real mode" and "protected mode." The former enabled backward compatibility and allowed less powerful devices to run Windows 3.0, while the latter introduced multi-app support and enhanced memory management.

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