Microsoft Weekly: Windows 11 strains your CPU to work faster, Xbox ditches Copilot, and more

This week's Microsoft Weekly news recap has performance boost for Windows 11, new preview builds, and more.

This week's news recap is here, with Microsoft fixing Windows 11's performance by increasing CPU speeds, Xbox ditching Copilot and getting a new boot animation, fresh Windows 11 preview builds with new trackpad features, some browser controversies, and more.

Quick links:

1. Windows 10 and 11
2. Windows Insider Program
3. Updates are available
4. Reviews are in
5. Gaming news

Windows 11 and Windows 10

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 versions.

The biggest news story of this week was about Microsoft making Windows 11 faster by not optimizing it, but by straining your processor harder. A new report emerged about Microsoft implementing the so-called Low Latency Mode, where Windows 11 increases CPU clocks for one to three seconds to launch apps or render UI surfaces faster. You can already try this mode by enabling two features in the latest preview builds, and tests show that apps launch indeed notably faster.

Not everyone is happy about this approach, and there is already a fair share of skepticism claiming that Microsoft's way to speed up Windows 11 is just lazy.

This week, Valve released the latest results of the Steam Hardware & Software Survey for April 2026. It revealed that Windows 11 is now installed on ~67.74% of all PCs accessing the gaming platform. Windows 10, on the other hand, is still holding strong at ~25% of all devices.

As Microsoft is moving away from legacy printer drivers, the company is making it easier to identify modern drivers that support Windows Protected Print Mode. The latest Windows 11 updates introduced a new indicator to help users understand which printers support the latest, most secure and compatible standards.

Also, Microsoft released new setup and recovery updates for Windows 11.

If you want to create a bootable USB media using Rufus, note that the app currently has some issues with the new silent installation method and Windows 11's hardware requirements bypass. And those who run Windows 11 on lower-end devices that are running out of space can check out the new FluentCleaner app, which uses community-driven scripts to reclaim storage on drive C by deleting junk, leftovers, unnecessary files, and more. Another useful app, UniGetUI, was also updated with better looks and design.

To finish this week's Windows 11 section, here is a community poll that we are currently running. With Microsoft now fixing Windows 11, do you think the company can change what people think about the operating system? Maybe its reputation can no longer be saved? Cast your vote and share your thoughts here. Also, check out this interesting story behind the Tab key.

Windows Insider Program

Here is what Microsoft released for Windows Insiders this week:

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.

This week's browser stories included plenty of controversy. First, users discovered that Microsoft Edge stores passwords in memory in plain text, and the company says that there is nothing wrong with that. Next, Google Chrome is now silently installing 4GB of AI-related stuff without asking you. However, there is a workaround for that.

Mozilla had no controversies this week. The company released Firefox 150.0.2 with bug fixes and security patches, making the browsing experience a bit better and less buggy.

Here are other updates and releases you may find interesting:

• Microsoft Defender flagging "Cerdigent" trojan malware on Windows 11, Server PCs worldwide.
• Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android will soon let you join Zoom and Webex calls via SIP.

• Microsoft faces fresh criticism for removing "HUGELY impactful" Outlook feature.

• Microsoft is bringing a much-needed feature to Outlook.

• Microsoft makes company developer accounts free for the Microsoft Store.

• Microsoft brings Copilot Cowork to iOS and Android, adds Skills and plugins.

• If you downloaded this popular software recently, you might have installed malware.

• Sysinternals tools receive major updates.

   

Here are the latest drivers and firmware updates released this week:

• AMD Radeon Software 26.5.1 with Pragmata support and Resident Evil Requiem stutter fixes.

Reviews are in

Here is the hardware and software we reviewed this week

This week, we reviewed the Akko Dash V9 Ultra, a super-light gaming mouse with a comfortable design (not for all, but still), a rich set of accessories in the box, a flagship 8KHz sensor, and good browser-based software. This inexpensive mouse is a nice accessory for those who want a solid, reliable, no-frills mouse for gaming. While it may not be the best option for productivity, it is great for its purpose.

Pulasthi Ariyasinghe reviewed Dead as Disco, an interesting mix of music and combat, which is now available in early access. It has extremely satisfying rhythm gameplay, well-directed music video-style boss battles, custom music support, and more. By the way, Dead as Disco is coming to NVIDIA's GeForce NOW cloud streaming service, so if you do not have compatible hardware but still want to play the game, you can use NVIDIA's cloud.

On the gaming side

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

Forza Horizon 6 is launching next week. The game has gone gold, and to mark the occasion, Playground Games revealed the list of radio stations, performance details on Xbox Series X|S, and more. By the way, we are playing the game ahead of launch, and if you have questions you would like to see answered in our review, drop them here.

By the way, Forza Horizon 6 is coming to Xbox Game Pass next week, alongside a fresh batch of other games you can check out here.

A new world update has hit Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024. This time, Microsoft is bringing new details to Australia so that you can check out giant spiders and kangaroos in more fidelity as you fly through this continent. Developers say the latest update sets a new standard in realism.

Valve launched its newest controller, and, as expected, scalpers swooped up everything. The initial stock was gone, reduced to atoms in just 30 minutes, only to show up on marketplaces at inflated prices later on. To combat scalpers, Valve is now implementing a new reservation system for its new gamepad. By the way, Valve also released CAD files for the gamepad so that modders and enthusiasts can pimp their controllers to oblivion.

If you still play games on Xbox One or PlayStation 4 and want to get your hands on the next Call of Duty, bad news: Activision has confirmed that the previous-gen consoles from 2013 won't be able to play the next installment of the popular shooter franchise.

Microsoft is updating the startup animation on its consoles. This week, the company revealed a new glowing green animation for Xbox consoles, and you'll get it as early as this Wednesday. What you are not getting is Copilot. Xbox's new boss announced that the console is not getting Copilot after all, delighting gamers and customers jaded by Microsoft's AI efforts.

Finally, here are this week's Epic Game Store giveaways that include two games: Trash Goblin and Arrenger.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Sunday 10 May 2026 at 5:29 pm AEST (my time).

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