Windows Weekly 876: Solder On

Leo, Richard, and Paul discuss the coming Windows/AI inflection, Windows 11 Moment 5, TSMC in the USA, AI, Xbox, and so much more.

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Windows, AI, and the future

Windows 11 24H2, AI, NPUs, and SoCs from Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm are all on the way this year. But a schedule is finally starting to emerge. And it looks like we’ll soon have answers to the questions about how or why AI will matter on PCs.

• Windows 11 version 24H2 – staggered release schedule as discussed last week
• Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite-based PCs in May/June – nothing but good news to date, but Paul went hands-on last week. It’s the real deal.
• Intel’s first-gen Core Ultra chipsets are lackluster, but now we have big promises for Arrow Lake in late 2024 … And similar but vaguer promises from AMD
• Microsoft Build 2024 is in mid-May, and now we have a session list with some nice clues. For example, Introducing the Next Generation of Windows on Arm
• Microsoft is expected to unveil 24H2 and new X Elite-based Surface PCs at Build
• Computex and other milestones, and then back-to-school and holiday selling periods

Windows 11

Moment 5 arrives in stable with yesterday’s Patch Tuesday (which is now called the General Availability channel, by the way) – We still don’t have all the features yet, of course. In particular, waiting on Android phone as a webcam. IDC says PC market grew by 1.5 percent in Q1 and acts like it’s the turnaround of the century

Microsoft is manually blocking certain registry keys related to default browsers now: Apple-like non-EU belligerence or pragmatic protection of user choice? Why can’t it be both?

Windows Insider Program

• Beta channel (last week) – Copilot actions improvements
• New Store app update improvements performance dramatically

The Windows 11 de-enshittification experiments continue

• First, a list of the problems, rated by severity
• Fixes vs. workarounds
• Does Windows 11 Enterprise solve the problem? … No. So it’s time to move on

Hardware

TSMC gets some of that sweet, sweet CHIPS Act money to expand its US operations

AI

Three AIs

Blockbuster report claims OpenAI/Microsoft, Google, and Meta stole content at scale to train AI

Microsoft opens a new AI hub in London

Google mulls charging for generative AI in Search

Spotify lets user create AI playlists using text prompts now

Brave brings Leo to iOS, so it’s on all supported platforms now – And it added Leo to Brave Talk Premium too

Google rebrands Studio Bot to Gemini in Android Studio, still in preview – this is their GitHub Copilot

Xbox

Microsoft rolls out April updates for Xbox consoles, Xbox app on PC

Xbox reorgs, Kareem Choudhry leaves Microsoft

A rumored game preservation team is too obvious not to be true

Tips and picks

Tip of the week: Microsoft Store hosts its annual Spring Sale

There are some good deals on hardware and PC and Xbox console games

App pick of the week: Outliers

A few outliers this week, both of which run on Windows and mobile: Standard Notes (acquired by Proton) and Beeper (acquired by Automattic).

RunAs Radio this week: Securing AI with Sarah Young

https://runasradio.com/Shows/Show/927

Brown liquor pick of the week: Dalwhinnie 15

https://www.malts.com/en-row/brands/dalwhinnie

Intel’s first-gen Core Ultra chipsets are lackluster, but now we have big promises for Arrow Lake in late 2024 … And similar but vaguer promises from AMD