This week’s news recap is here with the latest news from the world of Microsoft from the last seven days, including fake reports about Windows 12 launching soon, angry users about supposed forced updates to Windows 11, Build 2026 date reveal, new builds, gaming news, reviews, and more.
Quick links:
- Windows 10 and 11
- Windows Insider Program
- Updates are available
- Reviews are in
- Gaming news
- Great deals to check
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.
No, Windows 12 is not coming this year. A false report misled many users when a blog claimed that Windows 12 is on track to be released in 2026. Fake news, folks!
Microsoft never said it would start force-updating Windows 10 users to Windows 11, even though the former is now unsupported. However, looks like that is exactly what may have happened to one unfortunate user who ended up with a PC magically updated to Windows 11 while they were taking a shower. The centered taskbar was an insult to injury, and the frustrated user called Microsoft “idiot” for that. Fuming!
Now, with that user on Windows 11, the operating system has increased its market share just a little bit. However, it appears that there are quite a lot of people upgrading to Windows 11 willingly or against their will, as Statcounter reported a massive increase in the operating system’s market share for the second month in a row. If the latest data is to be believed, nearly 73% of all PCs run Windows 11.
Unsolicited updates are not the only problem that some users are dealing with. There are reports about Windows 11 still breaking the internet on systems with versions 25H2, 24H2 or 23H2 after in-place upgrades from Windows 10. Unfortunately, Microsoft remains silent about this issue.
Do you remember reports about Microsoft removing the clean-install requirement for the Smart App Control feature? It happened with a recent cumulative update, but as it turned out, the requirement is still there. Microsoft has updated the changelog to clarify that if you disable Smart App Control, turning it back on still requires a clean system install.
Also, Microsoft released new Windows 11 setup and recovery updates.
This week, a Florida woman was sentenced to nearly two years in prison. The reason? Conspiring to traffic in illicit Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity (COA) labels and profit from selling them far below retail price. According to Microsoft, a COA label is “not a license,” and it holds no independent commercial value without the software it authenticates. About such “standalone” COAs, Microsoft confirms that they are “often counterfeit COAs” that are part of “excessive inventory.”
To finish this week’s Windows section, here is a set of gorgeous-looking wallpapers that mix the iconic Windows XP Bliss wallpaper with Windows 11’s stock Bloom wallpaper.
Windows Insider Program
Here is what Microsoft released for Windows Insiders this week:
| Builds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Canary Channel |
This small build has only two changes: improved reliability of Windows Update files and the ability to use voice typing when renaming files in File Explorer. |
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| Dev Channel |
Builds 26300.7965 and 26220.7961 This set of builds brought optimizations for the share tray and useful File Explorer improvements, including a much-needed fix for the app throwing a flashbang at you when opening new tabs or windows. |
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| Beta Channel | |||
| Release Preview Channel |
Nothing in Release Preview this week |
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With recent Windows 11 preview builds, Microsoft is updating a very useful audio feature in the operating system. The company is currently testing shared audio support in Windows 11, allowing you to play audio on two sets of headphones. After updating to the latest builds, Windows 11 users with supported hardware can adjust volume for each device separately. There is also a new shared audio icon on the taskbar that makes accessing the feature much easier.
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 has revealed the dates of this year’s Build 2026 developer conference. Mark June 2 and 3 in your calendars if you plan to follow the event to learn more about the company’s latest developer advancements and tools.
Files is one of our favorite third-party file managers for Windows 10 and 11. This week, it received a couple of updates. First, an update brought improvements for context menus and a bunch of fixes. Later, another update introduced a performance boost for thumbnail loading and a couple of extra fixes.
If you use PowerPoint, you will be glad to learn that the app now has a built-in image editor for advanced image editing. You can now use PowerPoint to remove backgrounds, erase unwanted elements, upscale images, enhance image quality, add text, and more. The feature is now rolling out to PowerPoint on Windows, Mac, and the web.
This week’s browser updates include two major things: a change in Chrome’s release schedule and a big redesign for Firefox. Starting with Chrome, Google is shifting to a two-week feature release, claiming that the web platform is constantly advancing, and it requires a faster release schedule so that developers and users have “immediate access to the latest performance improvements, fixes, and new capabilities.”
As for Firefox, Mozilla is working on a major UI rework to make the browser more modern, and the first mockups are already available online, giving you a glimpse of what may soon arrive as the “Nova” redesign.
Speaking of redesigns, there is now a WinUI-based Task Scheduler for Windows 11, which turns an old piece of legacy Microsoft code into a more modern app with dark mode support. By the way, Winslop, a popular tool for removing AI components from Windows 11, received the same treatment this week.
Here are other updates and releases you may find interesting:
Here are the latest drivers and firmware updates released this week:
- NVIDIA 595.71 WHQL. This driver is a re-release of the one NVIDIA had to pull due to broken fan control apps. Besides fixing that, the new driver added a few more improvements and fixes. However, it broke overclocking on certain GPUs, forcing NVIDIA to come up with a quick hotfix release.
Reviews are in
Here is the hardware and software we reviewed this week
This week, Steven Parker unboxed the HONOR Magic V6, the latest foldable from HONOR that features a bigger battery, a larger exterior screen, a thinner chassis, and a few other improvements. It is not a fully-fledged review (that is coming soon), but you can still check out the first impressions if you are looking for a foldable that is not from Samsung or Google.
We also published a review of the CHUWI CoreBook Air, an interesting laptop from a non-mainstream manufacturer that has one serious trick up its sleeve: lightness. This nice-looking laptop weighs only 1 kg. Despite that, it does not compromise on build quality. There is also a decent display, a solid keyboard, plenty of useful ports, and even a physical camera shutter. The laptop is not perfect, but for less than $500, it is a tempting offer.
On the gaming side
Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts, and more.
The biggest gaming news of this week is the announcement of Project Helix, Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox. Besides revealing the codename, Microsoft confirmed that the console will be able to play not just console games, but PC games as well. Further details remain unknown, but Microsoft plans to speak to its partners at the Game Developer Conference next week.
Microsoft’s handheld console, the ASUS Xbox ROG Ally X, received a few software improvements this week. Microsoft updated its software with automatic gameplay clipping, which will record interesting gameplay moments without any input from you. This feature is currently available in preview. Speaking of Xbox doing things for you, Microsoft registered a new patent that describes AI playing games for you in certain scenarios, like when you are stuck.
A new wave of games for Game Pass is here, and this time, it brings some heavy-hitters. The latest additions include F1 25, Cyberpunk 2077, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and more. By the way, F1 25 is now available in EA Play as well, alongside some other new games. Finally, new games are available for NVIDIA GeForce NOW as well. Those include Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered, Esoteric Ebb, Slay the Spire 2, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, Crimson Desert, and more.
As usual, here is our weekly Weekend PC Game Deals article where we gather a long list of games that are now available with big discounts, plus regular freebies from the Epic Games Store.
Finally, check out Neowin’s review of Planet of Lana II, a beautiful sci-fi adventure with fantastic art and animation, an iconic soundtrack, fun puzzles, and more. This $19.99 game is now available, and it is a great thing to play.
Great deals to check
Every week, we cover many deals on different hardware and software. The following discounts are still available, so check them out. You might find something you want or need.
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