Microsoft just rolled out one of its biggest updates yet for Windows 11. Although the important additions to the completely new, never-before-seen artificial intelligence assistant Copilot, artificial intelligence Paint and the Snipping Tool form the basis of the update, there are a lot of big and small things coming. Let’s take a look at theseFarewell Cortana! Hello Windows Copilot
The biggest feature that came with the Windows 11 22H2 (KB5030310) Tuesday patch, released on September 26, is undoubtedly Windows Copilot. This AI assistant brings the same Bing Chat feature directly to the Windows 11 desktop. This feature, which appears as a sidebar in Windows 11, allows you to control settings on the computer, launch applications or simply answer queries. Microsoft also integrates Copilot into many parts of Windows.Paint is now much more advanced
Microsoft is also adding AI-powered features to Paint, Snipping Tool, and Windows 11’s Photos app. Microsoft Paint gains Photoshop-like features with transparency and layer support. Microsoft will also be adding a new AI image creator to Paint soon. Windows Insiders have already started signing up for the waiting list to access the “Paint Cocreator” feature, which will be available to all Windows 11 users in the coming weeks.
“Cocreator unleashes your creativity by simply entering some text, choosing a style, and creating a unique image,” Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s director of consumer marketing, says in a blog post. You will then be able to do whatever you want with the image to be created, whether it is adding layers or drawing on top, by using other tools in Paint. I’m not sure if DALL-E 3 will be added to Paint, but Microsoft usually adds the latest version to its services ahead of time, thanks to its OpenAI partnership.Microsoft is using tokens for this rendering feature of Paint during the preview period. 50 coins are given for the first use of Paint Cocreator and one coin is used for each use. Microsoft says it may change this system after the preview is complete, which suggests it may charge for this feature in the future.
clipchamp
When it comes to storytelling with video, editing is just as important as the scenes themselves. Microsoft Clipchamp helps you put everything together with advanced AI tools like Auto Creation. This new feature built into Clipchamp will help you get a head start on editing with a few simple questions about the type of video you’re developing.Editing options in screenshots and Photos
Snipping Tool’s AI upgrades come in the form of text extraction and redaction. You’ll now be able to copy text from an image in the Snipping Tool and share it across other apps. Microsoft also added a feature that lets you automatically redact and hide emails and phone numbers in images.Microsoft’s Photos app for Windows 11 continues its focus on artificial intelligence with a new background blurring option with this update. Background blur will automatically find the background in a photo and highlight the subject and blur the background. This process can be customized manually.
You may have to wait a few weeks to get the AI-enhanced versions of Paint, Photos, and Snipping Tool. Microsoft warns that these app updates are “rolling out now to a small percentage of consumer users (targeting full availability in the coming months).”Windows Backup app
Microsoft is also adding an improved Windows Backup app with this update. It now allows you to back up your computer when you want to switch to a new device, and thanks to cloud backup, your current settings are automatically applied to your new computer. Pinned apps from your start menu and taskbar will also be transferred, and all apps from Microsoft Store will be automatically restored.
This latest Windows 11 update also introduces support for passkeys to bypass passwords and use your face, fingerprint, or PIN to sign into accounts. File Explorer gets a more modern look with this Windows 11 update.
If you’re a PC gamer, Microsoft has an interesting addition in this update: Native RGB lighting controls. This Windows 11 feature, known as Dynamic Lighting, will be able to control your RGB lighting using the open HID LampArray standard. Therefore, it will not be necessary to use a lot of applications to control peripheral units and lighting.There are some innovations that IT managers and developers should also pay attention to. With this update, Microsoft integrates Windows 365 Cloud PCs into Windows 11. Windows 365 Boot will allow you to boot directly to Windows 365 Cloud PCs on a device, while Windows 365 Switch will allow Windows 365 users to switch between a local desktop and a Cloud PC within Windows 11.
Developers will now have access to Dev Home, an easier way to set up and use Windows development machines. Dev Home uses Microsoft’s Windows Package Manager (winget) to create a configuration file to install the applications, tools, and packages that developers need. It also includes the ability to configure coding environments in the cloud using Microsoft Dev Box and GitHub Codespaces.Is it over? No
Many Windows 11 features are still on the way in another update scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2023. “As announced in July, Windows 11 2023 Update (version 23H2) will be released in the fourth quarter of 2023,” said John Cable, head of services and deployments for Windows, in a blog post today. We still don’t know what exactly is in the Windows 11 23H2 Update or why Microsoft is moving some features previously planned for this update to today’s 22H2 update.A new audio mixer is also on the way, along with native RAR and 7-zip support, as well as app labels and ungrouping for the Windows 11 taskbar.
If you want to get this important Windows 11 update immediately, you can go to Settings > Windows Update and manually download the KB5030310 update. Or you can get updates as they become available by turning on “Get the latest updates as soon as they become available”. Otherwise, you may have to wait until the monthly Patch Tuesday in November to get this last major Windows 11 update.
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