Microsoft’s operating system is constantly evolving. Between anecdotal new features and in-depth changes, Windows 11 will experience many changes in 2024 until the arrival of the 24H2 version.
A legend well anchored in collective belief is that one in two versions of Windows is a failure. And historically, it is difficult not to subscribe to this idea: Windows 2000, Vista and 8 were widely criticized in their time by users, while the versions which preceded or succeeded them, namely Windows XP, 7 and 10 have been able to win the approval of the general public and establish themselves as stable and appreciated OSes. The same pattern seems to be repeated with Windows 11 which, two and a half years after its release, is still struggling to convince users, the vast majority of whom still prefer its predecessor, the venerable Windows 10.
So much so that Microsoft seems to have abandoned the idea of making Windows 11 a memorable version of its OS, and gives the feeling of using it more as a laboratory to experiment with new functions and improvements, with a view to the next version major part of the operating system. Microsoft’s future OS, which may not be called Windows 12 but will more likely opt for a name marking the transition to the era of “PC AI”, was once expected to arrive in October 2024. Finally, this is a big functional update for Windows 11, numbered 24H2, which should be delivered next fall, and the latest previews of the OS published in the Windows Insider program allow you to get an idea of the new features to come .
Windows 11 24H2: ever more in-depth integration of Copilot
As might be expected, it’s artificial intelligence that takes the lion’s share of Microsoft’s plans, with improvements and tweaks for Copilot. This program, which the Redmond firm has been talking about continuously for months, aims to be a sort of “intelligent” super assistant which allows you to both summarize and analyze documents, like ChatGPT, but also to interact in a more friendly way with your computer. As shown in Windows 11 build 22635.3420 blog post, it will now be possible to query Copilot ten times with a local account and, beyond that, it will be necessary to connect to a Microsoft account to continue using the assistant. Furthermore, as spotted by the user @PhantomOfEarth on is copied to the Clipboard, with options to pass the data to Copilot, summarize it, or explain it.
In addition, the Copilot window will now behave like a classic application and can be moved to the desktop, whereas it was until now anchored to the right of the screen, and resized. Finally, a new entry dedicated to the assistant will appear in the context menu of Windows File Explorer, which will allow files to be sent to Copilot with a simple right click, so that they can be summarized or analyzed. As nice as these improvements are, or anecdotal depending on your point of view, remember that Copilot is still not officially accessible in France at the moment, Microsoft having not yet brought its “intelligent” assistant into compliance with European regulations on data protection (the famous DMA which now applies to all major digital players in Europe). It remains to be seen whether this will be the case by the fall with the publication of Windows 11 24H2.
Windows 11 24H2: some disparate new features while waiting for a real revolution
As for other improvements and new features, we find in particular some for File Explorer, one of the essential components of Windows. As reported by the English site Windows Latest, certain context menu actions, such as Copy, Paste or Delete, which were until now only represented by an icon, should now display a label to be better identifiable. It would also be possible to edit the metadata of image files such as JPEGs or PNGs directly from Explorer, without using a third-party tool. Finally, Explorer would support the compression of files in TAR and 7z formats without additional application (decompression is already supported since a recent update) and, when decompressing files, it would be possible to check a option to apply the same processing if several files in the destination directory already have the same name.
The 24H2 update for Windows 11 should obviously not be limited to these few meager additions, several other improvements and functions distilled through the various pre-versions will certainly also be there, such as the possibility of generating QR Codes to share links with Edge, the appearance of new widgets on the Windows lock screen. and of course new features not yet revealed. There is nothing to get excited about when talking about a revolution in the face of this collection of new functions that are disparate, to say the least.
And that’s the whole problem with Windows 11 since its release: nothing is ever clear, Microsoft is constantly developing new functions that are more or less useful, and deploying them in a disorderly manner, according to a particularly anarchic schedule, and in abandons several along the way. Under these conditions, it is difficult to get a precise idea of the direction followed by the company for its OS and the pace at which it wishes to develop it. And it’s a shame, because despite the confusion that accompanies its constant evolution and its lack of polish (is it normal to still find vestiges of old versions like the ancient Control Panel?), Windows 11 turns out to be be an excellent system for everyday use, and it seems difficult to go back once you get used to it.