As Microsoft prepares to unveil its next big update to Windows, enthusiasts and professionals alike are eager to understand what Windows 12 could bring to the table.

The operating system is poised to build on the foundation laid by Windows 11, promising a mix of innovation, performance enhancements, and features that cater to the evolving tech landscape.

This comprehensive article will delve into everything we know and expect from Windows 12—from its design philosophy and new features to the implications for users and developers. Let’s explore how Microsoft is shaping the future of computing.

A Look Back: Windows 11’s Legacy

Before diving into Windows 12, reflecting on Windows 11’s impact is essential. Released in October 2021, Windows 11 marked a significant departure from its predecessor, Windows 10.

Its modernized interface, centered taskbar, and emphasis on productivity tools resonated with a broad audience. However, criticisms such as its stringent hardware requirements and incremental updates left room for improvement.

Windows 12 is expected to address these issues while introducing groundbreaking changes.

Expected Features in Windows 12

1. Modular and Cloud-Integrated OS

One of the most anticipated aspects of Windows 12 is its rumored modular architecture. This design could allow users to customize their OS, enabling lightweight configurations for low-powered devices and full-featured setups for high-performance systems.

The integration with Microsoft’s cloud services, such as OneDrive and Azure, is likely to deepen, providing seamless access to files and settings across devices.

2. Enhanced AI Integration

Windows 11 introduced AI-powered features like Windows Studio Effects and better voice recognition. With AI technology advancing rapidly, Windows 12 might feature more intelligent assistants, real-time language translation, and adaptive system optimizations. Imagine an OS that learns your habits to improve boot times, app performance, and battery life.

3. Revamped User Interface

While Windows 11 was praised for its aesthetics, Windows 12 could take customization to the next level. Early previews suggest a focus on dynamic wallpapers, widget enhancements, and deeper personalization options. Transparency effects and fluid animations might also receive updates to ensure a smoother user experience.

4. Improved Gaming Capabilities

Microsoft has been doubling down on gaming in recent years, integrating technologies like DirectStorage and Auto HDR. Windows 12 is expected to push this agenda further with optimizations for cloud gaming via Xbox Cloud Gaming and better hardware utilization for native PC games.

5. Security and Privacy Enhancements

With increasing cybersecurity threats, Windows 12 is likely to feature robust security measures, including biometric authentication improvements and enhanced encryption protocols. Additionally, better privacy controls could empower users to manage data sharing and tracking preferences with more granularity.

6. Support for ARM Processors

As ARM-based processors become more prevalent, Windows 12 is expected to improve compatibility and performance on devices powered by these chips. This shift aligns with Microsoft’s Surface Pro X initiative and the broader industry trend toward energy-efficient computing.

Design Philosophy: Building a Cohesive Ecosystem

Unified Experience Across Devices

Windows 12 is rumored to focus on creating a unified experience across desktops, laptops, tablets, and even smartphones. Leveraging features like Universal Windows Platform (UWP), the OS could offer cross-device compatibility for apps, allowing users to transition seamlessly between environments.

Simplified User Experience

Simplification is a recurring theme, with Microsoft aiming to streamline processes like app installation, system updates, and troubleshooting. The goal is to make technology more accessible to non-technical users while retaining the depth needed for power users.

What Developers Can Expect

Windows 12 promises new tools and APIs to empower developers. Microsoft is likely to expand support for Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), enabling better integration with native system features. Additionally, the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) may receive updates, reinforcing the OS’s appeal to software developers and engineers.

Another anticipated feature is improved support for cross-platform development, allowing developers to create applications that run seamlessly on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Release Timeline and Compatibility

While Microsoft has not officially confirmed a release date, industry speculation points to late 2024 or early 2025. Insider builds and developer previews could become available by mid-2024.

Hardware Requirements

Windows 11’s strict hardware requirements caused controversy, especially the need for TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. It remains to be seen whether Windows 12 will relax these standards or introduce even higher thresholds. Backward compatibility with older systems is a critical factor for adoption.

Implications for Businesses

Businesses transitioning to Windows 12 will need to consider several factors:

1. Cost of Upgrades: Updating hardware to meet the new OS requirements.
2. Training Needs: Familiarizing staff with new features and workflows.
3. Enhanced Productivity: Leveraging AI tools and cloud integration to optimize operations.

Organizations heavily invested in Microsoft 365 and Azure services could see significant productivity gains by adopting Windows 12 early.

User Expectations and Wishlist

Here are some features users are hoping for in Windows 12:

1. Better Multitasking: Enhanced Snap Layouts and virtual desktop capabilities.
2. Customizable Taskbar: Bringing back features like drag-and-drop and better pinning options.
3. Improved Battery Management: Smarter power-saving modes for laptops.
4. Expanded Widgets: Allowing third-party widgets to thrive on the desktop.

Challenges Ahead

Despite the excitement, Windows 12 faces challenges. Competing with macOS and Linux distributions means Microsoft must strike a balance between innovation and stability. Additionally, ensuring widespread adoption could be challenging if hardware requirements remain stringent.

Final Thoughts

Windows 12 represents the next chapter in Microsoft’s storied operating system history. By focusing on modularity, AI integration, and user-centric design, the OS has the potential to redefine productivity and innovation. As the tech world awaits more details, one thing is clear: Windows 12 is poised to make waves in the industry.

Stay tuned for updates as Microsoft reveals more about this highly anticipated release. Whether you’re a gamer, developer, or business user, Windows 12 promises to deliver a platform that adapts to your needs.

iCloud integration.

Or, more specifically, iCloud Photos integration.

This basically means that those of you who are entrenched in the Apple ecosystem can now manage photos that you have stored on iCloud right from within the Photos app. This functionality was added to the application with version 2022.31100.9001.0.

It comes a little less than a month after Microsoft began rolling out the first Moment update for its operating system, which was promised during last month’s Surface showcase event.

While we still wait for the screen recorder and Apple Music app to arrive for the OS, the software titan has brought this iCloud integration to all Windows 11 users.

The company describes this new addition as:

“We know that many Windows customers have photo and video collections on their iPhones that they would like to be able to view on their PC. This iCloud Photos integration will make it easier for those with an iPhone to have direct access to all their cherished memories in one organized place and is another step in our continued efforts to make experiences on Windows 11 seamless.”

Sweet!

Those of you who own an iPhone and are using iCloud Photos to store pictures and videos now have the ability to sync your digital libraries with your Windows PCs.

The Photos app in Windows 11 has received a dedicated section where you can browse and manage the images stored in the cloud. This is not too dissimilar to how the application lets you view photos from OneDrive.

Getting in on this requires downloading the latest Photos app and iCloud for Windows from the Microsoft Store. Be sure to install all available updates, then sign in with your Apple ID. Launch the Photos app and click iCloud Photos on the left pane.

Microsoft says that the updated Photos app should become available to all users by the end of the month as the rollout commences.

Website typo protection is now live for Edge.

Yes, you heard it right. This feature works exactly what it says on the tin.

This is a problem that many developers have ignored for way too long and has likely resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses over the years. It still remains one of the most used ways for cybercriminals to trap their victims.

Malicious actors use URL typos in their nefarious practices to redirect unsuspecting users to their compromised sites or deploy infected payloads on their devices.

The concept is simple enough to understand. Every once in a while, when typing a web address in the address bar of a web browser, a user may input text with typos that are hard to notice at first glance. Doing so results in the browser pointing us to a completely different website or web resource.

Typosquatting, it is called.

Which is why this new feature that Microsoft has developed automatically detects these typos and prevents users from being redirected to malicious URLs.

As the company puts it:

“Website typo protection complements the Microsoft Defender SmartScreen service to defend against web threats. Microsoft Defender SmartScreen helps protect users against websites that engage in phishing and malware campaigns.

Typosquatters engage in phishing activities too, but there are only so many ways in which one can mistype a brand. Malicious actors know this and choose to host less aggravating content on “typosquat” URLs to avoid detection. Typosquatting site owners profit on users’ mistakes by taking them to advertising sites, affiliate links, false products, fake search engine results, or in some cases by redirecting users into parked domains reserved for very short-lived phishing campaigns.”

This new feature is as straightforward as you expect and works very smoothly.

Every time you type an address in the URL bar, Edge performs an automatic check in the background to figure out if you are being targeted by typosquatting or not. It that is the case, the browser displays a message to let you know that there might be a typo in the URL your just entered.

This new addition is now enabled by default on all platforms where Microsoft Edge is available.

The software titan continues to roll out new additions here. After all, it is one of the OS’s more used components, appreciated by both novices and power users alike.

The Task Manager’s integral component was the reason Redmond persevered with the philosophy of keeping things as they were.

If it works, why fix it after all?

But the arrival of Windows 11—and with it the drive to modernize the various elements within the new operating system—meant that the software titan is now refining even the most critical features—and doing a pretty good job at it.

That is why one idea being tested right now is baking in a search feature into the Task Manager to allow users to conduct searches using the process name, publisher, or PID. The ultimate goal is to make finding a specific process much easier.

This new addition is currently hidden, but some keen individuals have been able to activate it.

And it looks just like you would expect it to:

Sweet!

The availability of the search bar will aid power users the most, as it will save them from scrolling through a long list of running processes (or hitting the key representing the first letter of the app on their keyboard) every time they want to kill a running process.

This is actually the reason why many of these folks relied on powerful alternatives like Process Explorer to kill a process without having to use Task Manager. Thankfully, that won’t be necessary now.

This new feature is currently hidden in the latest build of Windows 11, build 25236, which is now up for grabs in the Dev channel of the preview program.

For the record, it did first arrive in build 25231.

If you want to enable it on your test system, you can do so easily via ViveTool by navigating to its location in a terminal and entering the following command:

vivetool /enable /id:39420424

This should activate this new functionality on your system, and you can take it for a test drive.

An hour or so ago, the company released build 25236 in the Dev channel, and with it came a new update for the Microsoft Store.

Version 22210.1401.x of the Store app is the one you are looking for, as noted.

This update brings a number of improvements, including improved discoverability of digital attach offers, including for Office, Game Pass, and more. The user interface has also been slightly revamped to allow for smoother scrolling and resizing.

For the first one, Microsoft says that it is now much easier to discover that your device came with digital attachment offers and redeem them.

How it looks:

The search card results when scrolling through the user interface have also been improved. Microsoft has optimized the layout and rendering architecture for the search card results in the app repository, which enables a much smoother scrolling and resizing experience.

This holds especially true on low-end devices that do not have the luxury of massive processing power.

Only a couple of improvements, then, in this update, but notable ones.

Not too long ago, Microsoft bluntly offered a few tips for gamers to turn off some Windows 11 features to gain some extra performance. As we just found out, they did. But now, the company is back with more on this.

Or, rather, with tips on how to use the Search feature in the OS.

Windows 11 build 25236 is available for Insiders in the Dev channel of the preview program. It includes the usual changes, fixes, improvements, and a few known issues. In between all of this, Microsoft has snuck in a neat little feature.

As the announcement post makes clear, this is pretty much the only new addition.

It involves trying different ways to provide tips on using Windows Search via the taskbar. The company says this improves the value of Search shortcuts while also reducing friction in the broader Windows Search experience.

This is how this classic way of showing tooltips, which was so popular in the Windows XP days, now looks:

Redmond notes that only some English-speaking Windows Insiders in the US will see this, which makes sense since this is just the company trying things out to gather feedback.

If you do get in, be sure to provide via the Feedback Hub.

Other than that, this build has the usual splattering of bug fixes, including one in Narrator, where an issue was causing natural voices like Guy or Jenny to not even speak. Plenty of changes for the Taskbar and System Tray are also included for the File Explorer and Settings.

Please keep in mind that Windows 11 build 25236 is still version 22H2 since Sun Valley 3 development has seemingly been canceled in favor of releasing a major new version of the OS every three years.

This version will probably launch as Windows 11 23H2 later next year.

With tips, tips, everywhere!

Many of these are required additions, some are welcome, and a few veer towards bloatware territory.

But despite the company’s best efforts, Edge is finding it hard to gain a big market share. Redmond is finding it hard to get its web browser past the 10% share mark, with things stagnating a bit these last few months.

Of course, this picture has been painted by none other than StatCounter, the firm that also released the figures for the desktop market share for this month.

And data shows that Google Chrome remains the absolute king of the hill in these parts, with its 66.46% share of the market. This, despite the fact that it lost 1.12 points in October. But a dip like this does nothing to chip away at the commanding lead the world’s most popular browser has.

Less impressive is the showing from the second most popular browser, with Edge gaining a measly 0.05 points to end up with a 10.85% share.

That is to say, the situation has been relatively unchanged for Microsoft’s solution for five months now.

Apple Safari rounds up the top three desktop browsers list with a 9.38% share, up 0.45 points. Firefox comes in fourth with 7.05%, losing 0.22 points. Opera closes the top five with 3.61%, gaining 0.67 points the last time we checked.

And just like Windows XP, which refused to give up some eight years after its high-profile retirement, Internet Explorer also has a never-say-die attitude, holding on to about 0.8% of the global desktop browser market share.

That will likely change, as Microsoft plans to disable IE on specific versions of Windows 10 on February 14, 2023.

Talk about a Valentine’s Day present.

That being an improved sidebar.

Stable channel users now have access to this refreshed version of the web browser, which is available for download on multiple platforms—namely, Windows, macOS, and Linux. As the announcement post details, this release includes an enhanced sidebar.

Sidebar is a feature in Edge that lets you view various productivity tools side-by-side with the page you have currently open. This handy feature also lets you view two websites in a single window and allows you to pin a specific page to keep it available on every tab.

In other words, this is one of the better features in Edge.

And it just got a bit more, shall we say, better.

That’s because Microsoft has improved things to let users access their productivity tools side-by-side in this location right alongside their browsing window. For enterprise customers, a number of experiences are currently turned on by default.

These include Search, Discover, Office.com, and Outlook.

Administrators can also control the availability and configure the Microsoft Edge sidebar using dedicated policies. For more information on how to manage it, visit this link.

Microsoft has also snuck in a new policy that gives you more flexibility when starting up Edge. You can now add and remove your own URLs to open when starting the browser while maintaining the mandatory list of sites specified by the admin.

Edge version 107 is now available for all.

While the web browser will update itself automatically, you can force an update by paying a quick visit to Settings.

There may be millions of them out there, folks who use devices bearing the branding of the South Korean technology giant, but they don’t quite compare to the billions of regular users who use Windows.

Nevertheless, that’s not deterring Redmond from making exclusive features to honor its close partnership with Samsung.

You guessed it: This new addition revolves around the Phone Link app, which now serves as the hub for the new options that the software titan makes available for its Samsung user base. This new addition is actually a much-needed improvement for the application.

The latest Dev and Beta channel builds that have landed this week unleash this new feature for Insiders that use the Phone Link app, which allows Samsung phone users to immediately access a hotspot.

The software titan actually noted this in the release notes of Windows 11 build 25231, confirming that it would be rolling out later in the day.

This new addition is actually inspired by Apple platforms. Both macOS and iPadOS let you turn on the mobile hotspot without pulling out your phone. The hotspot on the iPhone actually sits on standby in the list of available WiFi networks, just a tap away.

The same feature has now made its way to Windows 11 by means of the Phone Link app.

Opening the network flyout and selecting your phone will launch the mobile hotspot feature without the need to type passwords or search for hotspot settings—nice and easy, just the way it should be.

Unfortunately, as mentioned above, this handy Windows 11 feature is only available to those who have selected Samsung phones.

You need a Samsung Phone with One UI 4.1.1 and newer. You also need a PC with WiFi and Bluetooth running Windows 11 build 22621 or higher. This is the RTM version of the newly released version 22H2, otherwise known as the Windows 11 2022 Update.

You also require a cellular plan that supports hotspots and Phone Link version 1.22082.111.0 or newer. If you have all this, then you need to link to the Windows app on your Samsung device with version 1.22081.142 or newer.

All this hoopla means that even Microsoft’s own Surface Duo smartphones are missing out on action.

Oh, help and bother!

You know, new options like the tabbed File Explorer, Taskbar overflow, and a whole lot more.

Attention has now shifted to the Moment 2 release, which is tracking for arrival sometime early next year. Just like the first such release, this second one is expected to be packed with new additions.

What they are exactly remains a mystery for now, as these features are not fully confirmed yet.

But as luck would have it, Microsoft showcased one such addition in a video that demonstrates what appears to be a new feature in the Windows 11 22H2 Moment 2 update.

This is from the preview build number 23003, in case you are wondering. And this is a build that Microsoft seems be using and testing internally. And one that the company was confident enough to show off during a special livestream.

This video was streamed earlier today on the 8^th Anniversary webcast on the Windows Insider Program’s official YouTube channel.

The pre-recorded demo video shows the touch-optimized tablet taskbar, with Microsoft explaining how the taskbar goes from its normal 48-pixel height to an even taller height for user interfaces meant for touch usage.

You can catch it in action at the 33:55 mark.

Of course, keener minds among you may already be aware that this is the second time that references to the Moment 2 update have surfaced.

The previous instance was back in early September when an internal build numbered 22940 was the one where things first popped up. Shows that Redmond has churned through quite a few development builds in this time span.