Windows Weekly (Audio)

We were inundated with new Windows features in 2025, but which ones actually moved the needle? Fortnite isn't just back on iPhone and Android, it's available on Windows 11 on Arm, and it works great! Plus, 2 big mobile wins for Epic Games and some thoughts on the "right" way to roll out AI features.Windows 11 Best Windows 11 updates of 2025, in no particular order... Dark mode improvements to File Explorer Widgets major overhaul with separate widgets and Discovery feed Xbox Full Screen experience - especially good on handhelds, of course, but also any PC you use for gaming with a controller Click to Do (Copilot+ PC only) External fingerprint reader support for Windows Hello ESS -External/USB webcams supported by Windows Studio Effects (Copilot+ PC only) Quick Machine Recovery is the tip of a wave of new foundational features like Admin Protection, Smart App Control (updates), and more that go beyond surface-level look and feel Redesigned Start menu isn't perfect but it's a nice improvement Copilot Vision, though this type of thing may make more sense on phones AI features in Paint, Photos, Notepad, and Snipping Tool Natural language interactions like the agent in Settings, file search, and more (mostly Copilot+ PC only, but you can do this in Copilot as well) Bluetooth LE support for improved audio quality in game chat, voice calls Gaming on Windows 11 on Arm and Snapdragon X: Major steps forward, but the same issue as always Looking ahead to 2026: 26H1, Agentic features that work, potential Windows 12, and AI PCs AI An extensive new interview with Mustafa Suleyman confirms why this guy is special and how confusing it is that Copilot is so disrespected Microsoft Copilot is auto-installing on LG smart TVs and there's no way to remove it GPT-5.2 is OpenAI's answer to Gemini 3 ChatGPT Images is OpenAI's answer to Nano Banana Pro Disney invests $1 billion OpenAI, sues Google Opera Neon is now generally available for $20 per month AI is moving quick as we all know but the bigger issue may be the incessant marketing about features like agents that don't even work now Microsoft is getting pushback on forced Copilot usage, price hikes Google is expanding its use of "experiments" outside of mainstream products with things like NotebookLM, Mixboard, CC, and much more. Maybe this is the better approach: Test separately and then integrate it into existing products Oddly enough, Microsoft does have a Windows AI Lab for this kind of experimentation Many small models vs. one big LLM in the cloud Mobile Fortnite is back in the Google Play Store in the U.S. as Google plays nice Apple loses its contempt appeal, the end of "junk fees" (Apple Tax) is in sight Xbox and gaming Xbox December Update has one big update for the mobile app and one big update for Xbox Wireless Headphones There's a new Xbox Developer Direct coming in January Half-Life 3 may really be happening, but it will be a Steam Machine launch title so it could be a while Tips & picks Tip of the year: De-enshittify Windows 11 App pick of the year: Fortnite RunAs Radio this week: Zero Trust in 2026 with Michele Bustamante Brown liquor pick of the week: Lark Symphony No. 1 These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/963 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: auraframes.com/ink framer.com/design promo code WW outsystems.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

December 2025's Patch Tuesday brought major shifts, but the real action is in Microsoft's pricing, privacy battles, and the arms race to control AI-enabled browsers. Plus, Paul recommends Tiny11 Builder for a clean install, or Win11Debloat for an existing install. Then, Rufus to create installation media without the forced Microsoft account (MSA) sign-in or hardware requirement checks. Use MSEdgeDirect to use the default web browser for stories from Widgets, web-based search results, etc. And ExplorerPatcher can fix the performance and reliability issues in File Explorer. It's the final Patch Tuesday of 2025 Major dark mode updates (with a fix for the "flashbang" problem) AI Agent in Settings, Click to Do, Windows Studio Effects, and Search improvements for Copilot+ PCs Many other improvements: FSE, Share, Settings, Widgets, more More Windows 11 New 25H2 preview build on Beta/Dev adds MCP public preview, Quick Machine Recovery auto-enabled, Unified Update Orchestration Platform, Windows MIDI services Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365 is getting a lot more expensive in mid-2026. You didn't think all those free AI updates were free, did you? AI Paul has been talking about "programmatic" apps and services because he wasn't sure of a term for this type of interaction. But there is a term for this: Semantic. As in semantic web. And there you go Microsoft one of 1,000 companies partnering on Agentic AI Foundation because you're getting agents whether they work or not Gartner says NO to AI web browsers The New York Times is suing Perplexity for all the obvious reasons After a big win in the legal battle with OpenAI Opera for Android gets a big AI update Google Workspace Studio brings code-free agent creation to business users - automation is a solid AI use case Xbox Xbox Series X|S notably absent during Black Friday sales Call of Duty won't repeat the mistakes of the past anymore since it didn't work out twice now MS Flight Simulator 2024 is now available on PS5 Red Dead Redemption comes to mobile for the first time, free with a Netflix account Tips & Picks Tip and app(s) of the week: De-enshittify Windows 11 RunAs Radio this week: Incident Management and the Crowdstrike Event with Liam Westley Brown liquor pick of the week: Old Farm Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: 1password.com/windowsweekly auraframes.com/ink helixsleep.com/windows ventionteams.com/twit

Can the AI boom survive its own hype? This episode takes on the future of OpenAI, tech's subscription fatigue, and why "Made with AI" labels might be the new scarlet letter. Plus, Microsoft's ugly sweaters are back for some reason. Windows 11 Week D comes a week late and in the wrong month, but it's a big one, and a preview of what to expect next week in Patch Tuesday More pervasive dark mode Copilot+ PC exclusives: Improvements to Click to Do, Windows Search, Windows Studio Effects, Agent in Settings Expansion of FSE availability Improvements across Settings, Share, File Explorer, Desktop Spotlight, more Aluminium OS is the name of the ChromeOS/Android Frankenstein that will take on Windows Android 16 QPR2 is here with about 1,000 new features and maybe a saner approach to OS updating than what we see on Windows AI AI slop is no enshittification: Human error is still a much bigger issue Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is right: The "Made with AI" label is silly and needs to go OpenAI declares a "code red" after Google finally figured out AI Opera quietly does an about-face on AI in its browsers Opera Neon gets one-minute deep research, Gemini 3, and Nano Banana Xbox and gaming Mortal Kombat 1, more coming to Game Pass in first half of December Valve is quietly bringing SteamOS, Windows games to Arm Tips & picks Tip of the week: Time to cull Tip of the week #2: Time to look back RunAs Radio this week: The M365 Copilot Data Readiness Checklist with Nikki Chapple Brown liquor pick of the week: Stumbras Starka Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit helixsleep.com/windows bitwarden.com/twit framer.com/design promo code WW

Pavan Davuluri only spoke at one Ignite 2025 session, and it did not deserve the hate he got. But what did he really say? Copilot is a front-end for apps and cloud AI services, agents are background processes. Apps in Windows need to become programmatic so AI and agents can control them. You are in control. You being IT and the user. These experiences are off by default, opt-in, and optional. This is the end of whatever BS argument anyone has about this stuff. Copilot Voice because AI is better when you babble and is often more natural than typing Key concept: Apps, CLIs, etc. expect exact commands, AI is all about intent, just do what I want, not exactly what I say. This is why, yes, people WILL want to talk to their PCs (and other devices) UIs for these new features will look/feel natural in Windows Search box in Taskbar is getting updated to orchestrate between local/web search and Copilot capabilities, including agents Agents will appear as app icons in Taskbar when fired, can be check in on, can post notifications for you to attend to Integration of M365 Copilot capabilities with Windows - Better together story, with things like Writing Assistance for every text box Accessibility updates thanks to AI - Fluid Dictation, which is what makes Copilot Voice make so much sense All the security, privacy, and IT management the audience expects Windows Insider Program Dev and Beta builds include Full Screen Experience on all PCs, new Notepad app, more Hardware - Earnings Lenovo PC business up 12 percent to $15.1 billion, 25.6 percent unit share HP up 4 percent to $14.6 billion, but job cuts for AI are coming Dell PC business up 3 percent to $1.41 billion AI and Stuff Microsoft releases local Fara-7B agentic model for computer use ChatGPT's new coding model is optimized for Windows Dear God, you must see Nano Banana Pro to understand Google's lead Google is bringing AirDrop to Android, starting with Pixel. This is what happens when regulators "force design changes on OS makers." Xbox and Gaming Xbox Cloud Gaming usage is up 45 percent YOY. Sure. What's 45 percent of 3 people? Xbox Cloud Gaming is adding per-game resolution settings, to 1440p for Game Pass Ultimate customers ROG Xbox Ally is getting default game profiles, in preview for 40 titles now Microsoft open sources the source code for Zork, Zork II, and Zork III New Chromebook buyers get one year of Nvidia GeForce NOW with Fast Pass Tips and Picks Tip of the week: Finding experts is more important than ever We live in the age of stupid. Find the smart and never let go Also, Xbox is having a good Black Friday sale App pick of the week: Copilot Mode in Microsoft Edge Also: Perplexity Comet on Android RunAs Radio this week: Christmas Gifts for SysAdmins with Joey Snow and Rick Claus https://runasradio.com/Shows/Show/1012 Brown liquor pick of the week: Sidetrack Stone Whisky https://www.huskdistillers.com/shop/sidetrack-stone-whisky These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/960 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

Ahead of Microsoft Ignite 2025, Windows boss Pavan Davuluri tweeted an innocuous post about nothing, and all hell broke loose. We are broken as a community and it's time to cull the herd. Ignite 2025 Fun aside: Google could have announced Gemini 3 at any time, but they chose the opening day of Ignite. Who's dancing now? No Satya and suddenly the keynote is watchable again Microsoft brings Anthropic models to Foundry along with Nvidia architecture MCP comes to Windows 11 in public preview for developers New Microsoft 365 Copilot agents for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Agent 365 is the obvious name of an AI agent management service Windows 11 is getting agents on the Taskbar because it isn't annoying enough already Windows 11 Two new Release Preview builds, a new Canary build, and the first release of Copilot Actions The RP builds are a preview of Patch Tuesday in December, it's bigger than expected Dev/Beta build with experimental AI agent capabilities, more AI OpenAI released ChatGPT 5.1 and it's like no one noticed Mozilla announces AI window for Firefox, with immediate backlash Xbox and gaming Qualcomm JUST announced a new control panel for Snapdragon X gaming Hands-on with the Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) for Windows 11 FSE Transforms a gaming handheld PC into a device-like experience Frame rates see a dramatic jump in FSE Call of Duty, which was surprising Fortnite is coming to the Xbox app in Windows, adding Xbox Play Anywhere support Xbox announces a new set of titles coming to Game Pass across platforms Xbox Partner Preview event is set for November 20 As predicted, Steam Machine is the "Xbox Microsoft wanted to make." Yes, it's a good idea now that someone else is doing it Tips and picks Tip of the week: Tiny11 Builder, again Hardware pick of the week: Lenovo Legion Go 2 RunAs Radio this week: Azure SRE Agents with Deepthi Chelupati Brown liquor pick of the week: Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve 2007 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: ventionteams.com/twit helixsleep.com/windows framer.com/design promo code WW