I’ve been using Windows 11 version 24H2 since June 18, and this is my full review.
Alternatively, you may update to version 24H2 and be missing some of the features outlined in this review.
It’s potluck, I’m afraid.
Windows 11 version 24H2 will begin rolling out this fall.
Windows 11 version 24H2: What’s new?
Not interested in reading thousands of words about new features in a Windows OS?
Unlike previous versions of Windows 11, this release is rolling out in two notable waves.
Windows 11 version 24H2 will begin rolling out this fall.
The first wave began shipping on June 18, butonly on new Copilot+ PCs.
If you recently purchased a new Snapdragon X laptop, you are already running version 24H2.
You canmanually download and install version 24H2now if you don’t want to wait.
The new Start menu includes Phone Link integration.
Beginning with version 24H2, Microsoft has “simplified” the system tray layout.
It also now hides the bell icon unless Do Not Disturb is enabled.
As a self-proclaimed minimalist, I really like this change.
Start will now group recently installed apps.
It makes the system tray feel cleaner and less cluttered, removing unuseful information such as the year.
Now, the quick parameters are paginated, operating much like the quick parameters interface on your Android phone.
Just click and drag on icons to rearrange them, moving lesser-used icons into overflow pages.
The Quick Settings menu has been rebuilt from the ground up.
One downside to this change is that you could no longer hide icons you don’t intend to use.
Starting with context menus, Microsoft has finally fixed them.
While the effort was commendable, some of the design changes they made were also rather questionable.
File Explorer gets an updated home tab.
It’s now easy and quick to pick the action you’re likely looking for.
Moving onto the File Explorer itself, version 24H2 finally adds the ability to create additional archive format types.
Now, File Explorer supports creating .7z and .TAR files just like .ZIP files.
The context menu layout has been redone, and it’s now easier to use.
This functionality existed before Windows 11’s new File Explorer landed, and Microsoft is now adding it back.
This is an interface you’ll most likely see on your work PC.
Microsoft introduced dark mode in Windows with the Windows 10 November 2015 update almost ten years ago.
You have additional archive formats with options for compression levels.
To this day, it’s still incomplete, and version 24H2 does nothing to improve this.
It’s almost as if Microsoft isn’t actually working to improve this, and that’s a shame.
So, it listened.
The new Windows Copilot app is a webapp.
Now, the Windows Copilot app is a standalone app, no longer operating in a sidebar interface.
In fact, it’s even lost the ability to control certain Windows parameters.
It no longer understands any Windows commands.
Copilot no longer understands local Windows commands.
In my eyes, this new Windows Copilot is a big downgrade as a Windows assistant.
It’s back to simply being an online chatbot, which I personally have very little use for.
Sadly, that hasn’t happened.
The new Outlook is bad.
It’s not all bad news, however.
The new app comes with an updated interface, which I really like.
It’s clean, concise, and easy to understand.
The new AI Features (that aren’t Copilot+ exclusive) are actually pretty handy.
Top marks for UI.
For WordPad, Microsoft recommends using either Notepad for basic text files or Word for more complex text documents.
Then there’s Windows Mail, Calendar, and People.
The Windows Recall app lets you go back to any point in time on your PC to see what you were doing.
The three core pillars of any modern OS platform that handles email, events, and contacts.
Unfortunately, the new Outlook sucks.
There’s a new generative erase feature that uses AI to remove blemishes and other small things from images.
When Recall is running, an icon will be placed into the Taskbar to let you know. It cannot be removed, for security reasons.
All of these new features are super useful, and I use them all the time.
Users have lots of control over what Windows Recall can see and for how long.
There’s also a button to delete all Windows Recall data collected.
Recall is fully configurable and entirely optional.
I found Windows Recall to be most useful if it’s collecting data over a longer period of time.
On that subject, how was the Windows Recall experience?
In short, incredible.
Recall is really good at identifying text and images.
The semantic search aspect of Windows Recall is also really cool.
It even understood “Lumia,” Microsoft’s long-dead Windows Phone hardware line.
Overall, I really, genuinely like Windows Recall.
Photos can now generate AI images locally, but I didn’t find much use for this.
Even with thecontroversy surrounding this feature, I can’t wait for it to begin properly shipping.
In fact, there’s a whole bunch of them that are exclusive to these new NPU-equipped machines.
The results are… fine.
Generative AI in Paint is a gimmick.
I just don’t have much of a use for them.
Microsoft requires an internet connection to ensure you’re not generating anything illegal.
For whatever reason, there isn’t a local blacklist that the Photos app is able to look at.
Advanced Studio Effects are a cool addition on Copilot+ PCs.
It needs to remain connected to the web.
So, your local NPU is basically useless when disconnected from the internet in this scenario.
It’s a cool tech demo, but nothing more than that.
You will see smoother framerates and better textures with AutoSR.
I can see this being popular with young children, but that’s probably about it.
Moving on to the more useful Copilot+ PC features, we’ll start with Live Captions.
Windows has had a built-in captions tool for some time, but it requires the internet to utilize.
The new emulation layer runs x86 faster on Arm PCs.
With Copilot+ PCs, this is no longer the case.
Live Captions now utilizes the on-gear NPU to transcribe audio into English directly on the gear.
In my testing, it works rather well.
Windows Update has received a number of under the hood improvements.
Microsoft has also added new Studio Effects to Windows 11 with version 24H2, which also utilize the NPU.
There’s also a new portrait light feature that attempts to brighten your face in dark environments.
There are also two eye contact modes: Teleprompter and Standard.
The new power options are just some of many new settings added to Windows Settings.
Both don’t look particularly realistic, so I don’t use them.
It essentially lets older games look and run better on modern hardware.
In our testing, we found AutoSR works pretty well.
Windows 11 on Surface PCs.
Overall, “Copilot+ PC” features are a bit of a mixed bag.
Windows Recall, Live Captions, Advanced Studio Effects, and AutoSR are all great additions.
However, on-equipment image generation in Paint and Photos is more of a gimmick at this point.
Windows Recall will launch in a preview state in the coming months.
Microsoft says it rearchitected Windows 11 for Arm, and that results in faster overall performance on Arm PCs.
It’s most noticeable when nipping around in the OS, opening things like apps and flyouts.
The company has also rebuilt the x86 app-emulation layer for Arm PCs, too.
Dark mode in Windows 11 24H2 is still incomplete.
First, “hotpatching” is now supported in the Windows Client.
You won’t even notice it happen.
The Windows configs app has gained a few new options, too.
Now, there are more legacy configs for the mouse present in the modern Mouse area of Windows configs.
Microsoft has also made some improvements to power parameters.
Previously, you’d have to unplug your laptop first to change the unplugged power plan.
Energy Saver is designed to reduce energy consumption, not just prolong battery life.
It does this by reducing background services and activities, and can even reduce overall clock speed.
This pulls less energy from the wall hence it now applies to desktop PCs, too.
The reintroduction of animations to Taskbar app preview thumbnails is also a welcome addition.
The AI stuff is a mixed bag only because much of it is locked behind Copilot+ PCs.
Can users trust Microsoft to build AI features like Recall?
They’re nice extras but not the sole reason to upgrade to newer hardware.
However, the new Windows Copilot and Outlook apps are a step backward, in my opinion.
And lastly, the continued unfinished state of dark mode is just unprofessional at this point.
It’s been almost ten years, and Microsoft still hasn’t completed it.
