The next big release date of Microsoft’s PC operating system is not far away. It’s worth seeing.
At the end of March, Microsoft started provide the same Windows 11 Insider builds for both Beta and Dev channels. This is the first sign that it is in the process of perfecting what is planned to be First major update for Windows 11, 22H2.
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The important thing to remember is Windows 11 change the familiar Windows service delivery model used for Windows 10. Instead of two major releases each year, in the Spring and Fall, there will be only one that, along with regular updates, can refine the Windows 11 user experience without changing the underlying code.
Update February 2022
We had a release in February 2022 implemented some of those improvements, added support for Android apps running on Windows in the US, and improved the taskbar. Taskbar changes include a way to mute all windows when you’re in an online meeting using Teams. You can now click on an app’s hover preview to quickly share it with your meeting, speeding up access to documents and presentations. Other changes add a weather icon to the left of the taskbar, which also provides a shortcut to open Windows 11 widgets.
The February update swapped two older apps for new versions, updated the venerable Media Player with a version that replaced the Windows Groove music player at the same time, and provided the biggest update to Notepad yet. distributed by the Windows Store. The new Notepad brings some Windows 11 interface features, as well as finally adding a dark mode.
This is 22H2
Now is the time for the first set of major changes that incorporate updates to core Windows features and its interface. Users on the Beta channel used preview builds of 22H2, with many of its new features.
Windows 11’s taskbar was met with a lot of criticism, as it was a major change to the way Windows worked in the past. It is gradually restoring familiar features, while adding new features to support new devices and use cases. Perhaps the most obvious is an update that changes the look and feel of it when you switch a convertible laptop into tablet mode. This changes the taskbar to a collapsible bar that turns into a status viewer when you’re not using it, and also provides an expandable, first-touch option when you want to use it.
Other changes improve the Start menu, giving you the option to increase or decrease the number of pinned apps. Start menu apps can now be grouped into folders, so you can gather all your Office apps together to, for example, make more efficient use of limited space of Start. You’ll also get a new Task Manager, and Microsoft is working on updates to File Explorer. These are planned to include support for tabs, which have appeared in some builds of the Dev channel although not currently available. It will be interesting to see how tabbed Explorer windows work and how users take advantage of them.
Accessibility for everyone
A helpful new feature, Live Captions, makes accessibility tools available to anyone. Turning on Live Captions converts any speech to text: in a meeting, in a video, even from the microphone on your PC. Builds on the speech recognition engines used in Azure, Live Captions need to be enabled from Settings, enable one key to process switching and download required language files. It is currently only available in US English, but additional language support will be added. Voice data is processed locally; it will not be uploaded to the cloud.
More hardware-based security (if you’re starting from scratch)
A new feature that has caused some confusion is New smart app control. This builds on existing Windows 11 security features to ensure only trusted code runs on devices that have been set up to use this new feature. Applications running on managed devices need to be signed with trusted certificates and checked against a cloud-managed security model for signs of malicious code. It’s a powerful tool, and one that many IT managers are asking for, especially when backed up with an easy way to code signing.
However, there is some confusion that it can only run on a newly set up PC. Some people have misunderstood this to mean that the 22H2 release will reset the PC. This is not correct. Yes, if you want to get the benefits of Smart App Control, you will need to reset your existing PCs or implement it as part of a hardware refresh program. If you are upgrading existing PCs with the 22H2 release, they will get all the other features, just not this feature.
That’s a meaningful approach. You cannot run a tool like Smart App Control on a machine that may have been compromised by a rootkit or other malware; it can only run in a trusted environment, and the only trusted environment is one that has never installed software on and on the original Windows image.
Your PC and the Cloud PC come together
Windows 11’s many security features are the main reason for any upgrade, along with updates to the closely related Microsoft 365 platform. As the way we work changes, Windows needs to change to support those new ways of working. Collaboration and working from home now require a very different approach to protecting apps and data, and Microsoft will use the 22H2 release to bring its Cloud PC and Windows 11 models to life. closer to each other.
Two planned features will help bridge the gap between PC and Cloud PC, allowing you to keep business data inside a virtual infrastructure hosted in the cloud, using Windows 11 PCs as endpoints for those Cloud PCs. Windows 365 Boot will support booting directly into Cloud PC, bypassing personal data and applications. Users will go straight to the content of their work, with no way to copy data to their PC, and no need to snatch a license to account for the combined work. In addition, Windows 365 Switch will simplify the transition between local PC and Cloud PC when users need to access cloud resources.
While it’s only in the Dev channel for now, there’s another big change happening: Microsoft is finally removing SMB1 file access support for new installs of the consumer-focused version of Home. use. This was the last Windows product to lose SMB1 support, and while anyone with Administrator rights can install the feature and upgrades remain in place, you may need to consider replacing old network hard drives will lose connection before releasing 22H2.
The beta release of 22H2 shows that it is not far away and most of the new features are already available. Microsoft continues to double down on security, combining cloud solutions with a focus on hardware and application locking. If you’re managing a Windows team, especially one used by a mixed workforce, it’s time to set up a test device group to see if the changes in this major update are appropriate. with you and your users or not.
