Your membership journey starts here. Keep exploring and earning more as a member. Latest about Microsoft Updates, launches and rumors. Latest about AI. AI updates, how-tos and comparisons in one place. Explore your membership benefits. Stay Ahead with Windows Central Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox. Windows 11 A new Mixed Reality Link update lets users pass built-in mic and camera feeds directly to Windows 11. PC Gaming Steam Deck prices climb while the ROG Xbox Ally holds steady, potentially becoming 2026's best‑value handheld gaming PC if it continues the trend. Apps Copilot for Windows 11 will soon feature a built-in browser, changing how users interact with links inside the app. Windows 11 Windows 11's new Magnifier contrast theme reduces screen glare while leaving your photos, videos, and media untouched. The feature is in testing now among Windows Insiders. Xbox Major outlets recently interviewed game designer Hideo Kojima about how Sony tried to cancel Physint, and what support Xbox will provide his studio. Gaming Speaking to us at BlizzCon 2026, World of Warcraft's Game Director Ion Hazzikostas confirmed that the next big retail expansion will have a "Heroic" world tier. All the latest news, reviews, and guides for Windows and Xbox diehards. GAMING Project ZETA is a 20-minute, four-team tactical arena by NIRVANANA offering a fast-paced, controller-friendly MOBA experience. Gaming It's that time of year again where Call of Duty players go back to older games while waiting for the new one, and how did I miss this? Gaming I recently got to play Final Fantasy Resonance's playable demo on Xbox, and it's stunning pixel-art graphics and turn-based combat feels like a return to form from the first chapter alone LIVE Join Daniel, Jez, and Zac on August 21 at 1PM ET for the LIVE Windows Central Podcast. Surface Apple’s iPhone Duo highlights a painful truth for Microsoft: Apple knows exactly what its hardware stands for, while Surface no longer has a reason to exist. Gaming Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is the latest legacy title to be added to Xbox Game Pass, and I think it might be the game to play right now, even with Modern Warfare 4 looming. From The Windows Central Archives As we look ahead to Windows Central’s 20th anniversary in 2027, we’re taking time to revisit the stories that shaped our community. From Microsoft and Xbox to Windows and PC, these throwbacks remind us how far we’ve come together. As we look ahead to Windows Central’s 20th anniversary in 2027, we’re taking time to revisit the stories that shaped our community. From Microsoft and Xbox to Windows and PC, these throwbacks remind us how far we’ve come together. On this Day A look back at Xbox’s 2015 “games everywhere” vision — the moment Phil Spencer sketched out a future that Asha Sharma is now fully realizing 11 years later. Flashback A decade later, Microsoft’s unreleased Moonraker smartwatch still feels like a glimpse into an alternate timeline. Flashback Looking back at the 2016 editorial that captured Xbox’s growing pains and predicted the decade ahead. Flashback A look back at the LG Lancet and the era when Windows Phone 8.1 defined Microsoft’s mobile peak. Flashback A 2016 warning about Android apps on Chrome feels newly relevant as Googlebooks pushes Android PCs into the agentic era and challenges Microsoft again. Flashback From our archives: A decade ago Microsoft was already testing a Bing “concierge bot,” an early take on the AI agents Google is only now announcing. Apps A Microsoft Edge bug is freezing web apps, but reverting to version 152 requires a bit of work. Windows 11 A new bug stops you from copying and pasting in Microsoft Excel. Windows 11 Microsoft just issued an out-of-band emergency update for Windows 11. The update fixes broken Hyper-V Linux folder sharing, Remote Desktop freezes, and USB audio bugs. Windows 11 Windows 11 update KB5124008 causes many USB headsets, microphones, and speakers to fail with Code 10 errors, frozen volume controls, or total loss of audio output. Windows 11 Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 preview build lets you turn the dedicated Copilot key back into a standard Right Control key. It also adds support for Emoji 17.0 and improves File Explorer. Zac Bowden Senior Editor — Windows Jez Corden Executive Editor Daniel Rubino Editor-in-Chief Richard Devine Managing Editor — Tech, Reviews Sean Endicott Staff Writer — News Ben Wilson Senior Editor — Tech

Mauro Hucalak Windows How-To Expert Cale Hunt Staff Writer — Tech Jennifer Young Contributor — Commerce, Gaming Kevin Okemwa Contributor — News Brendan Lowry Contributor — Tech, Gaming Mini PCs The Ascent QN10 is the first mini PC built around Snapdragon X2 Elite, pairing an 80 TOPS NPU with a compact 0.7‑liter chassis for local AI workloads. Surface Apple's iPhone Duo video features a real 2018 Surface Magazine article during its split-screen demo, likely poking fun at Microsoft's foldable history. Surface Vindication!? Apple's new iPhone Duo validates the multitasking and windowing vision Microsoft originally set out to achieve with Surface Duo. Here's how. Surface Apple’s iPhone Duo highlights a painful truth for Microsoft: Apple knows exactly what its hardware stands for, while Surface no longer has a reason to exist. Review Starting at $799, the latest ZenBook 14 from ASUS features Qualcomm's Snapdragon X SoC inside a premium chassis that looks and feels the part, along with a new OLED display and all day battery life. Apple As a Surface Duo fan, I can't believe Apple has just announced a folding phone called iPhone Duo. Are we really doing this? Deals The ASUS ROG Strix G16 gaming laptop is on sale at an 18% discount, giving folks craving an RTX 5070 graphics card more value for strong performances Deals Dell is offering a huge $1,000 discount on the Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop, which offers premium-quality performance for both gaming and productivity. Deals A big Labor Day discount turns this 16‑inch Ryzen AI laptop into a standout performance deal. Deals The ASUS ROG Strix G16 remains one of the best-performing premium laptops for gaming at over 120 fps on 1,600p resolution, and it's now 24% off thanks to Best Buy's Labor Day deal Deals Antonline is offering gamers a chance to boost their performance for less with Intel's modern Core Ultra desktop CPUs. Deal Newegg is offering massive discounts on 12-month Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions bundled with NordVPN, dropping prices down to as low as $61.99. Handhelds Valve says its Steam Deck 2 plans remain unchanged despite the RAM crisis, aiming for clear performance gains even as rising component costs bite. Pre-order The ROG Xbox Ally X20 is now available to pre‑order, giving Windows handheld fans a new OLED option with upgraded hardware and a premium standalone price. No limit The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ vanished from retailers almost immediately, and the grey market has responded the only way it knows how: by duct-taping an absurd surcharge to the box and calling it market demand. Review I tested the new Thrustmaster HOTAS WARTHOG MKII, an imposing metallic flight stick for hardcore PC milsim fans with an intense but fun learning curve. Gaming Tune in on September 20, 2026, to witness trailers for over 35 games, with 10 being world premieres at the upcoming PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct livestream Gaming Fallout 76 has released a new content update that adds full native Xbox Series X|S, a new Halloween-themed questline, improved weapon crafting, seasonal content, and more. GAMING Project ZETA is a 20-minute, four-team tactical arena by NIRVANANA offering a fast-paced, controller-friendly MOBA experience. News A quadrilogy rather than a trilogy is an unusual step, but it does look like we're finally done with Modern Warfare, perhaps. Apps Microsoft is bringing xAI's Grok models to Copilot across Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Here is what subprocessor integration means for IT admins and users. App You can now summon Gemini on your computer by pressing Alt + Space. AI Microsoft EVP overseeing Office and LinkedIn Ryan Roslansky posts an oddly oblivious self-own. The company flooding the internet with AI slop has started to realize how dumb its technology actually is in most scenarios. AI In a new podcast, OpenAI and ChatGPT lead Sam Altman lamented how much the industry made AI a hated tech, in his words, that they failed to "explain the benefits." You will no longer be able to use the COPILOT function in Excel after September 14, 2026. Here is why Microsoft is retiring the preview feature and what it means for your spreadsheets. Apps Copilot has gone missing in classic Outlook, drawing joking questions about whether the behavior is a feature or a bug. Windows 11 Microsoft says the UK needs more data centers as Slough residents question the impact of the proposed site. LIVE Join Daniel, Jez, and Zac on August 21 at 1PM ET for the LIVE Windows Central Podcast. Windows 11 Microsoft swapped Bing Wallpaper backgrounds for a fullscreen movie promo, putting promotional text directly on Windows 11 desktops. Microsoft 365 Switzerland is trialing alternatives to Microsoft 365, shifting 3,000 government workstations to test other apps amid sovereignty and data protection concerns. Apps Microsoft Teams will soon let users temporarily pause all notifications. Here is how the new quiet feature works and how it differs from Do Not Disturb. Microsoft Over 41,000 people have signed a petition opposing Microsoft's planned $5.4 billion hyperscale data center in Leeds, England. REVIEW Razer's new hot-swappable Reclusa X Mini 65% isn't packed with premium bells and whistles, but at $49.99 it delivers one of the most satisfying typing experiences in the company's keyboard lineup. Gaming SteelSeries unveils the Aeon Pro Controller, which features the world's first QuickSwitch Dock System for Xbox and PC, an Infinite Power System, Hall Effect Thumbsticks, and more. Review Razer’s tenth Huntsman keyboard brings optical analog power down to desk level—and my trained typing hands couldn't be happier. Please login or signup to comment