May 20, 2026

Windows Weekly 984: For Entertainment Purposes Only

2 hours 44 minutes

Windows Insider Program

Release Preview channel updates (including 26H1 for the first time? - A preview of the June Patch Tuesday updates - Shared audio, NPU usage in

Task Manager, multi-app camera support, Magnifier improvements.

Taskbar updates come to Insiders! Also in Canary, weʼre throwing them a bone this time.

Enshittification remedies all around

Microsoft just held a WinHEC for the first time since 2018 and thereʼs a new Windows Driver Initiative!

Microsoft will soon let us remap Copilot key to Right Ctrl, which is what it was in the first place.

A Linux privacy nut YouTuber confuses privacy and security and doesnʼt understand Windows 11 so...

... Paul wrote a complete guide to the local account de-Microsoft experience in Windows 11

Microsoft Edge will stop loading all passwords into clear text on startup like a big boy browser.

Hardware

Paul came home to an ASUS Zenbook A16 and ohmygodohmygodohmygod

Surface

Microsoft finally revs Surface Laptop and Surface Pro for Business, with Intel chips and VERY high prices.

Snapdragon X2 variants in late 2026 because of supply issues wa-waa-waaaaa.

MDASH is Microsoftʼs answer to Anthropic Mythos, in-house only.

Elon Musk and Sam Altman are both terrible but a jury decided against Muskʼs frivolous lawsuit.

OpenAI and Apple might head to court over Siri promises

OpenAI Codex is on mobile via the ChatGPT app

Google unleashes an AI tsunami at Google IO this week. A few relevant takeaways:

Overview of the major announcements

Google advances Android as a developer platform

Chrome is turning into a proactive assistant

Google AI subscriptions are an incredible value

Related: The Gemini Intelligence feature for Googlebooks and more has steep hardware requirements - 12 GB of RAM, flagship SoC So Pixel 10 series/Galaxy S26 series and newer only etc.

Just a reminder that Microsoft makes a Linux distribution ... for Azure specifically

More dev

WWDC schedule is up for June 8 opening day

Build 2026 kicks off June 2 in SFO

After another boring .NET 11 preview release, we finally get our first look at a major change: MAUI is switching from the Mono runtime to the CoreCLR runtime.

And we should pause for a moment to remember S "Soma" Somasegar, who sadly passed away this week.

Xbox and Gaming

Next Xbox Elite controller leaks and it is glorious

Related: An Xbox Cloud-Connected controller leaks too and it is less than glorious.

Forza Horizon 6 is here, and itʼs on Game Pass on Day One.

Be sure to read Laurentʼs detailed review.

Haters gonna keep hating: Fans want Xbox exclusives because their heads are still in the sand.

Sony is allegedly returning to this model for single player experiences

Related: Sony raises prices on PS Plus

Fortnite comes back to the Apple App Store worldwide *excluding Australia for some reason.

Tips and Picks

Tip of the week: Google AI Studio.

Vibe-code your next app with this incredible free tool.

Related: A look at Markdown editors.

App pick of the week: DeskScapes 2026

Stardock DeskScapes 2026 is normally $9.99 but it will cost just $6.99 during the launch period.

Also: Firefox 151 is a big update on desktop and mobile, the latter gets the AI kill switch

RunAs Radio this week: UEFI Secure Boot with Richard Hicks

Brown liquor pick of the week: Daftmill Winter Batch Release

These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/984

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Sponsors:

outsystems.com/twit

trustedtech.team/windowsweekly365

zscaler.com/security

...more

View all episodes

By TWiT

3.6

1616 ratings