Windows Weekly (Audio)

By TWiT

Windows Weekly is about more than Windows. Veteran Microsoft insiders Paul Thurrott and Richard Campbell join Leo for a deep dive into the most valuable company in the world. From consumer to enterpri... more

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Windows Weekly (Audio) episodes:

November 26, 2025WW 960: Snow & Claus - Windows 11 & Agentic AI
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

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
...more
2h 31min
November 19, 2025WW 959: Thurrott Syndrome - Microsoft Faces AI Backlash as Windows 11 Evolves
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:
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...more
2h 30min
November 12, 2025WW 958: Personal Turkey - Will Valve's Steam Machine Make a Splash?
Windows 11 just got its most noticeable Start menu revamp in a while, but is it a productivity boost or just more Microsoft meddling? The team digs into Patch Tuesday's big surprises and whether generative tools are transformative essentials or just a passing fad.
Windows 11
Patch Tuesday was yesterday, your new Start menu is right where Microsoft left it

Copilot+ PCs: Improvements to Click to Do, File Explorer, Voice access, and Windows Search

All PCs, eventually: Taskbar improvements, Administrator Protection (off by default), Quality updates

Heading into Ignite next week, Microsoft cites recent security wins in Windows 11 and Surface

First 26H1 build comes to Canary to prove that there will be nothing new in it, ever

Qualcomm takes a one-time $5.7 billion hit thanks to Big Stupid Bill but still nails it in quarterly earnings
Microsoft
WSJ continues its Microsoft financial accountability criticisms

Also reports that internal documents state OpenAI expects to lose $74 billion in 2028, the year Anthropic will break even

If Paul starts a business and it loses money for three years in a row, it becomes a hobby. So WTF is OpenAI exactly?
AI
Microsoft AI creates a Superintelligence team as a sort-of alternative to AGI

Microsoft launched .NET 10 at .NET Conf on Tuesday - Plus, Visual Studio 2026 with a new monthly release schedule and Insider versions going forward

Double-digit performance improvements again, somehow

Uno announced Uno Platform Studio 2.0 with a fun surprise for Paul: They upgraded the original WPF version of .NETpad into a cross platform app in 3 minutes! There will be a demo on Thursday

.NETpad is transitioning to WinUIpad with the Windows App SDK rewrite. It is going poorly because Windows App SDK is terrible, cannot be open sourced quickly enough
Xbox
Steam announces a new videogame console, the Steam Machine!

Backbone Pro Xbox Edition is now available

Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition is here with with Xbox Play Anywhere support, Creations

Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming, so Halo: Infinite becomes a lot more finite

Call of Duty Black Ops 6 player on PC? Hope you enjoyed that 180 GB "update" you had to install before playing a year-old game (also got a 6.7 GB update Wednesday. For the love of God)

GTA VI has been delayed yet again as it edges into Duke Nukem Forever territory

Sony has now sold over 84 million PS5 consoles, meaning it has outsold every Xbox generation ever made

Sony is selling a 27-inch gaming display in the U.S. and Japan
Tips & picks
Tip of the week: Solving the problem over identifying the problem

App pick of the week: Tiny11 Builder

RunAs Radio this week: Azure Resiliency with Chris Ayers

Brown liquor pick of the week: Kyoto Whisky Kuro-Obi Black Belt Blended

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:
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outsystems.com/twit
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...more
2h 32min
November 05, 2025WW 957: Selectively Transparent - Windows 11 26H1 Aims For Snapdragon X2 PCs
We've heard that Microsoft will go off script this year with a 26H1 release of Windows 11 specifically aimed at Snapdragon X2-based PCs, as it did with the early release of 24H2 last year for the first-generation Snapdragon X. Also, Microsoft's latest earnings call left analysts baffled as execs dodged questions about multibillion-dollar AI losses and the real story behind OpenAI's ballooning deficit.
26H1!
Now confirmed by the release notes of a Windows Update

And the Dev channel will soon switch over to 26H1 testing, with Beta moving to 25H2 (from 24H2)

Expectations? All three versions will be functionally identical except for some Copilot+ PC-specific features that may be briefly only on Snapdragon X2. And then there will be a 26H2 for everyone
More Windows 11
Microsoft (over) simplifies its Windows Update naming scheme, and then has to backtrack a bit because of admin/IT backlash

October Preview Update screwed up Task Manager a little bit

Dev/Beta update noted above included a new build with Ask Copilot in the Taskbar, Full-screen experience for Xbox gaming handhelds, Shared audio over Bluetooth LE in preview, and improvements to the WOA Prism emulator (which partially explains the expectations bit above)

Microsoft Edge password manager can now save and sync passkeys, but you should still use a third-party password/identity manager

Microsoft Store gets a bulk installer but only on the web
Earnings learnings
Microsoft earnings: Revenues up 18 percent to $77.7 billion but cost of AI is spiraling out of control and will only get bigger this FY

Productivity and Business Processes revenues up 17 percent YOY to $33 billion

Intelligent Cloud revenues of $30.9 billion, a gain of 28 percent YOY

More Personal Computing delivered $13.8 billion in revenues, up 4 percent YOY.

CapEx/AI infrastructure build-out costs are $34.9 billion (vs. $20 billion one year ago), plus a $4.1 billion loss attributed to OpenAI that was mentioned in a 10-Q (SEC) filing but not in its earnings reports

Paul's analysis sticks mostly to Wall Street complicity in Microsoft's earnings non-transparency shenanigans. This is getting weird, given the amounts of money we're now talking about

This isn't a first, but Spotify's earnings announcements includes a few BS sleights of hand too

AMD: 36 percent revenue growth isn't enough for Wall Street

Alphabet/Google: Up 16 percent to $102.3 billion, ads are 72.5 percent of revenues

Amazon: Up 13 percent to $180 billion in revenues, $30 from AWS

Apple: Up 8 percent to $102.5 billion, this quarter will be its best ever
AI, antitrust, & dev
Epic Games and Google announce settlement in Epic v. Google, a dramatic common-sense move that Apple should (but won't) emulate

Regulatory filings tied to Microsoft earnings suggest OpenAI lost $12 billion in most recent quarter

Freed from Microsoft, OpenAI immediately signs $38 billion infrastructure deal with AWS

.NET 10 to launch next week at .NET Conf 2025
Xbox & games
Xbox Game Pass getting Call of Duty Black Ops 7, five more Day One games in coming days (with an *)

Xbox October Update rolls out with game shader preloading on Xbox Ally, new modules in Game Hubs on console, more games to stream on Xbox Cloud Gaming, more

Nintendo Switch 2 is off to a blockbuster first year with

T

These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/957

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Sponsors:
helixsleep.com/windows
framer.com/design promo code WW
1password.com/windowsweekly
auraframes.com/ink
...more
2h 48min
October 29, 2025WW 956: Blowing the Dust Off Skype - Azure's Front Door Leaves Customers Locked Out
Welp, Azure crashed on Microsoft's earnings day, the cloud's weakest link exposed just as AI investments hit mind-boggling numbers. And 2.5 years into the AI era, things are still moving quickly, and there are extreme opinions on both ends of the spectrum. But Paul finally found a source for a good way to evaluate AI and figure out where it works and where it does not. It came from an unexpected place.
Windows 11
Week D arrives with a massive Preview Update for 24H2 and 25H2 - including the new Start menu, finally

Copy & Search, Voice typing improvements, Proactive Memory Diagnostics, more in Dev and Beta

Copilot Vision in Copilot app updated with text input and output across all Insider channels

Intel earnings are great unless you understand how numbers work
Microsoft 365
Australia regulator sues Microsoft over misleading Microsoft 365 consumer pricing

Copilot is being integrated into the People, Files, and Calendar companion apps for Microsoft 365 commercial

On the day Microsoft will report earnings, Microsoft 365 and Azure went down. Hilarious!
AI
OpenAI completes its transition to a for-profit owned by a non-profit

Microsoft's stake is 27 percent. A lot has changed in the Microsoft/OpenAI partnership agreement

WSJ finally calls out Microsoft for its lack of financial reporting transparency. Paul's been complaining about that for over a decade - Big Tech has became a shell game. These companies are managing money they don't even have and actual products and services and "real" value be damned

Big Copilot feature dump for consumers with a human touch: Mico, Copilot Groups, memory improvements, connectors, Proactive Actions in preview, Copilot for Health, Copilot in Edge improvements, and Copilot in Windows updates from last week

Microsoft 365 Copilot is getting App Builder and Workflow agents

GitHub Copilot to support third-party AI agents

Grammarly rebrands as Superhuman
Xbox and gaming
Credible report claims Microsoft requires Xbox/Microsoft Gaming to deliver 30 percent profit margin

That is impossible and this is clearly coming from Amy Hood and has led to the ensh*ttification of Xbox as a platform

As Microsoft launches first gaming handhelds, all anyone wants to talk about is the next-generation Xbox console. It started with Sarah Bond last week - "very premium" console with "curated" experience

Phil Spencer discusses it this week, who implied Windows at the heart of console

The rumor mill churns up - Will be Windows, as we've said, will drop multiplayer paywall that debuted in 2002

Now Satya Nadella is commenting on the next console, confirms publisher focus for this business

Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming in 2026, new features, new Unreal Engine graphics, new PS5 compatibility

Also, The Outer Worlds 2 is now available. Yes, on PS5 too

Amazon relaunches Luna, and the new Amazon layoffs point to a new focus on casual gaming
Tips and picks
Tip of the week: Understand where AI works and where AI is just a marketing term used to hype something that doesn't work

App pick of the week: Tiny11 Builder

RunAs Radio this week: AI for DBAs with Grant Fritchey

Brown liquor pick of the week: Redbreast Dream Casks

These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/956

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Sponsors:
framer.com/design promo code WW
auraframes.com/ink
ventionteams.com/twit
cachefly.com/twit
...more
2h 48min
October 22, 2025WW 955: Chewy Indifference - Windows 11's AI-Native Agentic Future
Microsoft is promising a bold AI-infused future for Windows 11, as the company aims to turn the OS into an AI-powered "agentic" hub. Amid all the Copilot hype, the hosts ask the tough questions: Are these AI features solving real problems, or is Big Tech just chasing a revenue gold rush? Tune in for sharp takes on AI skepticism, notable buzzwords, and the practical impact of Microsoft's ambitious new direction.
Windows 11... Windows.ai??
Microsoft announces several new Copilot and AI features in Windows while redefining the term "AI PC" out from under Intel

New features: Hey Copilot wake phrase (and goodbye), Copilot Vision is GA, new features coming soon include Copilot replacing Search in the Taskbar, Copilot Actions for local files, Manus AI agent and Filmora integration with File Explorer AI Actions, Zoom integration with Click to Do

This is about Windows transforming into an "AI native" agentic OS

Which ties into Paul's AI is the End of Apps editorial, where apps became programmable so that they can be controlled by AI - You can see baby steps in Windows 11 in-box apps now

Microsoft explains how it will secure agents in Windows because Recall what happened last time

Microsoft releases so-called emergency update for Windows 11 after the October Patch Tuesday updates killed USB mouse and keyboard supports in the Windows Recovery Environment (WRE).

Windows Insider Program: Mobile devices settings improvements, File Explorer improvements, Drag Tray improvements, and other changes head to Dev (25H2) and Beta (24H2) channels

New Start menu, battery icons, Copilot Vision integration in Taskbar, File Explorer improvements, Voice access improvements, and Click to Do improvements (Copilot+ PC only) head to Release Preview, indicating they will be a Week D preview and then Patch Tuesday release in November

Restyle rolling out in Paint across most Insider channels

Open AI finally launches long-expected web browser, but only on the Mac because FU, Microsoft

Facebook Messenger for Windows is retiring, will chase rabbits on a farm upstate
Microsoft
What does Microsoft's annual report say about its relationship with consumers?

Three core consumer businesses: Windows, Microsoft 365 Consumer, Xbox/gaming

Xbox/gaming smallest (500m) but also the most engaged - and also the most discussed in the report

Not clear what % of users/revenues is consumer based, but it's not a small number (guessing its at least one-third of each)
AI
Copilot for Education is coming in December, $18 per student per month

Anthropic Claude is coming for Copilot in Microsoft 365 commercial

Copilot has AI competition on Samsung smart TVs now

Opera Neon is getting an AI research agent
Xbox and gaming
Xbox president says next console will be "very premium". You know, like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are now available for purchase

New wave of games coming to Game Pass across PC, console, and cloud, including Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, The Outer Worlds 2, and more

Following console price hikes, Xbox Development Kit gets a 33 percent price increase thanks to insane U.S. tariffs
Tips & Picks
Tip of the week: Laptops are upgradeable again and life is good

App pick of the week: A grab bag of apps for Windows users

RunAs Radio this

These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/955

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Sponsors:
ventionteams.com/twit
helixsleep.com/windows
framer.com/design promo code WW
outsystems.com/twit
...more
2h 26min
October 15, 2025WW 954: We're Just Getting Started - Windows 10's Last Day of Support (But Not Really)
Forget the doomsday headlines about Windows 10's end of life. Paul, Richard, and Leo break down why most users can relax, what Microsoft really has planned, and why the supposed landfill crisis around old PCs is mostly exaggeration. Also, Microsoft said OneDrive's new app was coming next year, but your file system says otherwise.
Windows 11
October Patch Tuesday arrives, 1st for 25H2

Copilot+ PCs: Click to Do improvements, AI agent in Settings, File Explorer improvements

24H2/25H2: Desktop improvements, File Explorer improvements, Keyboard shortcuts for en and em dashes, Administrator Protection (off by default), Passkey improvements, Game Bar improvements

Windows 10 (didn't) reach EOL and the world didn't end

Zorin OS and ChromeOS Flex seize the moment

Windows Insider: Copilot on Windows gets Connectors, Document creation and export. Copilot on Windows gets Settings support. Dev and Beta get AI agent in Settings improvements (Copilot+ PC), Setting search improvements (ditto), Drag Tray, Click to Do improvements, Dark mode improvements

Dashlane partners with Yubico to make security keys primary vault access

Lenovo ThinkCentre neo 50q QC is a Snapdragon X-based SFF PC

HP OmniBook 5 16-inch shows why even the cheapest Snapdragon X chip is a winner

Hope springs eternal: Intel Panther Lake is the efficiency of Lunar Lake plus the performance of Arrow Lake. Hopefully, it's not the reliability of either

IDC: PC sales jumped 9.4 percent in Q3, just not where you live
AI
AI is the end of apps

Microsoft reveals its first image generation model

Opera Neon adds Nano Banana (image gen) and Sora (video gen) capabilities
Xbox and gaming
Target and Walmart will keep selling Xbox consoles unlike those losers at Costco

A veteran of Halo Studios leaves, warns everyone

Sorry, but there will be a sequel to the Minecraft movie

Game Pass member? Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is free to play for one more day

Sony and AMD trickle out some PS6 news in a bizarre way - oh, and we're just getting started
Tips and picks
Tip of the week: Yes, Virginia, you can still sign in to Windows 11 25H2 with a local account

App pick of the week: The new OneDrive app

RunAs Radio this week: The End of NTML with Steve Syfuhs

Brown liquor pick of the week: Holladay Soft Red Wheat Bourbon

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:
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bitwarden.com/twit
...more
2h 41min
October 08, 2025WW 953: The Casting of Frank Stallone - Is Xbox Still a Good Deal for Gamers?
The Windows 25H2 update is shrouded in mystery, but does it actually bring anything new to the table... or just more headaches for upgraders? Paul has been updating the Field Guide for 25H2, which will be an all-new addition. This is a chance to re-evaluate workarounds on unsupported hardware. This one still works: You can easily upgrade any Windows 10 or 11 PC, supported or not, using the 25H2 ISO and the D:\setup.exe /product server command line.
Windows 11
25H2 is out. Or is it? (New segment: This week in no one has 25H2 yet)

New Dev and Beta builds enforce MSA at first sign-in

This is the right choice for everybody, and enthusiasts can still use a local account sign-in

After a leak, Microsoft announces new OneDrive client with Copilot integration and agents are on the way (of course they are), with new mobile clients etc.

Mozilla Firefox finally supports profiles, PWAs

Also, Brave has over 100 million users now
AI
OpenAI inks a major deal with AMD too

ChatGPT is now a platform with support for third-party apps

Perplexity Comet now free to all with usage limits
Xbox and gaming
Hand-wringing over Xbox reaches all-time high with Game Pass Ultimate price hike

How bad is it and what can Xbox do to reassure fans?

Microsoft: Just kidding on Game Pass Ultimate price hike, but only in certain countries

Microsoft: No, we have not cancelled the next-gen Xbox console

Hands-on with the Legion Go 2! Windows can work as a mobile gaming platform. Just not right now

New Game Pass titles across PC, console, and cloud for early October a bit later than usual

Free, ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming tier is on the way

Total victory for Epic Games in Epic v. Google, Google must open up Play Store this month
Tips & picks
Tip of the week: Upgrade to Windows 11 on unsupported hardware

App pick of the week: Opera Neon

RunAs Radio this week: Managing for Failure with Amy Norris

Brown liquor pick of the week: Weller 12

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:
helixsleep.com/windows
1password.com/windowsweekly
zapier.com/windows
...more
2h 35min
October 01, 2025WW 952: You Can See the Edges of the Bubble - Windows 11, version 25H2 Is Weirdly Identical
Windows 11 version 25H2 is here, but blink and you might miss the difference from last year! Also, Microsoft just hiked Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $30/month and is leaving gamers everywhere weighing their subscriptionsâ€”and their loyalty.
25H2 is here?!
Microsoft announced that 25H2 is GA! But where is it?

And what is it? Microsoft has a list of "new" features
More Windows 11
Microsoft delivers the 24H2 Week D update in Week E

No, it's not the preview version of 25H2 for some reason

But it is a massive update. And it is essentially 25H2

Pavan Davuluri was promoted to president and his first change was to bring Windows engineering back in-house and out of Azure

Dev and Beta: Minor changes to File Explorer, Quick settings, Get Started

Photos app is getting AI-based categories

Windows 10 Extended Security Updates to be free-free in the EU
Snapdragon X2
It's real and it's really better than almost anything out there. The bad news: Not until next year

Hardware prototypes point the way for device makers

Arm is the epiphany we need for everything to just work

Also, apparently Qualcomm still makes phone chips

Qualcomm declares "total litigation victory" against Arm Holdings. More like Harm Holdings, ammmi right?
AI
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella steps aside to focus on engineering

Microsoft enters a new era for Copilot/AI

"More Copilot" is the new "more cowbell"

Microsoft 365 Premium is the AI-powered subscription you were looking for, Copilot Pro is out

This maps neatly to the three app structure model and to Paul's "I will not pay for AI" thing

Tied to this, Microsoft also announced inside app vibe working updates across Office apps

Is this also tied to low uptick on paid AI? Report claims just 8 million seats for Microsoft 365 Copilot

Stevie Bathiche came to Hawaii to talk about the importance of NPUs and on-device AI

"Directive AI, 80 TOPS NPUs enable concurrent AI, AI agents are the "outside app" structure, Orchestration is evolving

Copilot users can talk to a cartoon now
Xbox and gaming
Major revamp to Xbox Game Pass with some good and some bad

Xbox Cloud Gaming is out of beta after what feels like 17 years, now on all Game Pass tiers

Game Pass Ultimate gets big price hike but also some improvements

Game Pass Premium replaces Standard

Game Pass Essential replaces Core

Amazon Luna got a big update too

You can preorder a ROG Xbox Ally Gaming handheld now

And Microsoft announces how it will handle compatibility

Costco drops Xbox consoles

Flight Simulator 2024 is coming to P5 in 2025

EA goes private for $55 billion
Tips and picks
Tip of the week: Videogames are getting expensive

App pick of the week: Proton Mail

RunAs Radio this week: HaveIBeenPwned with Troy Hunt

Brown liquor pick of the week: Compass Box Vellichor

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:
1password.com/windowsweekly
zapier.com/windows
...more
2h 45min
September 24, 2025WW 951: The ODBC of AI - Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme Promises Blazing Speeds!
Paul Thurrott reports live from Maui with exciting details on Qualcomm's next-gen Snapdragon X2 Elite chip and how it could shake up the PC world, while behind the scenes, Microsoft quietly drifts further from OpenAI just as an NVIDIA mega-deal makes headlines. Is Windows about to get its biggest reboot in years, and can ARM finally topple Intel?
Windows
25H2 is imminent: The real ISOs and eKBs are here!

Paul's Arm-based trip to Mexico and Arm-based Apple-tastic experience at Snapdragon Summit

And yet. It's Week D. And we didn't get any preview updates (for 24H2)

Windows AI Labs is a thing

If you're migrating from Windows 10 get a Windows 11 on Arm PC, Microsoft suggests

New AI features coming to Notepad, Paint, and Snipping Tool

New Dev and Beta (and Canary) builds: Click to Do translation, Share with Copilot, Accounts management improvements
AI
The Microsoft/OpenAI rift widens yet again

NVIDIA invests $100 billion in OpenAI, days after "investing" $5 billion in Intel

Intel will keep making its own GPUs because who gives a crap

Microsoft is bringing Anthropic Claude to Microsoft 365 Copilot - "Model choice"

Microsoft reportedly trying to pay publishers for content used by AI

Microsoft Teams is getting more agents

Google Chrome is getting a major AI update
Snapdragon Summit 2025
6G, AI as the new UI, glasses as the next wave, Android PCs out of nowhere

X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme (with up to 18 cores for ultra-premium PCs)

3rd Gen Oryon CPU (X2 was 1st gen, last year's phone chip was G2)

75 percent faster CPU perf than competition at ISO power

First Arm chip to hit 5+ GHz

New Adreno GPU architecture with 2.3x perf per watt and power efficiency over previous gen

Hexagon NPU with 80 TOPS for "concurrent AI experiences" on Copilot+ PCs

Supports latest 5G SD X75 modem, Wi-Fi 7, BT 5.4

75 percent faster CPU perf than competition at ISO power

Bad news: First half of 2026 availability

Not in the press release: The secret of why X2 Elite Extreme is so fast
Xbox
Microsoft raises Xbox console prices for the second time in 2025

Here comes the Gaming Copilot on Windows 11

Google is copying it on Android and bringing Android and native games to Windows now
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Think of 1 story for everyone you care about

App pick of the week: Notion 3.0

RunAs Radio this week: Managing Vendor Incidents with Mandi Walls

Brown liquor pick of the week: High Coast Whisky Quercus IV Mongolica

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.

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2h 55min

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The podcast currently has 298 episodes available.

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