Microsoft is currently testing a new ‘Shared’ section in Windows 11’s File Explorer, which aims to make it easier to find everything that’s been shared with you across Microsoft services.

Windows Latest flagged up that the new addition is part of the latest preview of Windows 11 (24H2) in the Dev channel (build 26120).

The Shared section sits alongside the ‘Recent’ and ‘Favorites’ tabs, showing any file that has been shared with your Microsoft account (whether that’s a document from OneDrive, an email, and so forth). This makes it easy to see these files, right upfront in File Explorer, rather than having to hunt for them.

While the feature isn’t working properly in preview right now - at least not according to testing carried out by Windows Latest - the theory is that files will be marked with their origin, and, for example, something shared in cloud storage would open in OneDrive (naturally in the Edge browser).

If you’re using Microsoft products in a work or school environment, your Shared section will also include files shared within your organization or school body. 

File this one under ‘plenty’ 

Microsoft further notes in the blog post for build 26120 that you’ll also see more types of file in the Recent and Favorites tabs, as well as the new Shared section, and that includes files you’ve recently interacted with in Power BI or Microsoft Forms, for example, or Designer. Expect to see a wider selection of apps represented in these parts of the File Explorer UI, in short.

The preview build also brings a few other developments, such as new flyout menus for pinned apps in the Start menu for easier access to certain features, the ability to share files that come up in Windows search more easily, and a relocation of media controls to the bottom-center of the lock screen when you have media playing in the background.

All of this should be packaged in the upcoming big Windows 11 24H2 update, which we expect to arrive any week now. However, as ever with work in testing, we don’t know if all the features will make the cut for the release version of the update. 

It seems likely that most of these proposed changes will end up in Windows 11, though, including the Shared tab - assuming the current bugginess can be ironed out by Microsoft as the feature proceeds onward through the testing channels.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...

• Windows 11 users could get a shiny new ‘Soundscape’ Settings page to replace another bit of the ancient Control Panel
• Following a backlash around a recent Windows 11 Start menu change, Microsoft reverses course in new preview build
• Windows 11’s new ‘Recommendations & Offers’ page might give you more say over what ads you see, but probably not enough to make you happy

Microsoft is continuing to modernize Windows 11 by gradually transferring the legacy Control Panel’s functions to its newer, shinier Settings app, and the latest effort on this front appears to be audio-related.

Trusted leaker of Windows developments on X, PhantomOfEarth, discovered a hidden ‘Soundscape’ panel in the Settings app (as highlighted by XDA Developers). This was present in an old (seemingly internal) preview build of Windows 11, and can’t be found in current test builds, the leaker explains.

PhantomOfEarth observes that when the new Soundscape page is enabled, the link to the old legacy Control Panel Sound window (which is the ‘More sound settings’ link, in System > Sound) is removed from Windows 11’s Settings app - which suggests that this is a replacement for that old piece of functionality.

The stumbling block right now is that this new Soundscape panel doesn’t have any content at all, it’s completely blank. So, we can’t be sure exactly what it’ll do (which isn’t surprising, given that it’s not even present in Windows 11 preview builds right now, it was uncovered in an internal Microsoft-only build as noted).

However, the one-line descriptive blurb for the new Soundscape option in the Settings app explains that it pertains to ‘Startup sound, scheme, audio events,’ which is what’s present in the legacy Control Panel Sound window under the ‘Sounds’ tab. So, it seems like Soundscape will replace this, offering a way to change the Windows sound scheme, the sound on boot-up, and audio related to individual system events (an error happening, for example).

Making the Windows 11 interface more consistent is a necessary move

If the Soundscape panel does eventually replace the old audio functionality here, it’ll be another step closer to the Settings app fully succeeding the Control Panel. Clearly, though, this is still in its very early stages, what with the new page not only being hidden, but tucked away in an internal build, and not even present in the software piped to Windows Insiders for testing.

While it’s taking a long time, and work was begun in Windows 10, it’s clear enough that Microsoft is determined to continue seeing off the Control Panel, and replacing it with a more streamlined Settings app.

Remembering that the Control Panel is almost 40 years old is a sobering thought, and I do think that Microsoft needs to ensure that Windows 11 has a more modern, cleaner, and above all consistent design throughout.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...

• Microsoft is giving some default Windows 11 apps a major performance boost – and you could feel the payoff soon
• Windows 11’s 24H2 update is almost here — let’s talk about some of the features we’re expecting to see
• Microsoft improves Windows 11 Start menu, with no new ads in sight – and there’s a bonus for the lock screen in latest preview

Microsoft has just issued a fresh update for Windows 11 in testing, bringing some handy improvements including a change to the Start menu, and also the lock screen, alongside a new file-sharing button.

The new features are currently being tried out by testers in the Release Preview channel for Windows 11 (23H2 and 22H2 builds), which is the last round of user testing that preview builds go through before final release. This means that we can expect these features to arrive pretty soon.

One move I’m pleased to see is Microsoft revisiting one of its recent changes to the Start menu - namely, the new Microsoft Account-related settings. 

You may recall that the introduction of the new account manager section to the Start menu caused controversy because it buried a useful option under another layer of the menu. This was the option to sign out, which was shifted from being right there in the Start menu’s profile panel, to being hidden behind the three-dot menu (top-right) in the new account manager panel (that replaced the previous profile UI).

The good news is that Microsoft has been listening to the folks complaining that they don’t want to be forced to perform another click to sign out of their account, so in this preview build, the option is back where it was before, with no need for any extra clicking to reach it. Also, Microsoft notes that you can switch user profiles by clicking the three-dot icon and choosing one from the menu that appears.

Another part of Windows 11 that’s been modified is the lock screen, which now has media controls towards the bottom of the screen whenever media playback is underway on the PC.

Also, you will soon be able to share files stored on your device when they come up in Windows search results via a new share button.

These are not the only changes on the menu here, and you can see the full list of additions with more details on Microsoft’s Windows Insider blog post. 

A minor update, yes - but a useful one nonetheless

While this isn’t the most dynamic update, it delivers some handy tweaks and bug fixes that should make the Windows 11 experience a little smoother, and as noted, I’m really pleased to see the change for the Start menu.

As for the new sharing function for files in Windows search, that might be of more use if Microsoft spent some time further improving and fine-tuning the core of the search experience - the process and results. Let’s hope for some more work in that respect.

The features mentioned here are also being tested for Windows 11 24H2, ahead of its launch which should be coming pretty soon.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...

• Microsoft is giving some default Windows 11 apps a major performance boost – and you could feel the payoff soon
• Windows 11’s 24H2 update is almost here — let’s talk about some of the features we’re expecting to see
• Microsoft improves Windows 11 Start menu, with no new ads in sight – and there’s a bonus for the lock screen in latest preview

Windows 11 could get another feature to develop a tighter level of integration between your PC and smartphone, and it’s called ‘Hand Off.’ 

Windows Latest noticed that a Windows tester on X, @techosarusrex, pointed out the feature in a tweet, having discovered the hidden capability in a recent Beta channel preview of Windows 11 (build 22635).

Windows Latest observes that the Hand Off feature looks to be related to the ‘Continue from Phone’ functionality the tech site previously wrote about a few months back (also in testing).

Whatever the case, the screenshots provided on X give us more clues as to how it might work, as there are settings to control which apps can use Hand Off (only OneDrive right now), as well as a toggle to turn on (or off) the actual Hand Off feature itself.

The overall idea is that when a Hand Off is available - meaning the ability to carry on what you were doing on your phone, on your PC instead when you return to sit at your computer - an icon will appear in the taskbar to notify you. As shown, when you’re back at your PC, it’ll allow you to, for example, pick up work on a document you were previously editing on your phone.

As far as we can tell, this ability won’t be limited to Android phones, and you should be able to carry on your activity from an iPhone as well (we don’t see why not). While OneDrive is the only option to use with Hand Off currently, this is very early (still hidden) work in testing - so broader support for more apps could be brought in yet.

How does Hand Off fit in with Continue from Phone?

Exactly how Continue from Phone and Hand Off are related remains to be seen - the latter could even be the new name for the former. Clearly they are tied together closely, though, but we’ll just have to wait for more details on exactly how Hand Off will work (assuming it ever goes live in testing, that is). It’s possible Hand Off could work in both directions, meaning you can pick up activity from your PC on your phone, too.

Some of you may have noticed the similarity between this hidden Windows 11 feature and Apple’s ‘Handoff’ functionality, which allows users to seamlessly continue activities between their iPhone, iPad, and Mac. With Apple’s Handoff, you can start an email on your iPhone, for instance, and pick up where you left off on your Mac. 

Windows 11’s Continue from Phone and Hand Off features aim for a similarly seamless experience, but what’ll be interesting is that given Apple’s Handoff is tied to its iCloud ecosystem, whether Microsoft’s take will only be usable with OneDrive. Or, as mentioned above, whether support will be made more expansive.

Smoother and more robust integration between Windows 11 and smartphones will give users a reason to stick with the OS, and I think if Microsoft focuses on improving this aspect, it will prove fruitful.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...

• Heads up Samsung phone owners who use Phone Link in Windows 11 – screen mirroring just became way more seamless
• Android users rejoice! You’ll soon be able to connect Windows 11 File Explorer to your smartphone and transfer files with ease
• Good news – Microsoft is finally realizing a feature resembling AirDrop for Windows PC and Android device users

Valve appears to be testing a version of its Proton translation layer – which facilitates playing Windows games on Linux – built for Arm processors (as opposed to x86 CPUs).

Tom’s Hardware spotted that in Valve’s recent round of testing a large number of PC games with Proton, there seems to be an Arm64 version of the tool (called ‘proton-arm64ec-4’) which is also being tried out with a whole bunch of titles.

Tom’s notes that this includes the likes of Left 4 Dead 2 and Shadows of Mordor, to pick a couple of more high-profile examples.

For some, this hints at the possibility Valve could be considering releasing a version of SteamOS for Arm64, meaning a potential Steam Deck running with an Arm chip as its engine – like the silicon that powers Copilot+ PCs, the new Snapdragon X processors – as opposed to an x86 AMD (custom Zen 2) CPU, which powers the Deck currently.

Analysis: Eyeing the potentially explosive growth in Copilot+ PCs?

What would the point be of such an Arm-toting Steam Deck? Well, we could be looking at a more wallet-friendly Deck with better battery life, in theory. Although that said, x86 is making big strides in terms of improving battery life as it is (just look at Intel’s new Lunar Lake mobile chips). Also, as Tom’s points out, the entry-level Steam Deck is already pretty affordable as it is – particularly when it’s on sale.

Rather than this being part of the future plans for Valve’s gaming handheld, what’s probably more likely is that Valve is simply looking more broadly to make a version of Steam for Arm-based Windows 11 laptops like the aforementioned Copilot+ PCs.

After all, we’ve been hearing quite a lot about how the sales spike in these Copilot+ PCs will be huge in 2025, if analysts are to be believed (add seasoning, naturally). So, perhaps Valve is eyeing that potential casual gaming market.

Of course, Arm-based Snapdragon X-powered Copilot+ laptops already do emulation of x86 PC games, using Microsoft’s Prism technology – but while this works well enough for a good number of titles, there have been a surprisingly large amount of games left out in the cold. Gamers feel that Microsoft hasn’t fully delivered on its big gaming promises with Snapdragon chips.

At any rate, what’s happened here only represents an early hint that Valve is working on developing Proton for Arm chips, and nothing may come of it. In short, we need to watch this space, but there’s bound to be plenty of speculation about where Valve’s going with this – if anywhere.

You might also like...

• Affordable Copilot+ PCs might be coming – but leak shows their 8-core Snapdragon CPU won’t cope with gaming
• Windows 11 remains an unloved OS – but why won't people upgrade?
• I've been using a work laptop with a dedicated Microsoft Copilot key for months now, and it's made me realize one thing

When Microsoft introduced the Copilot key, all we could think was – this is a waste of precious laptop keyboard real-estate, frankly – and for those of you who have the key, and feel this way, here’s some very good news: you can now reconfigure it, at least in testing.

In the new Beta channel preview build 22635 for Windows 11, Microsoft has made it possible to remap the Copilot key to launch an app rather than invoke the AI assistant.

As Microsoft explains in a blog post, there’s a slight catch, though: “You can choose to have the Copilot key launch an app that is MSIX packaged and signed, thus indicating the app meets security and privacy requirements to keep customers safe.”

We’ll come back to discuss the exact implications of this momentarily, but the gist is that you can’t remap the key to any application you’d like – only MSIX apps.

There’s no change to the default behavior of the Copilot key as you might expect – when you first get your shiny new Copilot+ laptop, it’ll still summon the AI assistant when pressed. You’ll be able to reconfigure it in the Settings app, in Personalization > Text input, at least when this change comes to the release version of Windows 11 – and we can’t see why it would get cut in testing.

That MSIX configuration caveat

As noted, the caveat is that you must remap the Copilot key to launch an MSIX app, which is a Windows app package cooked up by Microsoft, with the aim of tighter security (among other benefits). In short, many Windows apps aren’t MSIX-packaged, and if any given application you want a shortcut to isn’t, then you’re out of luck.

This feature is just in testing at the moment, so it’s possible Microsoft could change this requirement – we shall have to see down the line. The reason for stipulating MSIX, as noted, is the better security provided in this installation format over and above MSI (its predecessor).

Those who are frustrated with the limitation can always redefine the Copilot key using third-party key mapping software, naturally, but that isn’t as convenient as having a native option. (If that native option has a full range of functionality when it comes to the apps you can link the key to, that is).

We don’t have a Copilot key on our keyboard, and don’t want one, as you can probably guess from how this article started – those on TechRadar who have been playing with this key have found it less than revolutionary, too.

All in all, having to introduce an option to reconfigure the key could be seen as a bit embarrassing for Microsoft, considering the fanfare when the Copilot key was revealed. If you recall, the move was trumpeted as the ‘first significant change’ to the Windows keyboard in some 30 years, and that the Copilot key would be a ‘core part’ of the keyboard on a par with the Windows key itself.

All that said, if the Copilot assistant itself becomes much more useful in Windows 11 in the future, maybe the dedicated key could yet carve out more of a genuine raison d’etre, as opposed to feeling more like a crowbarred-in addition, at least for us.

You might also like...

• Watch out: soon some older PCs will lose Windows 11 support
• What is AI? Everything you need to know about Artificial Intelligence
• Don’t make these 5 big mistakes when using Windows 11

Microsoft is currently testing a change for Windows 11’s Settings app that concerns recommended and promoted content - ads, in short - and surprisingly, it’s an idea that won’t make you wince. 

Windows Latest spotted that in preview builds of Windows 11 (in the Beta and Canary channels specifically), there’s a new dedicated ‘Recommendations & Offers’ page (which was previously titled as just a ‘General’ page, under the ‘Privacy & security’ section of the Settings app).

The new page will make it easier to manage what sort of adverts and recommendations Microsoft shows you in Windows 11, thanks to a couple of moves.

Firstly, the descriptions of the various options here relating to controlling ads and recommendations in one way or another have been made clearer, which is always good to see.

Secondly, we have a new option introduced to the revamped Recommendations & Offers page. (The other options remain the same as they were before, we should note - it’s just the descriptive text that’s changed, and small tweaks to the layout of the panel).

The new option is ‘Personalized offers’ but this isn’t actually new to Windows 11 as such, it’s just been shifted over from the ‘Diagnostic data’ page in Settings and renamed (it was called ‘Tailored experiences’ previously).

Switching ‘Personalized experiences’ on or off enables you to control whether you see personalized tips, ads, and recommendations based on your activity within Windows.

This particular choice will be a lot easier for Windows 11 users to see - and use - in the new ‘Recommendations & Offers’ page, rather than being hidden away in some obscure panel related to diagnostic data. So, that’s a definite plus point.

A change of tune from Microsoft? That seems doubtful

It isn’t known when we can expect this fine-tuning of the Settings app to arrive in Windows 11. For now, it’s not even showing up for all Windows 11 testers, as apparently it’s still rolling out.

Windows Latest speculates that this change could arrive with Windows 11 24H2, although the annual update is getting close to release now - so it could be a tight squeeze.

Whatever the case, this is at least a clear effort to consider the wishes of Windows 11 users in terms of them having better visibility and control of, the advertising preferences on their devices. 

However, I don’t necessarily think this is Microsoft backing away from its aggressive stance on pushing advertising in many parts of the Windows 11 interface, and I don’t think this will do much to appease those people who are frustrated with Microsoft’s insistence on taking this path.

I’ll be happy to be proved wrong on this, but it’s hard to imagine a world where you could, say, turn off advertising altogether in Windows 11 - I can still dream, though.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...

• No, Windows 11 24H2 isn’t about to arrive, sadly – Microsoft’s heavy hint to that effect turned out to be a mistake
• Microsoft is giving some default Windows 11 apps a major performance boost – and you could feel the payoff soon
• Windows 11’s 24H2 update is almost here — let’s talk about some of the features we’re expecting to see

Windows 11 users who hook up their Samsung phone with their PC using the Phone Link app are in for a pleasant surprise thanks to the newest version of Samsung’s interface for its Android devices.

Windows Latest noticed that with the update to Samsung’s One UI 6.1.1 which is now rolling out to last-gen phones, including Galaxy S23 models and last year’s foldables, Phone Link now works more seamlessly with its mirroring feature.

For the uninitiated, the Phone Link app enables users to connect an Android phone to a Windows 11 (or 10) PC, with the experience being especially smooth for Samsung Galaxy devices, as Phone Link benefits from deeper integration and more features with Samsung handsets.

Windows Latest observed that after updating a Samsung Galaxy S23 to the latest One UI version, the device no longer asked for permission to start screen mirroring. When clicking to start screen mirroring in the Phone Link app, it automatically began without the S23 popping up a request to mirror the screen.

While this sounds like a pretty minor change, remember that previously, every time you start screen mirroring via Phone Link, the Samsung phone requests permission. So doing away with that is definitely a nice convenience, making firing up the screen mirroring feature a one-click experience.

Driving forward with Phone Link

Microsoft continues to improve Phone Link on a regular basis, and another interesting change we saw earlier this year (in testing) is Microsoft integrating AI into the app. The AI functionality provides suggested responses to messages in the Phone Link app, and in much the same vein as the automated responses in Gmail, you get a few possible replies to pick from.

Furthermore, we’ve heard whispers a few months back that Phone Link could be made into a Start menu ‘Companion,’ meaning it’ll be present in a floating panel docked off either side of the menu. The whole Companion interface change is still very much in testing, and there’s just a small clue that Phone Link will be part of this puzzle - if it ever comes to fruition. Still, that would put Phone Link right at the heart of the Windows 11 interface (should you want it there).

It’s clearly a pretty big deal for Microsoft, probably more so since Apple now has iPhone Mirroring in macOS Sequoia.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...

• Windows 11 and Android users will finally get a feature iPhone users have had for ages – the easy copying of text from phone photos over to a PC
• Good news – Microsoft is finally realizing a feature resembling AirDrop for Windows PC and Android device users
• I used to hate Samsung’s bloatware on laptops and phones – but it’s Windows 11 and Android’s best bet to take on Apple

Earlier today, some reports fired up enthusiasm around the possibility that Microsoft might have accidentally let slip the release date for Windows 11 24H2, and that the update was imminent - but that isn’t the case.

This originally came from Ghacks, which noticed a blog post written by Microsoft intended for IT professionals on the topic of enhanced data protection with Windows and Copilot. 

In that post, Microsoft said that Copilot-related updates will “align with the annual Windows 11 feature update release,” which clearly enough means Windows 11 24H2. And we were told that those Copilot updates would arrive in preview on September 24, 2024, with the full release following on October 8.

So, the conclusion was quickly (and understandably) reached that the Windows 11 24H2 update should also arrive on October 8, if the release of both 24H2 and these Copilot-related updates aligned as Microsoft told us. All very straightforward, right? Well, no...

Mistakes were made

Microsoft has just updated the blog post to spell out in no uncertain terms: "The dates conveyed below are for our regular monthly servicing updates for supported versions of Windows 11 and unrelated to when Windows 11, version 24H2 will be generally available."

The mention of aligning with the annual update for Windows 11 has been stripped out of the post, so clearly, Microsoft made a mistake here (though it doesn’t directly admit that).

When it eventually arrives, Windows 11 24H2 will bring in a number of new features, including Wi-Fi 7 support (which will only be useful if your PC’s hardware, and router, also supports it), and some nifty changes on the AI front. That includes Copilot becoming an app, allowing you to resize its window and move the assistant around the desktop.

Head here for a deeper dive into all the incoming features Microsoft is packing into 24H2, which could still turn up in October, perhaps – just not on October 8, apparently.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...

• Windows 11 promises improved AI and gaming performance thanks to NPU and GPU boosts in 24H2 update
• Windows 11 or bust: Microsoft is boldly and insistently urging Windows 10 users to move on, or get left behind
• Windows 11 users, good news – the Start menu could get a fresh new look to make your apps more manageable