Surface Go 3: Release date, everything we know, and what we’re hoping to see

While the spotlight is on the Surface Pro 8 and the Surface Book 4 — since they’re likely coming this year — there’s plenty more going on with the Microsoft Surface lineup. If you’re thinking about a Windows tablet but want something a little less expensive than a Surface Pro, that’s where the Surface Go comes in.

The current Surface Go 2 is a bit long in the tooth; in fact, it was using last-gen hardware when it was announced. In fact, it was announced alongside the Surface Book 3, so it’s not crazy to think a refresh might be coming soon.

Navigate this page:

• Surface Go 3 release date: When will it come out?
• Surface Go 3 price: How much will it cost?
• Surface Go 3: What we’re expecting
• Surface Go 3: The wish list

Surface Go 3 release date: When will it come out?

While the Surface Go 2 was announced alongside the last Surface Book 3, don’t expect the Surface Go 3 to arrive alongside the Surface Book 4 later this year. The reason is simply that this isn’t hero hardware. The event later this year is going to be about launching Windows 11 and the hardware that’s meant to showcase the new OS.

No previous model of the Surface Go has been announced at an event, whether virtual or in-person. It’s always something that gets announced via a press release, and for good reason. Can you imagine Panos Panay taking the stage to show off the Surface Go 3? What would he even say? After all, it’s a mid-range tablet.

That means there are two things that can happen here. One is that Microsoft could announce the Surface Go 3 the week before the main event. This is something Apple does a lot. For anything that’s not worthy of the main spotlight, it can announce it ahead of time. That’s not really a Microsoft thing to do though, especially for the Surface brand. It’s more likely the product will be held back until spring 2022.

Surface Go 3 price: How much will it cost?

I fully expect the Surface Go 3 to maintain the same pricing as it has right now. Right now, here’s what you can get:

Processor	RAM	Storage	LTE	Price
Pentium Gold 4425Y	4GB	64GB eMMC	No	$399.99
	8GB	128GB SSD		$549.99
Core m3-8100Y				$629.99
			Yes	$729.99

Obviously, the configurations might change. Still, I’d expect it to still start at around $399.99 for the model you don’t want, and go up from there.

Surface Go 3: What we’re expecting

When Microsoft announced the Surface Go 2, there were a handful of new features.

• A larger, 10.5 inch display in the same size chassis
• A spec bump to a Pentium Gold 4425Y
• An option for a Core i3-8100Y

For the Surface Go 3, I’d expect the chassis and the display will remain mostly the same. Given the display size increased with the second-gen model, it’s a lot to ask that anything changes on the next one.

Other than a leak on the CPU, there haven’t been many rumors, but here are some safe bets.

A spec bump

Given that Microsoft used eighth-gen processors in the Surface Go 2 in an era when 10th-gen was current, there’s a lot of room for an upgrade here. There are two key possibilities based on Intel’s current selection, including the Pentium Gold 6500Y or the Pentium Gold 7505. Thanks to the Geekbench database, we now know that the company will likely use the Pentium Gold 6500Y, a significant improvement if CPU benchmarks are any indication.

The Pentium Gold 6500Y is from the Amber Lake Y series, meaning it’s basically still an eighth-gen chip. It’s also still built on a 14nm process. That means the Core m3 — now rebranded to Core i3 — will be the Core i3-10100Y. That means that it’s going to be 10th-gen Amber Lake Refresh.

Also notable is that with the 10th-gen Amber Lake processors, Intel actually increased the TDP from 5W to 7W. Note that with the Pentium Gold that’s being used, the TDP is still 5W, so you’ll get a solid boost in power from the Core i3.

The Pentium Gold 7505 would make a lot more sense for this product. It’s from the Tiger Lake family, which is 11th-gen. But even if Microsoft doesn’t want to be current-gen with the Surface Go 3, it won’t have to. By next spring, higher-end products will have moved on to 12th-gen Alder Lake.

Another thing that’s cool about Tiger Lake is there’s no more Y-series. This is sort of a low-power U-series chip that’s meant to scale. It would also allow the team to use something like a Core i3-1110G4 in the higher end model. Sadly, that seems like something that we’ll have to wait for the Surface Go 4 to see.

Faster cellular speeds

Microsoft Surface is never on the cutting edge when it comes to new technologies, especially on a mid-range product like the Surface Go 3. Even if it adopts 5G in the Surface Pro 8 this year, I’d expect the Surface Go 3 would still only offer 4G LTE options.

Still, I’d expect a better 4G modem. Both the Surface Go and the Surface Go 2 used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X16, the same that was included in the Snapdragon 835 chipset. It’s come a long way since then, so I would expect something like a Snapdragon X20 or X24.

Removable storage

Introduced in the Surface Laptop 3 and the Surface Pro X, removable storage has made its way to the Surface Pro line with the Surface Pro 7+. I fully expect it to eventually come to the entire Surface lineup, because this really isn’t meant to be a premium feature.

Microsoft is serious about removable storage. What’s important for you to know is it’s not there so you can upgrade your own SSD without paying the frankly absurd prices Microsoft charges.

This is a business feature, and just in case you haven’t noticed, every single Surface product has a business option, so I completely expect this feature to be offered throughout the lineup (except the Surface Duo, obviously). It’s a feature that’s important for governments too. If you’ve got a Surface Go 3 and it needs to be serviced, it might have sensitive information on it. Removable storage lets you take that out.

Also, when you recycle the PC or sell it, you can remove that storage and destroy it. For some businesses and governmental institutions, this feature is necessary for even considering a purchase.

Surface Go 3: The wish list

This is where we go from things that we’re expecting, to things we simply want.

5G

I noted above that I fully expect faster cellular in the Surface Go 3, but seriously, it’s time to put 5G in all the things. That’s just where we’re at now. The problem is when it comes to stuff like this, Microsoft likes to stay a step behind the curve.

To me, one of the biggest pain points in the PC market is how much of a premium cellular capabilities are made out to be. I can go out and spend $300 on a phone that will have 5G (let’s go with the OnePlus Nord N10 5G). However, if I bought an HP Elite Folio, it would cost an additional $444 to have it configured with 5G. Honestly, it’s something the PC market hasn’t cared to move toward, similar to how that same $300 phone can have a 16MP front camera that records 1080p 60fps video and you’re lucky if your $2,000 laptop records 1080p 30fps video.

Luckily, the Surface Go 2 already has an FHD webcam. Just give us the 5G now, and let’s not pretend it needs to be a $1,000 product to have it.

Ship the pen in the box

If Microsoft wants to still sell the Surface Pen separately with the Surface Pro 8, that’s fine. Both with less expensive products, things tend to be more bundled. Asking people to spend $549.99 on a tablet that’s supposed to be a budget device, and then grabbing an additional $99.99 for the pen and $129.99 for the keyboard takes away the value.

Seriously, just throw the pen in the box with the Surface Go 3. I’d say throw the keyboard in as well, but I don’t even think that’s necessary. Let’s make this a purely tablet experience. With that 10.5 inch screen and Android app support, the Surface Go 3 could be pretty cool.

No more Surface Connect

It’s time to kill off Surface Connect, Microsoft’s proprietary connector. There have been two versions of it, one of which shipped in the Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, Surface RT, and Surface 2. The other debuted in the Surface Pro 3, and that’s the one we know today.

That leaves just one other Surface PC, the Surface 3. That actually used a micro-USB connector for charging, and it was abandoned because too many people were wondering why it would take 12 hours to charge their tablet if they used their phone charger. The spiritual successor to the Surface 3 was the Surface Go, and it’s time to try this again.

I firmly believe all Surface PCs should switch to USB Type-C charging. I wouldn’t mind if the Surface Go 3 was the first.

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That’s about it for the Surface Go 3. As mentioned earlier, there really aren’t any credible leaks or rumors just yet. Of course, we’ll update this page as we learn more.

The post Surface Go 3: Release date, everything we know, and what we’re hoping to see appeared first on xda-developers.

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These are the Best Email apps for Android: Nine, Aqua Mail, Spark, and more!

Most of us deal with email on a daily basis, and there can be a ton of emails coming in on most days. So if an app can make working with emails even just a tiny bit easier, we welcome it with open arms. While there’s a good chance your Android phone came preinstalled with an email app, it may not be the best option for you. Fortunately, the Google Play store is full of email apps, and we’ve picked the best ones for you.

Navigate this guide:

• Nine
• Aqua Mail
• Spark
• Outlook
• FairEmail
• Gmail
• K-9
• Edison Email
• MailDroid

Best Email Apps

Nine

Nine is one of the most popular email apps on Android. It cares about users’ privacy and doesn’t store email data on its servers. The app connects to your email servers and downloads data directly to your device. In terms of providers, it supports everything from Gmail to Microsoft Exchange Server. It also provides Direct Push Synchronization with Exchange ActiveSync.

Other features include the ability to select folders for which to enable push notifications, sync tasks and calendar, conversation mode, and a lot more. Nine is free to download, but you’ll need a $14.99 license to use the app after a two-week trial period.

Nine - Email & Calendar (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Aqua Mail

Aqua Mail is another great email app for Android. It offers several customization options, allowing users to personalize how the app looks and operates. Additionally, you get support for 20 languages. Similar to Nine, Aqua Mail doesn’t store your email data on its servers. You can also use pretty much any of your email accounts with the app, including Gmail, Exchange, IMAP, or POP3-enabled servers.

Other Aqua Mail features include Smart Folders, contacts and calendar sync, Android Wear support, email backup/ restore via cloud storage services, and widgets. Aqua Mail is free to download and use, but you can opt for the Pro version to remove ads and get advanced features. Some of these features include support for unlimited accounts, push for Exchange, and unlimited aliases.

Email Aqua Mail - Exchange, SMIME, Smart inbox (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Spark

Spark is made for email power users. It intelligently prioritizes emails to help you focus on the important stuff. The same smartness is present in its notifications, and it’ll only ping you about the emails from people you know. Other great features include intelligent search, quick replies, email scheduling, snooze emails, and more.

The app also allows you to collaborate with your team on emails, which you won’t see in many email apps. You can have shared drafts, private team comments, and shareable email links. Additionally, Spark works with all major email providers. It’s free to download and use, but a premium subscription unlocks more features.

Spark Email – Connect Gmail, Yahoo & Outlook mail (Free, Google Play) →

Outlook

Microsoft’s Outlook email app is an entirely free option that works with Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail. It doesn’t include a lot of options, but you get simplicity and a good design. You get three tabs — email, search, and calendar to keep things straightforward. Integrations for Microsoft products, like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and OneDrive are also present.

Outlook also comes with a feature called Focused Inbox that can pre-sort your emails to highlight essential emails. Threading support and add-ins for popular third-party services are available as well.

Microsoft Outlook: Secure email, calendars & files (Free, Google Play) →

FairEmail

FairEmail is an open-source email client that values your privacy. It works with all major email service providers, but you won’t get access to the non-standard protocols, such as Microsoft Exchange Web Services and Microsoft ActiveSync. You get support for unlimited accounts, a unified inbox, conversation threading, push notifications, and material design.

The app doesn’t store your email data on its servers. Also, there are no advertisements or analytics of any kind. Its free version is quite feature-rich, but you can buy the Pro version to get several advanced features.

FairEmail, privacy first email (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Gmail

Like Microsoft’s Outlook app, it may feel like the Gmail app is only meant for Gmail users, but it can be your email client for non-Gmail providers as well, like Outlook.com, Yahoo Mail, IMAP, and POP3-enabled servers, Exchange and Office 365, and more.

Given Gmail’s home-field advantage, it comes preinstalled on an overwhelming majority of Android devices. So it’s also the easiest to get on board with. You don’t have to go looking for another app in the Google Play store. Thanks to Google’s search capabilities, you get an excellent search feature on the app. All things said, some people may not want to use the app over privacy concerns, and the amount of data Google collects.

Gmail (Free, Google Play) →

K-9

K-9 Mail is one of the oldest email clients for Android. It kind of disappeared into the background over the last few years, but it made a return to form in July this year with a redesign. K-9 is open-source and privacy-friendly, two things that a lot of XDA readers appreciate. It also supports pretty much every email service provider.

Some of the K-9 features include per account notifications, unified inbox, push IMAP support, dark theme, OpenPGP encryption support, and local as well as search-side search. K-9 is free to download and use. There are no ads or in-app purchases.

K-9 Mail (Free, Google Play) →

Edison Email

Edison is another decent email app out there. By default, it stores commercial messages, like emails related to shipment tracking, purchases/receipts, and entertainment. But you can opt out of data sharing and delete any stored data. Edison is fast and supports pretty much all email services and providers. Additionally, you get a focused inbox feature, like Outlook, that highlights essential emails.

The app also allows you to unsubscribe from junk emails and block tracking pixels easily. A built-in AI assistant can search for stuff, like bills, tickets, travels plans and more, to tell you about upcoming meetings, due dates, and more. Edison Mail is free to download and use and doesn’t include any ads. There are some in-app purchases for additional features.

Email - Lightning Fast & Secure Mail (Free⁺, Google Play) →

MailDroid

Like K-9, MailDroid is also a veteran of the Google Play store. The app cares about your privacy and acts as a pure email client, meaning there’s no MailDroid server storing your emails before delivery to your phone. It also supports all major email services and servers, including Microsoft Exchange. But you won’t get ActiveSync support.

MailDroid features include custom mail rules, calendar integration, cloud storage support to store attachments, themes, spam filter plugin, and more. OpenPGP and S/MIME support is available as well. It’s free to download and use with ads. There’s a Pro version as well that removes ads and adds some new features.

MailDroid - Free Email Application (Free⁺, Google Play) →

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Which email app do you use? Let us know in the comments section. Meanwhile, check out our best Android apps and best podcast apps lists for more app recommendations.

The post These are the Best Email apps for Android: Nine, Aqua Mail, Spark, and more! appeared first on xda-developers.

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Windows 11 Update Tracker: Download and Install the latest Windows 11 update

The wait is finally over — Windows 11 is here as Microsoft has officially kicked off the Insider Preview program for the next generation of Windows. The company is also rolling out several updates on top of the base Windows 11 build in preparation for an eventual rollout via the stable channel. This article will serve as the central repository of knowledge base (KB) articles and download links for all updates related to Windows 11, including both the Insider Preview and the stable builds.

Table of Contents:

• Glossary
• Windows 11 Build Index
• How to install
• Verification

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Glossary

Windows updates are compressed in a special archive file format called Microsoft Cabinet (CAB) that supports embedded digital certificates used for maintaining archive integrity. When published via Microsoft Update Catalog, Microsoft often wraps them into the MSU (Microsoft Update) format.

The internal structure of a MSU package

The primary focus of this index is centered around the Cumulative Updates (also known as Monthly Rollups), which include both security and reliability updates that are packaged together. Since they are cumulative in nature, the latest rollup package has the ability to update the target Windows version to the most recent build, regardless of what the previous build number was.

In some cases, one may need to apply a Servicing Stack Update (SSU) before installing the newest Cumulative Update (CU). The servicing stack is the code that installs other operating system updates, hence Microsoft usually bundles them with CUs before publishing a standalone MSU package. Power users or system admins may still prefer to deal with the CAB variant for ease of deployment. In that case, always install/integrate the SSU before engaging with the CU.

Microsoft also provides CUs for the .NET Framework portion of the Windows OS. Unlike the SSU, they are distributed separately from the regular CUs.

Windows Feature Experience Pack is yet another type of update that delivers new feature improvements to customers outside of major Windows feature updates.

Then comes the Dynamic Updates (DU) that are meant for the Windows setup engine. They are being automatically downloaded and applied on the fly in order to fix the Windows recovery environment (WinRE), setup binaries, or any files that the Windows setup uses for feature updates. However, we decided not to include them in this index for the sake of avoiding clutters.

To have a clear idea about Windows update terminology, see the article about the types of Windows updates. Keep in mind that an inter-OS (e.g. from Windows 10 to Windows 11) or an inter-build (e.g. from Windows 10 November 2019 Update/Build 18363 to May 2020 Update/Build 19041) update is a way more complex scenario. Microsoft handles such upgrade paths using the Unified Update Platform (UUP), the details of which can be found in this tutorial.

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Windows 11 Build Index

Build Number 22000

Build	Changelog and known issues	Download
22000.168 [Integrated with Insider Preview 8]	KB5005191	x86-64 ARM64
22000.160 [Integrated with Insider Preview 7]	KB5005189	x86-64 ARM64
22000.132 [Integrated with Insider Preview 6]	KB5005190	x86-64 ARM64
22000.120 [Integrated with Insider Preview 5]	KB5005188	x86-64 ARM64
22000.100 [Integrated with Insider Preview 4]	KB5004300	x86-64 ARM64
22000.71 [Integrated with Insider Preview 3]	KB5004252	x86-64 ARM64
22000.65 [Integrated with Insider Preview 2]	KB5004745	x86-64 ARM64
22000.51 [Integrated with Insider Preview 1]	KB5004564	x86-64 ARM64

Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8

Build	Changelog and known issues	Download
10.0.4400.3 [Available since Insider Preview 4]	KB5004342	x86-64 ARM64
10.0.4395.3 [Available since Insider Preview 1]	KB5004034	x86-64 ARM64

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How to Install these Windows 11 builds

CAB packages

To install a CAB update package, you need to use a built-in system utility called Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM). The command-line syntax should be as follows:

dism /online /add-package /packagepath:<path_to_cabfile>

CAB and PSF packages

Since Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21382, Microsoft has made a significant change in the Latest Cumulative Update (LCU) format. As a result, the end user can’t use the CAB file directly. To perform the installation using the built-in update module, the corresponding Patch Storage Files (PSF) package must be present. This is the exact reason one can find PSF files corresponding to each LCU in the Windows 11 UUP Dump. In case of an online installation, Windows Update only downloads and generates missing PSFX (PSF Express) payloads, while the CAB package only contain the manifests.

However, DISM alone can’t handle the PSF packages, which means we need to somehow combine the PSF and CAB files manually before trying to install them offline. Fortunately, there exists an open source tool named PSFX Repack for this job.

• Extract the archive of the PSFX Repack tool to a folder with a short path (like “D:\PSFX_Repack\”).
• Download both CAB and PSF files corresponding to the LCU and move them to the aforementioned folder.
• Run repack_psfx.cmd to generate the combined CAB file.
  
• Use DISM to install the latest SSU CAB first, then the resultant LCU CAB file.
  

MSU packages

The MSU variant, on the other hand, is somewhat standalone in nature due to the fact that one can simply double-click on it to install the package. Note that DISM can also install MSU files.

After the installation finishes, you will be prompted to restart the PC for the changes to take effect.

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Verification

The Settings app in Windows 11 has an option to view the list of updates installed on your PC. Here’s how to access it.

• Open Settings and click Windows Update.
• Click/tap on “Update history”.

The good old “Programs and Features” applet in the classic Control Panel can also show you the list of installed updates.

• Right-click Start, click Run.
• Type appwiz.cpl and click OK. This opens the Programs and Features in the classic Control Panel.
• Click View installed updates link on the left side. This shows you the list of updates along with the installation date column.

If command-line is your thing, then you can opt for DISM or Windows Management Instrumentation (WMIC) as well. You need to execute the command from an elevated instance of Windows Terminal.

• Using DISM:

  dism /online /get-packages /format:table | findstr "Package_for"

  

• Using WMIC:

  wmic qfe

  

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We hope this article not only serves as a common update index for Windows 11 but also provides general installation instructions that can be useful for other Windows builds as well. We’ll be updating this guide with links to newer Windows builds, so check back again in the future!

The post Windows 11 Update Tracker: Download and Install the latest Windows 11 update appeared first on xda-developers.

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You’ll be able to install Windows 11 on unsupported CPUs using an ISO

Microsoft had some bad news to share today when it announced that it wouldn’t budge on most of the CPU requirements it imposed for Windows 11. The company initially said it was considering adding AMD Zen-based processors and 7th-generation Intel CPUs, but ended up only adding some niche Intel processor families. However, there’s a bit of a silver lining here, as you’ll apparently be able to install Windows 11 using an ISO even on PCs with unsupported CPUs.

As reported by The Verge, while Microsoft won’t offer the Windows 11 update to most of those older PCs, you’ll be able to download an ISO file for the operating system and install it yourself. That means, as long as your PC meets the minimum requirements – a dual-core 1GHz 64-bit CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage – you can actually get Windows 11 all the same.

Forcing you to download an ISO means that, right out of the gate, most people with unsupported CPUs won’t get Windows 11 anyway. It makes some sense considering Microsoft’s reasoning for leaving older processors behind. The company says these processors experience far more crashes on Windows 11, so for the average user, it would be inconvenient to have an unstable PC thanks to an automatic update.

But it also means that, for the people that do want the latest and greatest, there is a path forward. If you go through the trouble of downloading the ISO file and installing the update manually, you know what you’re getting into. Presumably, once you’re on Windows 11, you’ll receive cumulative and feature updates just like everyone else.

As for how and when you can download that ISO file, that’s still unknown, but it will probably happen sometime around October. You can always follow our guide to download the latest Insider builds if you don’t want to wait.

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New Windows 11 build brings new Microsoft 365 widget

Microsoft has released a rare Friday build of Windows 11 for Windows Insiders. Today’s update is once again a relatively small one as we continue to get closer to the official public release. In terms of news, Windows 11 build 22000.168 includes a new Microsoft 365 widget, but only for Azure AD accounts

This new widget brings together quick information from your organization that’s relevant to you. This includes folders you access often, recent updates on SharePoint, and meeting recordings, with more to come.

Aside from that, the only other notable change is that the Chat feature powered by Microsoft Teams is now localized in multiple languages, not just English. The app will follow your OS-wide language settings, and it supports the following languages:

Languages supported in Chat on Windows 11

Albanian, Arabic, Azerbaijani, Basque, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (UK), English US, Estonian, Filipino, Finnish, French, French (Canada), Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Norwegian (Bokmal), Norwegian (Nynorsk), Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian Latin, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Mexico), Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Valencian, Vietnamese, Welsh.

While it’s not part of this build, Microsoft is also highlighting some updates to the Microsoft Store app. The Library section has been redesigned and features improved performance. It also now sorts your library to let you see which apps were updated most recently, a feature that was available in Windows 10 but went temporarily missing in Windows 11. You’ll also find a tweaked design for the Spotlight section of the Microsoft Store, where you can mouse over each item to preview what it’s about.

At this point, it looks increasingly unlikely that Android app support will be available for the general public when Windows 11 launches. The feature is still nowhere to be found, be it in the Dev or beta channels.

The only other news in Windows 11 build 22000.168 are bug fixes, which are as follows:

Fixes in Windows 11 build 22000.168

• Search:
  • We’ve addressed an underlying issue in the last couple flights for pen enabled devices that was resulting in Search getting into a state where it wasn’t possible to launch apps from the results.
• Settings:
  • We fixed an issue where typing certain phrases into the search box in Settings were crashing Settings sometimes.
• Widgets:
  • When using the Family widget, you should no longer unexpectedly see a message saying ‘connect a device to see screen time activity’ despite there being available activity to display.
• Chat from Microsoft Teams:
  • We fixed the issue where sometimes videos would freeze or display a black image during video calls.
  • We also fixed the issue where if you switched between calls, the previous call is not automatically put on hold, so audio and video streams continue with both calls.

There are also a ton of known issues in this release, and the list is still much bigger than the bug fixes. Hopefully, these will all be ironed out over the next few weeks, but for now, here’s what you need to look out for:

Known issues in Windows 11 build 22000.168

• [REMINDER] When upgrading to Windows 11 from Windows 10 or when installing an update to Windows 11, some features may be deprecated or removed. See details here.
• We’re investigating an issue where on some devices, when going to Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program, only the “Stop getting preview builds” option is visible. This prevents Insiders from selecting a channel. We have posted a workaround on Answers.
• [BETA CHANNEL] We’re investigating reports from Insiders in the Beta Channel where after upgrading to Windows 11, they are not seeing the new Taskbar and the Start menu doesn’t work. To workaround this if you are impacted, please try going to Windows Update > Update history, uninstalling the latest cumulative update for Windows, and the reinstall it by checking for updates.
• We’re working on a fix for an issue that is causing some Surface Pro X devices to bug check with a WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR.
• Start:
  • In some cases, you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the Taskbar. If you experience the issue, press WIN + R on the keyboard to launch the Run dialog box, then close it.
  • System and Windows Terminal is missing when right-clicking on the Start button (WIN + X).
• Taskbar:
  • The Taskbar will sometimes flicker when switching input methods.
• Search:
  • After clicking the Search icon on the Taskbar, the Search panel may not open. If this occurs, restart the “Windows Explorer” process, and open the search panel again.
  • Search panel might appear as black and not display any content below the search box.
• Bluetooth:
  • We’re investigating reports from Insiders with paired Bluetooth LE devices that are experiencing an increase in Bluetooth reliability issues and bugchecks after resume from hibernate or when Bluetooth is turned off.
• Widgets:
  • The widgets board may appear empty. To work around the issue, you can sign out and then sign back in again.
  • Widgets may be displayed in the wrong size on external monitors. If you encounter this, you can launch the widgets via touch or WIN + W shortcut on your actual PC display first and then launch on your secondary monitors.
• Store:
  • We are working to improve search relevance in the Store including resolving an issue where in some cases the ordering of search results is inaccurate.
  • The install button might not be functional yet in some limited scenarios.
  • Rating and reviews are not available for some apps.
• Windows Sandbox
  • Within Windows Sandbox, the language input switcher does not launch after clicking the switcher icon on the Taskbar. As a workaround, users can switch their input language via any of the following hardware keyboard shortcuts: Alt + Shift, Ctrl + Shift, or Win + Space (the third option is available only if Sandbox is full-screened).
  • Within Windows Sandbox, the IME context menu does not launch after clicking the IME icon in the Taskbar. As workarounds, users can access the functionalities of the IME context menu with either of following methods:
    • Accessing the IME settings via Settings > Time & language >  Language & region > (e.g. Japanese) three dots > Language options > (e.g. Microsoft IME) three dots > Keyboard options.
      • Optionally, you may also enable the IME toolbar, an alternative UI to quickly invoke specific IME functions. Continuing from above, navigate to Keyboard options > Appearance > Use IME toolbar.
    • Using the unique set of hardware keyboard shortcuts associated with each IME-supported language. (See: Japanese IME Shortcuts, Traditional Chinese IME Shortcuts).
  • Localization
    • There is an issue where some Insiders may be some missing translations from their user experience for a small subset of languages running the latest Insider Preview builds. To confirm if you have been impacted, please visit this Answers forum post and follow the steps for remediation.
  • Chat from Microsoft Teams
    • Arabic and Hebrew languages currently does not allow changing Teams Settings. To change Settings in Teams, please sign out and switch to another language.
    • When you make an outgoing call, while you do not hear a ring tone, the user interface shows that the call is getting connected.

If you’re a member of the Windows Insider program, you may have recently received an email warning you to switch from the Dev channel to the Beta channel. That’s because Dev channel Insiders will soon start testing next year’s Windows 11 update, which will be much more unstable. Be sure to check your Windows Insider settings if you want to stay on a stable release.

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Windows 11 officially won’t support AMD Zen or most Intel 7th-gen processors

When Microsoft first announced Windows 11, it increased the system requirements for the OS for the first time since Windows 7 was released. While there were increases in the amount of RAM and storage needed, and there’s a TPM 2.0 requirement, the biggest change came to CPU requirements. With Windows 11, you need an Intel eighth-gen or newer, an AMD Zen 2 or newer processor, or a Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 or newer.

There was a lot of backlash around that, because naturally, it leaves a lot of people unable to upgrade to Windows 11. A few days later, Microsoft said that it would reevaluate Intel seventh-gen and AMD Zen 1 chips for Windows 11. But today, the company announced that it reevaluated, and for the most part, it’s sticking to its guns.

First of all, nothing is changing for AMD Zen processors. If you were hoping for some luck on that end, it’s just not happening.

There are some modest changes coming with Intel seventh-generation processors. From that generation, you’ll be able to run Windows 11 with a Core X-series or a Xeon W-series CPU. That’s not all though. The Core i7-7820HQ is going to be supported. That’s right; only a single mainstream seventh-generation CPU is going to be supported by Windows 11, and it’s the one that’s in the Surface Studio 2.

While the Surface Studio 2 still uses processors that are years old, it’s still the newest version of the product. And yes, you can still buy one today. Microsoft pretty much made a choice to support that product because you might have purchased it very recently.

Other than that, most of the Windows 11 requirements have been in effect for years. Any PC with an eighth-gen processor is a few years old, and TPM 2.0 has been a requirement in new Windows 10 computers since mid-2016. And most importantly, Microsoft isn’t leaving anyone behind. Windows 10 is going to be supported until October 14, 2025, so that three-year-old PC still gets seven years of life, and that’s a worst-case scenario. Also, the Windows 11 ISO actually won’t check your system specs, so you’ll be able to manually install it. Just forget about getting Windows 11 via Windows Update.

Microsoft also went into some of the reasons that it made these choices. For one thing, it said that devices that didn’t meet the requirements had 52% more kernel mode crashes. For devices that did meet the requirements, there was a 99.8% crash-free experience.

Moreover, Microsoft is rereleasing the PC Health Check app today for 64-bit, 32-bit, ARM, and S mode PCs today. It’s going to have better messaging for why your PC isn’t supported, and it’s also going to have links to articles detailing it. Right now, the new PC Health Check app is only for Windows Insiders, but it will be available for everyone in the coming weeks.

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