What’s New in Windows – May 2023

Windows 11

Last month was packed with Windows announcements as Windows 11 did get a lot of stage time during Microsoft’s annual Build developer conference. With Windows Copilot, Microsoft will integrate a new AI assistant into the OS, and Windows Insiders will get to test it first later this month. 

The software giant also made various announcements for Windows developers including Dev Home, a new developer-focused experience that’s now available in preview. The company also detailed what to expect from the upcoming “Moment 3” update for Windows 11 that’s coming in June.

May 2023 Patch Tuesday added a new Windows Update toggle

Last month’s Patch Tuesday update for Windows 11 version 22H2 introduced a new toggle in Windows Update that lets users get the latest non-security updates, fixes, and improvements as soon as they roll out. This toggle is disabled by default on managed devices.  

Windows 11’s “Moment 3” update is coming soon  

Windows 11 is getting another “Moment” update this spring. The optional update for Windows 11 version 22H2 released on May 24 already includes some of the upcoming “Moment 3” features, such as support for Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) audio. 

This month, Microsoft will start rolling out the rest of the “Moment 3” quality of life updates, and there’s quite a lot: Highlights include a new VPN status icon in the system tray, the option to display seconds in the system tray clock, new access key shortcuts in File Explorer, live kernel memory dump (LKD) collection in Task Manager, new presence sensor privacy settings, and a new limit of 20 most recent tabs in Alt + Tab and Snap Assist. 

Phone Link for iOS is Now Available for All Windows 11 Users

Microsoft announced on May 15 that Phone Link for iOS was now available for all Windows 11 users in 85 markets. iPhone owners can now use the Phone Link app to send and receive text messages, make and receive phone calls, and see contacts and iPhone notifications right from their Windows 11 PC.

Phone Link for iOS
Phone Link for iOS is now available for all Windows 11 users (image credit: Microsoft).

Microsoft Gets Ready to Push Windows 10 Version 22H2 to All Users

With Windows 10 version 21H2 reaching end of servicing this month, Microsoft announced last month that it will soon start pushing Windows 10 version 22H2 to consumers and non-managed business devices that are approaching end of servicing. 

Windows driver and firmware updates are coming to Intune

IT pros will soon be able to manage Windows driver and firmware updates in Intune. This will allow admins to get more granular controls for optional drivers and firmware updates, access detailed reporting, and take advantage of an integration with Windows Autopatch.

Build 2023 announcements

Windows Copilot was one of the main announcements Microsoft made during its Build 2023 developer conference, but there was much more.

Windows Copilot for Windows 11 is Coming in June

Windows 11 will be the first OS to get an AI-powered personal assistant that will integrate with Microsoft 365. Windows Copilot is expected to be much more capable than Cortana, and it will also be able to connect with third-party services using plugins. Microsoft said that the new Windows Copilot will be available for Insiders in preview on June 11. 

New Dev Home app launches in preview

Dev Home is a new developer-focused app that’s now available in preview on Windows 11. The app streamlines the configuration of WinGet, GitHub, and other coding environments in the cloud using Microsoft Dev Box and GitHub Codespace.  

The new Dev Home app
The new Dev Home app (image credit: Microsoft)

GitHub Copilot X integration into Windows Terminal

Windows Terminal, Microsoft’s new command line tool now integrates with GitHub Copilot X. This allows developers to natural language to interact with an AI to recommend commands, explain errors, and more. Microsoft also announced that it’s planning to Microsoft is also planning to integrate its GitHub Copilot with other developer tools including WinDBG.

Native support for .rar and other archive formats

Windows 11 is getting native support for the rar, tar, 7-zip, gz, and other archive formats later this year. The company will be leveraging the libarchive open-source project to implement this functionality.

Windows on ARM updates for developers

Microsoft continues its push to make Windows on ARM a better platform for developers. Visual Studio 17.6 will soon add MAUI support for ARM-based devices. Moreover, the ARM version of Visual Studio 17.71 Preview 1 also added support for Linux development with C++.

Windows Insider updates

If the new Windows Copilot won’t be available for Insiders until June 11, Microsoft started testing several new features with Canary, Dev, and Beta channel testers last month. 

New Dev Drive and Windows Backup App

The Windows 11 Insider build 23466 released on the Dev Channel on May 24 lets developers set up a new Dev Drive on an existing drive or a virtual hard disk. Dev Drive leverages Resilient File System (ReFS) technology to improve performance for developer workloads.

This build also introduced a new Windows Backup app that lets users back up their PC settings (pinned app preferences, Wi-Fi networks, and other passwords) to the cloud. These settings can be restored on a new Windows 11 PC running the Windows 11 build 23466 during the out-of-box experience.

The new Windows Backup app
The new Windows Backup app (Image credit: Microsoft)

vTPM Support in Hyper-V for Windows on ARM VMs

The Windows 11 Insider build 25370 released for Canary Channel testers on May 22 also brought support for virtual TPM 2.0 chips in Hyper-V on Windows on ARM devices. As a result, Windows 10 on ARM virtual machines created with Hyper-V can now be upgraded to Windows 11. 

That’s it for the biggest Windows updates announced throughout the month of May. Again, we should have a lot to write about this month with the first preview of Windows Copilot expected to be released for Insiders on June 11.