It might not get the same kind of attention as Google and Apple, but Microsoft is still one of the biggest and most powerful tech companies operating today. It runs Azure, one of the biggest cloud computing services, and maintains Windows 11 and the whole Office suite of software. It also makes plenty of Surface hardware and has a whole slew of gaming products, including the Xbox Series X. But the company is ever expanding — building new hardware, acquiring new game studios, and making sure that even if Microsoft doesn't run your phone, it can touch plenty of the apps on it.
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Welcome to Notepad, a newsletter on Microsoft’s era-defining bets
Notepad will include analyses and scoops from a veteran Microsoft reporter.
Riding a valuation pumped up by generative AI and its chips that power many of the tools, Nvidia’s market cap has passed not only Apple but now Microsoft, too, at more than $3.3 trillion, as reported by Bloomberg.
The markets are still open, but the rise has been fast — Nvidia shares are up 160 percent in 2024, passing $2 trillion in February.
Microsoft is launching its Copilot Plus PCs today, with Qualcomm-powered chips inside. If you’re wondering where our reviews are, Microsoft and most of its OEM partners haven’t seeded devices ahead of today’s launch because of Microsoft’s Recall... recall. I have started testing a Surface Laptop today, and we’ll have a full review of this new Windows on Arm hardware as soon as possible.
The marketing whiplash in this press release announcing the availability of the Galaxy Book4 Edge is really something.
It starts by praising the magic of AI (14 times), saying Samsung’s “next-gen AI PC will change the way users work, create and play through the power of AI.” It ends with this teeny tiny footnote for its “popular Galaxy AI:”
Samsung does not make any promises, assurances or guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the output provided by AI features.
To be fair, Samsung didn’t say the change was good.
Phone Link already lets you share files from PC to certain Android phones — a new Windows Insider Preview now adds your phone directly to the Windows Share menu, too. Also, you can quickly summon jump lists by right-clicking an app pinned to the Start Menu. More here.
Next, can I get phone mirroring without needing to unlock my Samsung, pretty please?
Microsoft’s $20 monthly subscription for Copilot Pro will no longer have GPT Builder next month — the feature that lets you create a custom Copilot GPTs. Microsoft says it’s removing the ability to create GPTs starting July 10th because it’s “prioritizing core product experiences” for consumers instead.
[support.microsoft.com]
Slack is getting ready for Windows on Arm, just days before Microsoft launches its Copilot Plus PCs on June 18th with Arm-powered chips from Qualcomm. A new beta version of the ARM64 version of Slack is available today, and Slack says it will appear in the Microsoft Store soon, too. It’s another important app compatibility addition for Windows on Arm.
Microsoft says it is “temporarily pausing the rollout” of its latest Windows 11 24H2 update. The software giant released this update to Release Preview testers last month, and now it’s being pulled for unspecified reasons. “We will resume the rollout in the coming weeks,” says Microsoft. We’ve reached out to the company to comment on why it has pulled Windows 11 24H2.
[Windows Insider Blog]
We got another look at Avowed during the Xbox Games Showcase yesterday, but no exact release date beyond a promise of 2024. After the showcase wrapped, Obsidian accidentally revealed Avowed is targeting a release on November 12th. The blog post was quickly edited after the release date mention was discovered, but not before I managed to take a screenshot.
Xbox boss: ‘I think we should have a handheld, too’
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer drops his biggest hint yet at an Xbox handheld.
Microsoft squeezed three new Xbox models into its bumper games showcase last night. There’s a new white disc-less Xbox Series X, a 1TB version of the Xbox Series S, and a “Galaxy Black” 2TB Xbox Series X. All three will be available later this year, just in time for plenty of new Xbox games over the holidays.
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Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase is full of release dates today, but we still don’t have an exact one for Avowed. Obsidian’s upcoming first-person RPG is still arriving in 2024, though. I heard from sources a few months ago that it was targeting a November release. Last year, we got a good look at Avowed and a promise of a 2024 launch, and we’re getting much of the same today.
Bethesda’s Indiana Jones game still doesn’t have a release date, but we got an even closer look at the game during the Xbox Games Showcase today. Sources familiar with Bethesda’s plans tell me that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is currently targeting a December release.
State of Decay fans have been waiting for this one. Microsoft just teased State of Decay 3 during its Xbox Games Showcase. We have no idea on a release date just yet, but Undead Labs originally revealed the game was in early development in 2020.
Xbox chief Phil Spencer, Xbox president Sarah Bond, and Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty are all on stage talking to the crowd that’s in Los Angeles to watch the Xbox Games Showcase. We’re around 5 minutes away and Xbox has a lot to prove this year and some big game announcements on the way.
Microsoft started rolling out a new Teams client last year, but the new app disabled the mute and unmute microphone feature on the Windows 11 taskbar. It’s now returning for those on the “new Teams” app. Teams Public Preview members will get it first, ahead of a rollout to all Teams users soon.
