Windows 26H1, Canary Confusion, and Snapdragon Devices

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

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Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

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