Windows | The Verge

Microsoft counters the MacBook Neo with freebies for students

2026-04-15T14:11:01-04:00

Apple's $599 MacBook Neo ($499 for students) has sent shockwaves through the PC ecosystem, and now Microsoft is responding with deals targeting students in the US. A new "Microsoft College Offer" is launching today, which will see the software giant bundle 12 months of free Microsoft 365 Premium and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with select Windows 11 PCs that have also been discounted.

Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo are all participating in this Microsoft College Offer, and Microsoft is even discounting some Surface devices days after hiking the prices of its Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models. Best Buy is selling a 15.3-inch Lenovo IdeaPad …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Nothing makes it easy to share files between any Android phone and a Mac

2026-04-15T09:31:33-04:00

Images and text upload in seconds, but for bigger files Warp is too slow compared to direct device-to-device connections.

I test Android phones for a living, but I write about them using a company-supplied MacBook Air. Both platforms are great in their own right, but they're not so great at talking to one another. On a handful of Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones you can now AirDrop files directly to Apple machines; Nothing's new Warp app hopes to solve the problem for the rest of us, offering a seamless(ish) way to send files and text between one machine and the other.

Warp is the combination of an Android app and a browser extension, which means it'll only be helpful if you use a Chrome-based browser capable of installing the extension - but that does m …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Microsoft faces fresh Windows Recall security concerns

2026-04-15T06:36:18-04:00

When Microsoft tried to launch Recall, an AI-powered Windows feature that screenshots most of what you do on your PC, it was labeled a "disaster" for cybersecurity and a "privacy nightmare." After the backlash and a year-long delay to redesign and secure Recall, it's once again facing security and privacy concerns.

Cybersecurity expert Alexander Hagenah has created TotalRecall Reloaded, a tool that extracts and displays data from Recall. It's an update to the TotalRecall tool that demonstrated all the weaknesses in the original Recall feature before Microsoft redesigned it.

Microsoft's redesign focused on creating a secure vault for Recall …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Google’s Spotlight-like desktop search bar for Windows is available for everyone

2026-04-14T13:12:03-04:00

Last year, Google announced that it was testing a Google desktop app for Windows that resembles macOS's Spotlight feature, and now the app is available globally in English. You can download the app from Google's website, and it works with PCs with Windows 10 or newer.

By pressing the Alt + Space shortcut, you can bring up the app, which lets you search both the web and files on your computer and on Google Drive. While searching, you can click through different views like All, Images, and AI Mode. If you want to ask Google questions about what you're looking at on your computer, you can use Google Lens or share your screen.

It's unclear if …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Microsoft’s new Xbox Gamepad Cursor adds a virtual mouse to handhelds

2026-04-13T06:29:17-04:00

Microsoft has started testing its own virtual mouse cursor inside its Xbox mode for Windows-based handhelds. The new Gamepad Cursor option provides a quick way to turn the left stick of a handheld like the Xbox Ally X into a virtual mouse.

While Asus has its own cursor as part of Armory Crate, Microsoft's Gamepad Cursor lives inside its own Xbox mode in Windows 11, and it's easy to activate from the Game Bar without having to use Armory Crate. Once activated, the Gamepad Cursor will turn your left stick into a mouse for precise control, or for apps that aren't designed for controllers.

The new Gamepad Cursor option in the Xbox mode. | Screenshot by Tom Warren / The Verge" data-portal-copyright="Screenshot by Tom Warren / The Verge">

The left stick will scroll around a screen like a mous …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Microsoft finally lets Windows 11 testers unlock experimental features without ViVeTool

2026-04-10T15:28:39-04:00

Microsoft is finally allowing Windows 11 testers to get access to experimental features without having to download a third-party app like ViVeTool. The changes are part of making the Windows Insider Program (WIP) less confusing, with Dev and Canary testing rings simplified into a new Experimental Channel alongside a refresh of the existing Beta Channel.

Microsoft has been using a technology called Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR) for years now, to gradually roll out new features to all Windows 11 users. While this is an industry standard, it's often frustrating to try and get access to experimental Windows 11 features and realize that Micro …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Microsoft starts removing Copilot buttons from Windows 11 apps

2026-04-10T06:04:34-04:00

Microsoft is starting to remove "unnecessary" Copilot buttons from its Windows 11 apps. In the latest version of the Notepad app for Windows Insiders, Microsoft has removed the Copilot button in favor of a "writing tools" menu. The Copilot button in the Snipping Tool app also no longer appears when you select an area to capture.

The change is part of "reducing unnecessary Copilot entry points, starting with apps like Snipping Tool, Photos, Widgets and Notepad," that Microsoft promised to complete as part of its broader plan to fix Windows 11. While Copilot buttons are being removed, it looks like the underlying AI features are here to stay, …

Read the full story at The Verge.

The MacBook Neo is the best thing to happen to Windows in years

2026-04-18T07:06:21-04:00

If there's one thing I know about Microsoft after covering the company for more than 20 years, it's that it will always respond to a competitive threat. Apple's MacBook Air convinced Microsoft and Intel to launch thin and light laptops with the Ultrabook initiative, the iPad pushed Microsoft to create its own tablet hardware, and the threat of Chromebooks saw Microsoft try to match the security and simplicity of ChromeOS with S mode versions of Windows.

A history of fast follows (and my own sources) tells me that Apple's $599 MacBook Neo announcement last month will force Microsoft to seriously improve Windows. A lot of changes are imminent …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Why Microsoft’s war on Windows’ Control Panel is taking so long

2026-04-09T06:18:24-04:00

The Control Panel still exists in Windows 11. | Screenshot by Tom Warren / The Verge

Microsoft first started trying to get rid of the Control Panel in 2012, with the launch of Windows 8. More than a decade later, it's still working on migrating all the old Control Panel items into the modern Settings app in Windows 11. While there have been hints that the Control Panel might finally go away, the reality is a lot more complicated for Microsoft.

"We're doing it carefully because there are a lot of different network and printer devices & drivers we need to make sure we don't break in the process," explains March Rogers, partner director of design at Microsoft. I could be wrong, but I think this is the first full explanation we …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Asus’ lightweight 16-inch laptop is a formidable MacBook Air alternative

2026-04-07T21:18:24-04:00

Only boring people choose beige. Am I right? | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

I already put Asus' new Zenbook A16 through the wringer when I brought a pre-production unit with me to CES. I loved it for its ample power in an impressively light 16-inch chassis. It's speedy enough for part-time content creation, it's got lengthy battery life, and its large OLED screen is crisp and vivid.

Now, the final production model is here, priced at $1,699.99 for a configuration with a whopping 48GB of RAM - a spec-to-price balance that's unheard of, especially in these uncertain times. All the strengths I witnessed from its pre-production days are still present, and the early hardware issues and software bugs I encountered have be …

Read the full story at The Verge.