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Instead, the company removed base Surface models from Microsoft.com
Microsoft hasn’t secretly raised Surface prices, as earlier reports claimed. Instead, it has removed the base models of the Surface Pro 13-inch and Surface Laptop 13.8-inch from Microsoft.com, according to a statement by Nancie Gaskill, GM of the Surface group. “Customers can purchase base models of Pro and Laptop at the starting price of $999 at other key retailers,” she added.
Currently, you can still find those models atAmazonandBest Buy, where they’re discounted to $800. That’s the same price as the smaller (and slower) Surface Pro 12-inch, so potential buyers have to think hard about balancing portability versus power. It’s also unclear if those base models are still being produced by Microsoft, the company could be trying to sell through it’s existing stock so future customers canonlyorder the more expensive models.
Earlier this week,XDAfirstnoticeda potential Surface price change at Microsoft.com. The starting prices of the13.8-inch Surface Laptopand13-inch Surface Proappeared to jump from $1,000 to $1,200 — but it turns out those are just higher-specced models.
And despite the confusion around actual Surface pricing, Microsoft has definitely made its accessories more expensive. The 65W Surface power supply shot up from $90 to $120 this week, and the 127W variant went from $125 to $175. (Perhaps consider themany cheaper options from Anker and other companiesin our fast charging guide.)
Microsoft also increasedXbox prices last week increases. The Xbox Series X is now $80 more expensive, while an Xbox Series X costs an extra $100.
Updated 5/8/2025 6:00PM:Added Microsoft’s statement about not increasing Surface pricing.
Alongside the rollout of cheaper Surfaces, Microsoft also increased prices on previous-gen laptops by around 20%.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch
Microsoft announced twonew Surface laptopson Tuesday, and it appears the company used the announcement to increase prices on some of the previous models by around 20%.
Spotted byXDA, Microsoft has yet to officially announce the price changes, but they’re active on the company’s online store. For example, the13-inch Surface Prolaunched at $999.99 but now costs $1,199.99 if you try and buy one in its cheapest configuration.
Surface Pro price on May 5 (Credit: Wayback Machine/Microsoft)
Surface Pro price on May 7 (Credit: Microsoft)
Other retailers, like Amazon and Best Buy, have yet to reflect the price increases, so if you’re looking to buy one of these products, it may be cheaper on a third-party site. Price hikes spotted so far include:
Surface Laptop, 13.8-inch— now $1,199.99, up from $999.99
Surface Pro, 13-inch— now $1,199.99, up from $999.99
Surface 65W Power Supply— now $119.99, up from $89.99
Surface 127W Power Supply— now $174.99, up from $124.99
TheSurface Laptop Studio 2also got more expensive in recent weeks, moving from a base of $1,999.99 to $2,379.99, XDA notes. There’s currently a deal on the product that keeps it at the $1,999.99 mark, but Microsoft says it’s a time-sensitive discount rather than the base price. Meanwhile, the 15-inchSurface Laptopremains at $1,299.99.
The reasoning for the price change is unclear, but the company alsosignificantly increased the prices of its Xbox products last week, citing “market conditions and the rising cost of development.” That saw the price of an Xbox Series X rise $100 and an Xbox Series S increase by $80, alongside various accessories. The brand also warned customers to expect its first-party games to rise to $80 at some point later this year.The brand’s two new Surface products are a 12-inch version of the Pro that starts at $799.99 and a 13-inch Surface Laptop that starts at $899.99. Both are more affordable than recent Surface products, giving customers a new entry-level option.
They can’t steal your password if you don’t have one.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Microsoftnow uses passkeys by default for all new accounts, helping its users stay secure by ensuring that their passwords can’t be stolen by not having one.Microsoftwill ask you for an email address when creating an account for the first time. It will then send a verification code to confirm your identity, and once done, it will become your default credential for your new account.
After you’ve created your Microsoft account and signed in, the company will ask you to add a passkey. Once you have done so, you can use Windows Hello or your device’s biometricsecurityfeatures to access your account.
Passkeys have been around for almost a decade, with Windows 10 getting support for passwordless sign-in in July 2015. However, it took some time for the standard to gain traction, withGoogle, Apple, and Microsoft rolling it out to their respective operating systems in 2022.
Furthermore, personal Microsoft accounts only received this feature in 2024. Still, this is a welcome development, as it will make accessing your Microsoft account easier and more secure. After all, this is one less password you need to remember among the hundreds, if not thousands, of passwords you keep for your numerous accounts.
The company has updated the user experience for its login pages by detecting the best authentication method from the start instead of offering all the possible options.
“For example, if you have a password and “one-time code” set up on your account, we’ll prompt you to sign in with your one-time code instead of your password. After you’re signed in, you’ll be prompted to enroll a passkey. Then the next time you sign in, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your passkey,” said Microsoft Identity & Network Access President Joy Chik and Microsoft Security Corporate VP Vasu Jakkal. “This simplified experience gets you signed in faster and, in our experiments, has reduced password use by over 20%. As more people enroll passkeys, the number of password authentications will continue to decline until we can eventually remove password support altogether.”
Passwordless accounts will make it harder for bad actors to illicitly access accounts, as they can no longer steal credentials through phishing, keylogging, SIM swapping, and more. And even if you lose your passkey device, you’re still protected, as anyone who wants to access your data must use your biometrics to open it. Someone determined and with unlimited resources might still be able to circumvent passkey protection, but for the average person, this should be more than enough to increase their data security.
After 23 years of connecting people around the world,Skype, the popular video-calling service, isshutting down. Microsoft, the parent company, confirmed that the official sunset date for the service is Monday, May 5, 2025.
Skype users can either migrate all their contacts and chat data to Microsoft Teams, or they can choose to download their Skype data and transition to another video-calling service.
To assist users in the switch, we’ve created a guide on how to migrate to Teams or download Skype data. Additionally, we’ve curated a list of alternative video-calling apps that can replace Skype.
How to move from Skype to Microsoft Teams
Skype users can sign in toTeamsfor free using their Skype credentials. Once logged in, all their chats and contacts will automatically transfer to the app.
Teams offers features similar to Skype, including one-on-one and group calls, messaging, and file sharing. While Skype was primarily designed for smaller groups (up to 20 participants) and casual use, Teams is more business-focused, accommodating up to 10,000 participants in a single video call. It also comes with advanced security features and various integrations, such as Evernote, OneDrive, Office 365, Salesforce, SharePoint, Trello, and more.
Teams is available onAndroid,iOS,Mac, PC, and the web.
For users who aren’t interested in making the transition to Microsoft Teams, we still recommend exporting account data. This ensures that valuable information — such as messages, files, and contact details — is backed up and can be accessed in the future.
Open Skype and log in.
Click on the three horizontal dots under the account name in the top left corner.
Go toSettings>Account & Profile>Your Account.
After being redirected to Skype’s web portal, choose from eitherExport contacts (.csv),Export Caller ID numbers (.csv), orExport files and chat history.
The “Export files and chat history” option lets users downloadConversationsandFiles.
ClickSubmit RequestandContinue.
When the export process is complete, clickDownload.
An obvious benefit of usingGoogle Meetis that it’s available for free with a Google account. Since a lot of people are already using Google and have existing accounts, transitioning to this platform would be fairly easy.
Google Meet allows users to hold meetings with up to 100 participants, record meetings, share screens, and more. A drawback with the free plan is that if a meeting has more than three participants, there’s a 60-minute time limit.
Large companies may want to purchase a Google Workspace plan for features like having up to 25 co-hosts, dividing participants into smaller breakout rooms during meetings, creating polls, setting up a Q&A session, livestreaming to YouTube, and more. Workspace — which has plans for $7/month, $14/month, $22/month, and up — also offers AI-powered tools through itsGemini assistant, which helps Meet users take notes and create custom background images.
Zoomis another popular web-conferencing tool. It offers several helpful features, including the ability to host up to 100 participants and chat in both private and public groups, and has tools such as notes, a whiteboard, and screen-sharing capabilities. Users can also record meetings and access transcripts.
However, one downside is the 40-minute time limit per meeting for users on the free plan. To avoid having meetings cut off, users will need to purchase a subscription, which ranges from $13/month to $18/month. Paid subscribers have access to Zoom’sAI Companion, which includes the ability to summarize meetings and ask questions about transcribed meetings.
Webex
Image Credits:Webex
Webex, the Cisco-owned video conferencing tool, offers a similar plan to its competitors. For instance, it has features such as screen sharing, the ability to record sessions, a whiteboard capability, and more.
The free plan includes up to 100 attendees per meeting, as well as an unfortunate 40-minute time limit. Webex also offers plans from $12/month, $22/month, and up, depending on team size. The paid tiers come with an AI assistant, live polling, Q&A, and the ability to add up to 1,000 attendees.
Discord
Discordwas initially designed as a chat platform for gamers, but it can also serve as an alternative to Skype for personal use or for smaller teams. However, it’s not recommended for larger businesses, as it limits calls to 25 participants.
On the positive side, Discord offers unlimited meeting lengths and features such as screen sharing, the ability to record meetings, and breakout rooms. The platform has a free plan in addition to two paid options priced at $5/month and $10/month, making it one of the more affordable choices available, depending on users’ needs.
Slack
Image Credits:Slack
WhileSlackmay not be ideal for formally scheduled meetings with large groups, it can be effective for spontaneous meetings within team chats. The Huddle feature in Slack enables users to easily transition from a chat thread to an informal audio or video call with colleagues. On the free plan, Huddles can accommodate only two people, whereas paid plans (priced at $7/month or $12/month) allow for up to 50.
Signal
Signal, the encrypted messaging app, has providedgroup video-calling featuressince2020and can accommodate up to 50 participants in a single call.
Although it’s not a direct competitor to Skype, it allows users to share links for calls, enabling them to simply send the link to others rather than creating a group, much like Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams do. Notably, Signal is free to use.
Other similar apps for mobile users looking to video call with smaller groups includeWhatsApp,Facebook Messenger, andApple FaceTime.
A new round of Windows Insider builds has dropped.
Are you the type of person who swears like a sailor or someone who prefers to maintain a professional level of discourse at all times? Windows will have you covered, regardless.
Microsoft is releasing new Insider builds as of Friday in multiple channels. The key feature, as it appears in Windows 11’s Beta Insider build (26120.3941) is an updated profanity filter for voice typing.
You can turn on voice typing using theWIN+Hshortcut and begin dictating. It recognizes your voice about as well as a smartphone but without the need for an AI-powered NPU.
Dictation, however, can be formal such as using my voice to type an article like this or more casual like orally recapping a meeting. In certain cases, you might be tempted to drop in a swear word here and there. With the new update, you can simply opt to either “bleep” out the cussing via asterisks or else leave the profanity in in its entirety. Either way, it’s up to you.
Today marks the day thatMicrosoft releases features like Recall, Click-to-Do, and othersinto the wild. To build upon that, Windows is releasing an additional feature: launching Click to Do with a Bluetooth pen. Click to Do essentially allows you to right-click and open up a menu of the most frequently used features attached to a file or app. The pen option is a bone that seems to be tossed to tablet users, as you’ll still have to select which function you want to access. The idea seems to be that if you’re already inking, you can click your pen and then tap your preferred task quickly without breaking the flow.
Microsoft is also adding a small feature that can wall off your Photos from Windows’ Search function, if you’re on a work or school account and don’t want Windows to “see” your personal photos.
Turning files to slides in PowerPoint just got easier
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Microsoft Copilotis gearing up for afew big changes, and one of them is giving PowerPoint an upgrade with a new way to create slides — all from a file or document.
In ablog post, Microsoft revealed it’s giving Copilot an update in PowerPoint to create slides based on a file or prompt. This means a fully designed slide can automatically be generated by using a document, whether it be from Word or other formats.
Copilot in PowerPoint can turn a file into a slide with content based on a prompt given, too. As an example, you can note, “add a slide about key takeaways from [document attached]” to make an individual slide based on your reference.
It’s been a pain to convert any type of file into a PowerPoint presentation, but Microsoft Copilot has been making iteasier to add images and more. While there was a way to create slides via the Copilot chatbot, now it can directly be used on the canvas.
For now, the feature is available to Microsoft 365 Insiders, with it rolling out to more users soon, and PowerPoint for Windows users with a Copilot license.
There are a few known issues, including Copilot not being able to support “specific slide formatting like font, colors, background, and images,” but further updates are sure to come down the line.
In a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, there should now be a Copilot icon above a slide.Click thisto see a dropdown menu, and you canselect “Add a slide.”
However, there is also a “New Slide with Copilot” option in the Home tab that can be selected, too.
From here, you can attach a file or document byselecting“Reference a file.”Copilot will then refer to this file to create the slide, and you can also write a prompt for Copilot to base the new slide around.
Click the “send” arrowfor Copilot to generate a slide draft, where you can edit text and make changes as you see fit.
There you have it. Microsoft offers a few tips when using it, such as making sure to direct Copilot to a specific section or topic within the file, especially if it’s large, and keeping prompts precise and snappy — like 1-2 key points.
We’ve heard aboutMicrosoft 365’s price hikes due to Copilot, and we’re now seeing these AI tools in action in PowerPoint. It’s worth noting that this feature isn’t currently available in the web version of PowerPoint, however, you can still find outhow to use Microsoft Copilot AIvia the chatbot.
AI brands continue to promise more uniform and human-like experiences for their products, and Microsoft is no different. The brand is working to make the features of its AI assistant more cohesive with the everyday world. This includes a more authentic Spanish language voice for its Copilot product. The company rolled out its Copilot Voice feature last October, which it will soon update with native Spanish speaking-voices to cater to the Latino community in the U.S. and globally.
Enter Elm and Alder, Copilot’s native Spanish voices. The AI can detect when Spanish is being spoken and respond seamlessly in fluent Spanish with a native accent. Similarly, it expresses a native accent while speaking English in the Spanish setting. I spoke with a Microsoft product expert to explore the process behind developing the new voices and the intent behind providing this unique language and cultural representation within Microsoft’s AI suite.
“In the U.S. market, you have all of these varied and diverse backgrounds and people that are your audience. In our research, we want to be representative with our communities,” says Microsoft AI Product Designer, Laura Parra Rangel. “We noticed that there was a bit of a gap for the Hispanic community in the U.S. There’s a huge Latinx community in the U.S. We have a huge community that can benefit from this.”
Copilot Voice has already received some positive reviews in its English version, withPCMag’sMichael Muchmore describing an early experience with the AI voice feature as “almost like talking with a friend.” He noted that it will still respond even amid normal speech patterns, such as stumbling with speech or interrupting the AI. Copilot will continue to fulfill its query.
Such a feature would surely be beneficial when implemented into additional languages in a native fashion. Particularly, for a demographic that is collectively the second-largest ethnic group in the U.S. According to Census.gov,over 65 million peopleidentified their ethnicity as Hispanic or Latino in 2023.
“For me, the voice experiences are amazing. Now that we have Spanish options, it’s just a game changer for me– an actual decent Spanish option to have these experiences. Something that can change and switch between English and Spanish, just like I do in my regular life,” Parra Rangel says.
“I’m talking about something in English and then something came to my mind in Spanish, and I’m constantly switching between one and the other, and I’m sure this is true for many, many people across the world,” she added.
In conjunction with the coming Copilot native Spanish language rollout, Microsoft released a report surveying 504 U.S. Latina moms ages 25 to 40 on how they use AI in their everyday lives. The campaign, called“Abuela Approved AI”found that 56% of Latina moms consider AI as a part of their close family support team; 60% of moms include AI in their daily tasks, including entertainment, personal growth, work or business, and language translation; 70% of moms note that they use AI for 24/7 access to support over advice from others, while 51% indicate they consider AI to be a source they can access for non-judgmental support. Finally, 87% of Latina moms referenced AI for cultural enrichment and preservation, including hobbies, family recipes, and native language, with AI being a bridge for learning old concepts and new ones.
Some practical examples Latina mothers gave for how Copilot Voice has benefitted them in their daily lives include using the mobile app to scan available ingredients in their homes to create a recipe that aligns with their culture. They also detailed using prompts in Spanish to create unique, first-person, native language, bedtime stories to promote bilingualism and multiculturalism in their children.
“I speak Spanish fluently, it’s my first language. English is my second language, but I totally see people being first generation in the U.S. being like– I want to speak Spanish. I want to preserve my culture. And having Copilot helps them preserve their culture,” she says.
“It’s great to have a true Hispanic voice in the market that I can speak to and that sounds [familiar]. With an Argentinian accent or with a Dominican Republic accent, that’s amazing,” she added.
Copilot Voice first launched using OpenAI’sGPT-4oAI model. Other services such asMicrosoft’s Think Deeperalso includeCopilot Voiceand use more powerful models, such asGPT o1. Notably, a feature like Think Deeper is primarily web-based; however, users can access other Copilot Voice setups viaMicrosoft Windowsand macOS desktops, and iOS andAndroidmobile interfaces.
Parra Rangel noted that working with theMicrosoft AIteam changed her perspective on how voice features could be presented. Having previously associated voice strictly with mobile, observing the development of Copilot Voice allowed her to see how a voice feature can also be compatible with a desktop experience.
“Of course, you always have the option to use voice in desktop. As a product designer, I used to see that as only mobile, but now with this, it’s a game-changer. How we experiment with voice on all platforms, whether it’s computer or mobile. This is just the tip of the iceberg,” she says.
I asked Microsoft whether there would be any model updates for the Copilot native Spanish feature and await an answer. I also asked the company whether it has plans to release native versions of other languages to Copilot Voice, and it said it will follow up with an answer.
While tech brands are promoting the highlights of new features, the product manager acknowledged users’ potential concerns about trusting AI, including privacy, security, and other notable errors or glitches. She noted that some people might resist using Copilot due to the stigma of using AI decreasing intelligence, or feeling like AI might take away their ability to think or create originally. Parra Rangel said users can think of Copilot as someone to bounce ideas with or to ask a quick question, not to generate content fully.
“Something that Copilot has is that it is aimed for all age groups. It’s unlike a more niche social media that’s aimed for maybe Gen Z, or only Millennials. I feel that Copilot is super inclusive in that sense. No matter your age, you can always benefit from Copilot,” she says.
Giving an example of a personal way she uses Copilot, Parra Rangel noted she takes advantage of the seamless language settings to create an in-app language learning tool that she can use on the go. There is a speech rate setting that allows users to adjust how fast or slow the voice speaks. She said she will slow the voice for better understanding and use Copilot Voice as her personal coach in language training. Currently, Copilot supports 40 languages, and 14 are considered very well supported.
Parra Rangel considers that the introduction of native Spanish voices has the potential to promote language learning for Copilot users regardless of whether they are Hispanic.
“You can still benefit from having these truly, Spanish-speaking voices for learning new things, a new language, or if you want to improve your Spanish, or if you live in a diverse area where people speak Spanish or other languages. That’s a very nice way to get to learn your neighbor’s culture and language,” she says.
She added that the only way to dispel any hearsay about Copilot and its features is to give it a try.
Snipping Tool feature now in testing will sort you out in a jiffy
Windows 11 is powering up the Snipping Tool in testing right now
A new feature allows you to copy all the text from an image straight away
There’s no need to take a screenshot first, as was previously the case, so this is a neat time-saver
Microsoftis making it even easier forWindows 11users to be able to extract text from images (or any content) on the screen.
Windows 11 already has this OCR-powered (Optical Character Recognition) ability, as you may be aware, but at the moment, it’s necessary totake a screenshot first with the Snipping Toolbefore you can extract text from that image.
With a new update for the Snipping Tool that’s just been released (which was leaked previously), you don’t need to grab a screenshot to perform text extraction any longer – although bear in mind this is still in testing at this point (so may still be wonky).
AsNeowin reports, with previewversion 11.2503.27.0of the Snipping Tool, you can simply hit theWindows + Shift + Skeys together, and this will pop up the capture bar for the tool.
However, instead of having to create a snip (screenshot), the ‘text extractor’ option will be right there in the bar, so you can just click that, with no need to save a screen grab first.
Essentially, this is directly integrating the ability to extract text from images (or any screen content) into Windows 11, with no additional steps needed, mirroring the functionality present in Microsoft’sPowerToys suite of tools(for advanced Windows users) – and it’s definitely going to be appreciated by folks who use this capability.
It’s obviously less of a hassle than having to clear the hurdle of actually grabbing a screenshot, if all you’re interested in doing is copying all the text that’s currently visible on your monitor.
I sayallthe text, but that’s only what happens if you use the ‘Copy all text’ option provided. If you just want a specific portion of text, you can manually select and extract only those words (it’s also possible to remove line breaks if you want).
Microsoft is slowly expanding Windows 11’s OCR powers, and you may recall that late last year, thePhotos app got Optical Character Recognition built into pull text from images directly within the application.
The company recommends switching update channels as a band-aid solution.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Microsofthasconfirmed a bugin Outlook Classic, where users are experiencing CPU usage spikes, as high as 50%, when simply typing in the application. Notably, reports of this incident can be traced back to November last year, and even now, users have been asked to switch to the Microsoft 365 Apps update channel as a temporary workaround.
After around six months since the first sighting, Microsoft is finally addressing an issue in Outlook (Classic), which led to increased CPU usage, visible slowdowns, and even freezes whenever you’d sit down to compose an email or type a message. Microsoft quotes a figure ranging from a 30-50% hit to the CPU utilization, and that’s sure to be noticeable, especially on aging hardware.
The developer team was able to reproduce this bug on updating to Microsoft 365 Apps Version 2406 Build 17726.20126+, which was released in June 2024, on the Current, Monthly Enterprise, and Insider Channels. As of writing, a concrete solution is not available, so users have been recommended to move to the Semi-Annual Channel release, where this issue has not been observed.
If you’re running an organization with several devices, Microsoft offers adetailed guidefor migrating your update channel with options like Group Policies, the Office Deployment Tool, Microsoft Configuration Manager, and Intune, just to name a few. For home users, a simpler way to achieve the same result is by just tweaking the registry as follows:
Open a Command Prompt (CMD) window with admin privileges.
Paste the following command and hit Enter: “reg add HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\office\16.0\common\officeupdate /v updatebranch /t REG_SZ /d SemiAnnual”
In Outlook, navigate to File > Office Account > Update Options and select “Update Now” to switch to the Semi Annual Channel.
Affected userswent through several troubleshooting hoops, like turning off graphics acceleration, disabling the spell-check utility, along with add-ins, but to no avail. It got so bad that a user with a beefy i9-14900HX reported CPU temperatures breaching 95 degrees Celsius just by having the ‘New Message’ window open, which is used to compose emails.
As the problem is still under investigation by the Outlook team, this is no more than a stopgap solution. The nature of this bug seems to be tied to how the software handles text fields, but it’s quite puzzling how such an obvious issue slipped past the developers in the first place.
Become a Windows 11 power user with these simple tips
Whether you’re a lifelong PC user or you just got your firstWindows 11 laptop, there are a few things you can do to make it a little more capable, comfortable and easy to use.
I know because I’ve been using the latest version of Windows since it was in beta, and when I wrote myWindows 11 reviewI was a little underwhelmed by how the finished product failed to live up to Microsoft’s hype.
But it was still a decent operating system when it launched in 2021, and in the years since the company has put in work to shore up its deficiencies and make it (generally) better and easier to use.
That said, there are still a lot of recommendations I make when helping a friend or family member get acquainted with Windows 11 for the first time. And withWindows 10 reaching its end of lifein 2025, I think there are going to be lot of people getting to grips with Windows 11 for the first time this year.
That’s why I collected my top 15 Windows 11 tips together in one place. These tips can help you be happier, more comfortable and more productive, making your time on even thebest Windows laptopsand desktops that much better.
Launches whatever is pinned to your taskbar in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd…etc. position
Windows 11 has a massivelist of keyboard shortcutsyou can use to instantly launch apps, commit actions and generally get things done a lot faster than if you used the mouse.
You don’t need to learn all of them (and trust me, you don’t want to) but there are at least a few dozen that I find super useful for helping me get things done as efficiently as possible.
There are one or two very specific keyboard shortcuts farther down in this list, but I wanted to take a moment to list my favorite and most-used keyboard shortcuts in the chart above for easy reference.
Back in the early days of Windows Microsoft used to sell add-on packs that had a bunch of new features and tools for power users.
Those days are behind us now, thankfully, as all Windows updates and upgrades are free—including PowerToys, a bundle of extras that you can use to do some frankly incredible things in Windows 11.
You can download PowerToys from the Microsoft Store app (check out our guide tohow to get PowerToys in Windows 11for step-by-step guidance) and there are loads of cool tools to play with inside. One of my favorites is PowerToys Run (pictured above), a supercharged version of the Windows Run command that works a lot more like the Spotlight Search in macOS by allowing you to type in natural language.
Windows will then try to find what you’re looking for, whether that’s an app you want to run on your PC, a file hidden in a folder somewhere or a key website somewhere on the web.
There are lots of other PowerToys that replicate or improve upon features in competing operating systems too, like Mouse Without Borders, which lets you use one mouse across multiple PCs the same way you can use a single mouse across multiple Macs and iPads with Universal Control.
Or try Shortcut Guide, which makes it easy to quickly summon a customizable guide to keyboard shortcuts so you don’t have to keep referring to Microsoft’s (or my) lists of shortcuts.
Use Windows 11 Voice Access for extra productivity with no hand strain
Windows has had various forms of voice-to-text typing and voice controls for some time, but with Windows 11 Voice Access I think Microsoft has achieved a new level of utility that makes it worth using for everyone, not just folks who have a hard time typing.
Of course, Voice Access is even more valuable for those of us who have compromised hands and wrists or otherwise have a hard time using a traditional PC because it lets you do the lion’s share of your Windows work without using your hands.
Once you get comfortable using Voice Access you can not only talk to your PC to tell it what to type, you can tell it to launch or close programs, click buttons on websites, enter text and other data in website fields and generally get a lot done without touching the keyboard. It feels kind of futuristic, too, like you’re talking to one of the Esper supercomputers in Blade Runner.
Windows 11 Voice Access has been a game-changer for how I work, and it’s now built right into the latest versions of the operating system, so you should be able to find it by justhitting the Start button and typing “Voice Access”, then launching it from the search results.For more guidance and tips, check out our guide tohow to use Windows 11 Voice Access to tell your PC what to do.
Take advantage of Clipboard history
I don’t know about you, but I spend a lot of my workday copying and pasting text, images and files across various projects I’m working on within Windows 11.
That’s why I was so happy when I discovered the Clipboard history, which is exactly what it sounds like: a historical log of everything you’ve copied to the Windows clipboard recently.
You can access it by simply hitting theWindows key + Vkeyboard shortcut, at which point the little window will appear with a reverse chronological log of everything you’ve copied (you may have to hit the “Turn on” button first to turn it on).
Try it and you’ll see not only is the clipboard history in this little app, it also has tabs for pasting in emoji, GIFs, special characters and more.
Save power and money with Energy Saver
Windows laptops have had some sort of “battery saver” power mode that conserves power for at least a decade, but recently Microsoft built that feature up into a new “Energy Saver” power mode that you can use on both laptopsanddesktops.
The value is obvious if you’re on a laptop that’s running low on juice, because enabling Energy Saver mode lowers the rate at which your machine consumes battery power.
But the fact that you can now use it on Windows 11 desktop PCs means you can fine-tune your PC’s power draw to some extent, which can save you hundreds of dollars on your power bill in the course of a year. You can also dig into theSystem > Power > Energy recommendationssubsection of the Windows 11 Settings menu for more guidance on how to cut down on your power bill.
To enable or disable Energy Saver, just open your Quick Settings menu by clicking the system tray on your taskbar or hitting Windows key + A.
Get to grips with God Mode
If you don’t feel powerful enough in Windows 11 after downloading PowerToys, it’s time to try God Mode.
“God Mode” in Windows 11 is actually a semi-secret list of shortcuts that let you do a lot of things inside Windows without having to dig through menus. They’re very useful for creating shortcuts to do things like create a restore point for Windows, creating or deleting new user accounts, show hidden files and folders and more.
But it’s a little tricky to access God Mode, because you have to create a new folder on your Windows desktop and then rename it to a very specific weird string of characters:GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
Once you do that a little control panel icon will appear on your desktop, and you can open it to see a list of dozens and dozens of shortcuts to key Windows features. It’s a tricky process, so make sure to consult our guide tohow to enable God Mode in Windowsif you have any questions!
Save your most-used files as Favorites in File Manager
This feature wasn’t in Windows 11 at launch, but less than a year inMicrosoft gave File Explorer a makeoverand added some useful new features that made it a lot more versatile.
One my faves, pardon the pun, is the ability toright-click any file and select Add to Favoritesin the context menu.
That will ensure that file appears in a special “Favorites” section of the File Manager Home screen every time you open the app. I use this for key work documents and regularly-used templates, but you can use it however makes sense for your workflow.
Try the Xbox Game Bar
If you play games on your Windows PC you should check out the Xbox Game Bar, a built-in feature that you can summon by hitting theWindows key + Gkeyboard shortcut.
Doing so brings up an overlay that has key widgets for PC gaming, including an audio control widget for controlling key details like volume levels, which mic and speakers you’re using and more.
There’s also a performance monitor, a screenshot widget, and even a full Widget storefront where you can download additional tools like aSpotifywidget, aRazerCortex widget and even widgets designed to help you in specific games like Valorant.
Microsoft has done a lot to improve this feature since it debuted, so give it a try next time you’re gaming.
Take advantage of Focus assist
I love using Windows 11’s Focus feature when I’m working and when I’m gaming because it puts the kibosh on annoying pop-ups and notifications for as long as you need.
To try it yourself, simplyopen the Focus settings menu within the Windows 11 Settings menu(the fastest way is to hit theStart buttonand typeFocus,then hitEnter) and use the tools therein to customize how long you want a Focus session to last when you start the timer.
Once you do start a Focus session, a timer will appear on-screen (though you can choose to hide it) and Windows’ built-in Do Not Disturb mode will switch on. This will hide things like notification badges on apps and stop apps flashing in the taskbar when they want your attention, but only for the duration of the Focus session.
You can customize which notifications appear and how in the Focus settings menu, which can make it a great resource for managing your attention.
Try out Dark Mode
If you want to take things to the next level, you can even customize your perfect Windows 11 color palette.
Now that so many of us are using monitors with sky-high brightness settings and HDR support, I truly feel that every app and website should offer a dark mode option.
Sadly that’s not yet the case, and even when an app or ‘site does have a dark mode it’s often a hassle to fiddle with the settings on each and every one.
That’s why I’m so grateful Windows 11 has a “dark mode” you can enable which will switch the appearance of Windows to a cooler, darker palette. Even better, it will do its best to automatically switch all apps which support it to dark mode, saving you some time and hassle.
To enable Dark Mode in Windows 11, navigate to Settings > Personalization > Colors and select “Dark” from the “Choose your mode” dropdown menu. You can also set up custom color palettes if you prefer.
Try out Phone Link to get texts on your PC
If you’ve been jealous of the way Macs and iPhones are so deeply integrated that owners of both can get texts right on their PC, it’s time for you to try out Phone Link.
For the last year or so the Phone Link app has been included by default in Windows 11, so you should be able tosummon it by just hitting the Start button and typing Phone, then clicking the Phone Link iconin the search results.
Once you launch it you can sync your iPhone or Android device to your PC and start sending and receiving text messages right from within Windows. Unfortunately, it’s pretty limited with iPhones, so you can only take full advantage of this feature if you’re using an Android device that’s running Android 8 or later.
But I’m still using an iPhone and I find even the basic utilities of Phone Link pretty handy to have, so I recommend you give it a shot.
Clear out annoying taskbar clutter
Trim down your Windows 11 taskbar in the Settings menu.
When I first started using Windows 11 I was so annoyed by what Microsoft did to the taskbar. I’m not talking about the centered Start menu, either; I got used to that pretty quickly, and after all you can move it back to the lefthand corner if you really want (just right-click the taskbar and selectTaskbar settings > Taskbar behaviorsand changeTaskbar alignmenttoLeft).
I like my Windows taskbar to work for me, so one of the first things I do on every new Windows PC I review is to get rid of all the default taskbar icons for apps like Copilot, Edge, the Microsoft Store and Task View.
Some of these, like the Microsoft Store shortcut, can be removed by simply right-clicking the icon on the taskbar and selectingUnpin from taskbarfrom the context menu.
Others take more work to dislodge. You can hide them from the taskbar by navigating toSettings > Personalization > Taskbarand opening theTaskbar itemssub-menu, where you’ll have the choice to disable the Microsoft Teams, Widgets, and Task view buttons.
Note that if you disable the Widgets button it will disappear from the taskbar, meaning you will no longer get live weather updates via it (if you have it configured that way) and you won’t be able to access your Widget menu by mousing over it.
Shake things up to stay focused
Windows 11 has a handy little feature that allows you to quickly minimize all windowsexceptthe one you’re focusing on by simply shaking it around a bit. The window, that is, not your PC—try not to shake that around at all if possible.
This is a fun way to quickly get rid of (without actually closing) everything except what you want to focus on. I’ve found it comes in real handy when working across multiple monitors.
To enable it, simply navigate toSettings > System > Multitaskingandswitch Title bar window shaketoOn.
Fine-tune volume with a spin of your scroll wheel
Hover your mouse over this icon, roll your scroll wheel back and forth and watch the volume percentage go up and down.
Here’s a fun little secret not many Windows 11 users know: you can quickly adjust your PC volume by moving your mouse over the speaker icon in your taskbar and rolling the scroll wheel on your mouse or trackball up and down.
I really love doing this because it saves me at least two clicks every time, and that adds up in the course of a month. But more importantly, it makes me feel both cool and smart to know how to use this little feature.
You can put folders and key settings right on the Start menu
See the little white icons in the lower-right corner of the Start Menu? Those are how these commonly-used folders appear when you enable them.
If you need faster access to key aspects of your PC like the Settings menu, the Downloads folder or your Network settings you can add them right to your Start menu with a few simple clicks.
To do so, navigate toSettings > Personalization > Start > Folders. In this sub-menu you’ll see a list of nine folders (from Downloads to Pictures) you can choose to put back on the Start menu. Note that they appear not with their usual icons alongside everything else, but rather as small white glyphs in the lower-right corner of the Start Menu.
You can do even deeper customization of your Start Menu if you back out of the Folders sub-menu. In the generalSettings > Personalization > Startsettings you’ll find even more options to change the way icons are spaced in the menu, whether or not your most recently-used apps and files appear, and more.
Image Credits:Google
