Gears of War: E-Day's multiplayer is coming to Game Pass this month
Xbox The early access beta test for Gears of War: E-Day's multiplayer, Grounded 2, Powerwash Simulator, and more joins Xbox Game Pass for August 2026's first wave of new additions.
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Features
Why you have to use this Game Bar widget with the Xbox App on Windows 11
Gaming The Xbox App on Windows 11 is a pretty good launcher for all your PC games these days, but you really need this Game Bar widget to make it look pretty.
Microsoft Edge's best built-in accessibility feature could save you $29 a month
Browsing A dedicated text-to-speech extension brings high-end AI voices to your browser, but Microsoft Edge gives you 80% of the experience for free.
Windows Wrap: Microsoft put the cart before the horse with Surface PCs with 8GB of RAM
Windows 11 Microsoft has promised fixes for bloated Windows 11 context menus and to optimize the OS for 8GB of RAM, which makes me ask why low-memory Surfaces are already for sale.
I still use Microsoft To Do every day — and I'm hoping it avoids the app graveyard
Windows 11 A lightweight favorite of mine, Microsoft To Do keeps my daily workflow manageable and my mind calm, and I hope it can avoid Microsoft's app graveyard.
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Moonraker turns 10 and still looks ahead of its time
Flashback A decade later, Microsoft’s unreleased Moonraker smartwatch still feels like a glimpse into an alternate timeline.
Looking back at 2016’s “I love you, Xbox” — and how much (and little) has changed
Flashback Looking back at the 2016 editorial that captured Xbox’s growing pains and predicted the decade ahead.
Revisiting the LG Lancet, 11 years later
Flashback A look back at the LG Lancet and the era when Windows Phone 8.1 defined Microsoft’s mobile peak.
The 2016 Android‑apps warning that now echoes Googlebooks
Flashback A 2016 warning about Android apps on Chrome feels newly relevant as Googlebooks pushes Android PCs into the agentic era and challenges Microsoft again.
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Windows & Software
Microsoft Edge's best built-in accessibility feature could save you $29 a month
Browsing A dedicated text-to-speech extension brings high-end AI voices to your browser, but Microsoft Edge gives you 80% of the experience for free.
Microsoft explains how it's going to optimize performance on Windows 11
Windows 11 Marcus Ash, Microsoft's design and research lead for Windows 11, sits down to talk about how the company is planning to optimize Windows 11 for devices with low amounts of RAM.
Microsoft tests deeper Phone Link Start menu integration in Windows 11
Windows 11 Microsoft is testing Start menu previews for Phone Link and customizable search controls in Windows 11. Here is a look at the latest preview build features.
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PC Hardware
Halo: Campaign Evolved exposes Windows on Arm's big gaming flaw
Gaming A major texture bug leaves Halo: Campaign Evolved unplayable on Qualcomm’s top-tier chip, proving Windows on Arm gaming remains a work in progress.
HP's Omen Max 45L is powerful, but its quality doesn't match the PC's price
Review I love the PC's performance and cooling, but at the asking price, HP could be paying more attention to small details.
LG's response to Windows 11 monitor adware proves it learned nothing
Monitors LG stopped shoving McAfee ads onto Windows 11 PCs after Microsoft stepped in, but its official response proves the company still doesn't get the problem.
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6 apps I personally recommend to improve Windows 11
Apps Microsoft’s default Windows 11 apps often fall short. These six apps are what I install to improve Windows 11 and replace Microsoft's default apps.
Deals
This OLED Windows laptop could boost your exam prep for under $900
Deals Best Buy is holding a special deal for the ASUS Zenbook 14, equipped with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 CPU, 2K OLED touchscreen, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of space, and more for students.
Microsoft’s Snapdragon X2 Surface Pro gets its first major price correction — up to $450 off
Deals Microsoft’s newest 2-in-1 delivers a performance bump, and back-to-school sales bring its high starting price back down to earth.
JLab's "Epic" mouse is rated as a smarter buy than a common winner
Deals Best Buy is offering a 14% discount on JLab's Epic Wireless Mouse for those looking for an ergonomic option for work and play.
Type school reports with this stellar keyboard our colleagues at TechRadar loved
Deals JLab flagship Epic Wireless Keyboard is enjoying a limited-time discount at Best Buy for typists looking for an affordable keyboard with stellar responsiveness and long battery life.
Handheld Gaming PCs
I cut off my dbrand Xbox Ally X case with scissors and replaced it with this — absolutely no regrets ✂️
REVIEW The dbrand Killswitch case for the Xbox Ally isn't bad, but the JSAUX Mod Case absolutely blows it away — better feel, features, and value.
Gaming
Why you have to use this Game Bar widget with the Xbox App on Windows 11
Gaming The Xbox App on Windows 11 is a pretty good launcher for all your PC games these days, but you really need this Game Bar widget to make it look pretty.
Gears of War: E-Day's multiplayer beta starts soon: Here's how to enter
Xbox Have a bloody taste of Gears of War: E-Day's insane "Horde Siege" mode and chaotic 4v4 Versus in its upcoming beta tests.
Baldur's Gate 3 now has Xbox Play Anywhere and is 30% off on Xbox
Gaming One of the Xbox's greatest RPGs can now be played anywhere on any platform within the Xbox ecosystem, whether it's console, PC, or handheld, as Baldur's Gate 3 now has Xbox Play Anywhere support
Artificial Intelligence
Microsoft Editor is failing writers, so I replaced it with AI
AI Copilot and Gemini caught mistakes Word missed, making me switch to AI for proofreading.
Microsoft Copilot's free tier is quickly becoming a glorified demo
AI Microsoft is shifting key Copilot features, including Deep Research, behind paid subscriptions. Here is why the free version of Copilot is starting to feel like a glorified demo.
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Ed Zitron says Microsoft’s trillion‑dollar AI push is built on hype, fake demand
Microsoft Analyst Ed Zitron says Microsoft’s AI math is impossible and the whole strategy looks like a scam
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Bill Gates says athletes are safe from AI
AI Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says athletes are safe from AI, arguing that no one wants to watch computers playing.
Microsoft
We talk to Microsoft's Marcus Ash about what it takes to fix Windows 11 — Windows Central Podcast LIVE
LIVE Join Daniel and Zac on August 3 at 2PM ET as they interview Microsoft's lead of design and research on Windows, Marcus Ash.
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Microsoft stock price rips on earnings, jumping a 'record breaking' 18%
Microsoft Microsoft's FY26 earnings report came in, and it has been taken extremely well on Wall Street, as investors reward $MSFT stock with a 20% bounce in less than a month.
Why Asha Sharma had to kill Phil Spencer's "every screen is an Xbox" vision
QOTD Phil Spencer once envisioned an Xbox on every screen. Here is why new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma had to abandon that multiplatform strategy and double down on dedicated console hardware.
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Windows Central Podcast recaps the week in tech
Podcast On this week's episode: Daniel Rubino and Jez Corden discuss the recent announcements around Xbox backward compatibility, Windows adware, and Samsung foldables.
Peripherals & Accessories
Razer’s first Hall Effect Magnetic Huntsman brings true 8KHz polling, and adjustable actuation
Review Razer’s first Hall Effect Magnetic Huntsman brings true 8KHz polling, adjustable actuation and a suite of movement-focused features — a precision-focused esports keyboard that’s as much about micro‑control as it is about bragging rights.
