Weekly Windows Wrap: Microsoft finally reads the room — right as it loses $440 billion

"Positive steps deserve positive reinforcement" is a mantra I say often when discussing incremental growth. It's a nice reminder to myself when coaching youth sports and also sound advice for working with anyone who is trying to make a significant change in their life.

It's tempting to be disappointed when someone tries to be better but only takes a small step in the right direction. Obviously, there are times when swift and large steps are required. But change is often gradual, and good choices need to be rewarded to see more good choices down the line.

I'm hoping that's what's happening with Microsoft and its leadership. After weeks of negative feedback, Microsoft promised to improve Windows 11 and focus on "pain points" of the OS flagged by users.

It's a shame that Windows 11 is in a state of flux, because there's some great hardware coming out these days. The Xbox Ally (currently on sale for $490) is a unique handheld that runs Windows 11.

Microsoft is also reviewing its integration of Copilot into apps such as Notepad and Paint, according to reports.

The tech giant's plans came to light the same week Microsoft lost $440 billion in market value. The company had the second-largest single day stock decline ever. Its share price dropped 5.37% in one day and was down 14% in January as of midweek.

It's worth pointing out that the stock market is a tricky thing. Gaming stocks stumbled after Google unveiled Genie 3 AI, which should serve as a reminder that the stock market is a weird and volatile place.

Microsoft's stock value dropping was more about AI overspending and investor concerns about Azure than anything to do with negative feedback about Windows 11. The stories just happened to develop in the same week.

But somewhere between stock prices falling, Windows 11 having a disastrous January, and people complaining about AI, Microsoft listened.

Now we just have to see if that positive step leads to meaningful change.

Weekly Windows Wrap: The Big News

Weekly Windows Wrap: How-to guides

• 12 easy ways to free space on your Windows 11 PC
• Is your Windows 11 PC no longer booting after the KB5074109 update? Here's the fix.
• Turn off Windows Recall if you’re concerned about privacy
• How to try the new Xbox Cloud Gaming UI early

Sales on Windows 11 PCs

While we wait for the software side of the house to get its act together, our team at Windows Central has been keeping an eye on the hardware that’s actually getting it right. Our experts scoured the web for the best gadgets worth grabbing this week —the stuff we'd recommend to our own friends and family.

The best deal this week is on the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally. That unique gaming handheld is even tempting our Editor-in-Chief with its low price.

Portable Xbox gaming

Save 18% ($110)

ASUS ROG Xbox Ally: was $599.99 now $489.99 at Amazon

"The ROG Xbox Ally is a modest handheld that offers performance that's more on the level of the Steam Deck, making it one of the most direct competitors to Valve's device." ~ Rebecca Spear, Former Gaming and News Editor

Windows Central Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Powerful PC CPU

Save 14% ($63.01)

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core, 16-Thread Desktop Processor: was $449 now $385.99 at Amazon

"Dominate any game at any level, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D offers ultimate performance with 8 cores, 16 threads, and up to 5.0GHz boost clock backed up with 96MB L3 cache." ~ Ben Wilson, Senior Editor

Windows Central Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

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Mid-range price, high performance

Save 9% ($120)

Lenovo Legion 5i laptop (15.1", GeForce RTX 5060 GPU, Intel Core i7-14700HX, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD): was $1,299.99 now $1,179.99 at Newegg

The Lenovo Legion 5i is a solid mid-range gaming laptop equipped with state-of-the-art, graphics-fidelity boosting hardware, including a GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPU, an Intel Core i7-14700HX CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 15.1-inch OLED display with a 165Hz refresh rate, and more.

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Bundle up

Save 47%

Microsoft 365 Family (12 months) + H&R Block Tax Software Deluxe + State 2025: was $186.98 now $99.99 at Newegg

This bundle includes 12 months of Microsoft 365 and H&R Block Tax Software Deluxe + State 2025. The former provides full access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and gets you 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage per user. This bundle costs less than 12 months of Microsoft 365 Family on its own.

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2-in-1 laptop 💻

Save 33% ($350)

HP OmniBook X Flip 14" Laptop (Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 CPU): was $1,049.99 now $699.99 at Best Buy

"Good hardware and plenty of configuration options seal the deal, and frequent sales make the OmniBook X Flip 14 even more enticing." ~ Zachary Boddy, Former Staff Writer

Windows Central Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Compatible stylus pen

Save 28% ($23)

HP Rechargeable MPP 2.0 Tilt Pen: was $82.99 now $59.99 at Best Buy

Create digital art or write notes in a flash with the HP Rechargeable MPP 2.0 Tilt Pen, which boasts smooth color transition, little to no latency, and pen point accuracy of only 9g of pressure.

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Powerful and affordable

Save 35% ($450)

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7X (Gen 9): was $1,299.99 now $849.99 at Best Buy

"This new-generation Windows on ARM device is sleek, beautiful, rocks an incredible OLED display, boasts amazing performance and long-lasting endurance, and does everything you need it to for hundreds less than you'd expect." ~ Zachary Boddy, Former Staff Writer

Windows Central Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Save 29% ($350)

Microsoft Surface Laptop 7: was $1,199.99 now $849.99 at Best Buy

"So, the Surface Laptop 7. It's basically perfect. It's peak clamshell form factor." ~ Zac Bowden, Senior Editor.

Windows Central review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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RTX 5060

Save 29% ($400)

ABS Flux II Aqua: was $1,399.99 now $999.99 at Newegg

The ABS Flux II Aqua features an Intel Core i5-14400F CPU, an NVIDIA RTX 5060 GPU, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. It's a solid option for any gamers who want a smooth experience with less demanding games, and it's $400 cheaper than normal. You can take an additional 5% off the sale price by using code ABS5NOW at checkout.

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