Covering the Windows 11 and Microsoft beat has been rough for a while. Windows 11 had a disastrous 2025, RAM prices are skyrocketing and making gadgets unaffordable, and 'Microslop' has been trending on social media.
Luckily for me and others who love tech, CES 2026 gave us a reprieve from bad news and a chance to check out new and upcoming devices — at least mostly.
We had a scare when rumors emerged claiming Microsoft would lay off 11,000–22,000 people this month, but Microsoft's chief of communications shot those down. While there's still a good chance we'll see layoffs at some point in 2026, those specific rumors were deemed "100 percent made up / speculative / wrong."
So, onto the good news. XPS is back baby! After a massive rebrand in 2025, Dell admitted its mistake and resurrected the iconic XPS lineup. The new XPS 14 and XPS 16 look incredible and are rebuilds rather than just refreshes. Our Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino even got to see an all-new XPS 13, but he wasn't allowed to share photos or details.
While I'm personally most excited about the new XPS laptops, there was plenty to see at CES. HP showed us the natural evolution of a form factor by fitting a mini PC inside a keyboard.
Weekly Windows Wrap: The Big News
- HP put a mini PC inside a keyboard with its clever new EliteBoard G1a
- Lenovo has become what Surface was supposed to be about
- A SteamOS variant of the Legion Go 2 handheld gaming PC is releasing this year
- Microsoft is not preparing for massive layoffs in January
- Microsoft releases first Windows 11 preview build of 2026
- Microsoft may integrate Copilot Chat directly into the File Explorer
Weekly Windows Wrap: How-tos
- Generate a Wi-Fi report on Windows 11 and fix wireless issues
- Replace Windows Search with Command Palette on Windows 11
- Getting started with the Microsoft Edit command on Windows 11
My favorite story of the week wasn't about Windows at all — at least not directly. Instead, it was about an accessory that bridges a feature gap in macOS that Microsoft sorted over a decade ago.
I got a kick out of covering a snap-on display that adds touch support to macOS. The Intricuit Magic Screen is a transparent digitizer that connects through USB-C.
It's an inelegant solution, but that's hardly Intricuit's fault. Apple has refused to add a touch option to macOS for years.
And before the Apple faithful jump into the comments, I am fully aware some prefer to keep their laptop screen free from fingerprints and interact through a mouse, keyboard, or trackpad. Even 26% of Windows Central readers who voted in a recent poll said as much.
But 42% of voters said they touch their laptop screen often, and an additional 26% said they do so rarely. I think there's at least enough of a demand to give people the option to use touch.
Considering we're approaching a point at which we can have iPad chips in Macs and Mac chips in iPads, it feels like Apple will need to budge a bit on flexibility.
Sales on Windows 11 PCs
CES is about upcoming and experimental devices, but there are still some excellent sales this week.
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