It is a well-known fact that Surface Duo's hardware is underwhelming at best. The smartphone went on sale with an old CPU, no NFC, no wireless charging, and an atrocious camera. It takes a lot of faith in the idea behind Surface Duo to accept all those limitations and deal with poor software support (the smartphone remains stuck with Android 10 despite Microsoft's promises to deliver Android 11 this Summer). Still, despite a somewhat rocky start, Microsoft does not plan to give up on Surface Duo. A couple of days before the official unveiling, an FCC listing revealed huge hardware improvements coming in the second-gen Surface Duo.
Mozilla is testing Microsoft Bing as the Firefox default search engine
Firefox comes with the Google search engine by default in many countries. This may change soon. Mozilla is currently testing the default search engine set to Microsoft Bing and how it will affect Firefox users.
Amazon Appstore with Android apps made its first appearance in Windows 11 Store
The well-known Windows enthusiast, WalkingCat, has discovered a new app in the Microsoft Store. It now lists the Amazon Appstore application. In the future, it will allow installing Android applications on Windows 11. However, it is impossible to use the application now, since it requires activating a product code to download it. If you force download the MSIX installer, it doesn't work anyway.
Winaero Tweaker 1.31.0.1 is out with a single bug fix
A quick update to Winaero Tweaker users. I have resolved a rare but annoying bug in the app. Some of you may have seen the application crash with an unfriendly error message in the PopulateFavorites() routine. Thanks to "CodyDaWolf", I have figured out what is going on, and resolved the bug.
Windows 10 21H2 brings no changes to hardware requirements
Microsoft releases Windows 11 (and Office 2021) on October 5, 2021, for devices that meet minimum hardware requirements. If your computer has an 8th gen Intel CPU or 2nd gen AMD Ryzen CPU with SecureBoot and TPM 2.0, you can expect Windows 11 to arrive on your device via Windows Update. Older computers will have to stick to Windows 10, which is on track to receive a feature update somewhere alongside Windows 11. Microsoft is yet to announce the release date, but the company has already shed some light on hardware requirements.
PowerToys is now available in the Microsoft Store
Microsoft PowerToys, a set of advanced tools to expand features in Windows, is now available to download from the Microsoft Store on Windows 11. Up until now, users could download the app from its official repository on GitHub, which is not the simplest or the most convenient option for many. With the arrival of PowerToys to the Microsoft Store, more users can access the app with a single click.
Microsoft released September 2021 firmware update for Surface Duo
Microsoft started rolling out a new firmware update for its dual-screen smartphone, Surface Duo. Unfortunately, this is just another lackluster update with no specific bug fixes or significant improvements. The changelog for September 2021 firmware update for Surface Duo consists of a single point with monthly security patches for Android.
Microsoft Office 2021 is coming on October 5, 2021
In less than three weeks, on October 5, 2021, Microsoft is launching its next generation of Windows, but that is not the only product the Software giant is about to ship. Alongside Windows 11, Microsoft will launch Office 2021 - the next perpetual version of the Office apps that does not require a Microsoft 365 subscription.
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.194 is available in Beta
Microsoft today released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.194 to the Beta Channel and commercial PCs in the Release Preview Channel. It includes the following apps with an updated design: Snipping Tool, Calculator, and Clock with Focus Sessions.
Microsoft released an updated Tips app for Windows 11
Alongside build 22458 in the Dev channel, Microsoft released a new version of the Tips app. The update brings redesigned UI and more than a hundred tips and tricks to help you get acquainted with the latest operating system from Microsoft. After updating the app, you will find different categories with a brief explanation of each tip and an animation to show it in action.
