Microsoft has had its Apple M1 moment with Copilot+ PCs, and now the team is back with a slew of new features in its fall Windows 11 update — named 24H2.
Not only are you getting all of the complete Copilot overhaul that my colleague Tony Polanco has detailed, there are some stellar quality of life improvements to bring the rest of Windows up to the current standard of the chips from Qualcomm, AMD and Intel. Let’s go into the small (but significant) changes being made aside of AI, and how you can guarantee your spot at the front of the queue to get them.
What other new features come with Windows 11 24H2?
Alongside this laying the foundations for the big Copilot update you can expect to see rolling out to “select devices and markets beginning in November,” 24H2 also brings some additional tweaks to the experience too.
These include an enhanced battery saver (critical when you see how the new chipsets are really steering into power management gains), support for Bluetooth LE audio, Wi-Fi 7 and HDR backgrounds. That latter one is lovely to see, as turning on HDR mode for Windows makes a lot of your OS feel super washed out. To get some balance here will make it vastly more pleasant to look at.
How to download Windows 11 24H2
Microsoft has stated it is taking a phased rollout of this update, which will start “over the coming weeks.” So all we can do now is prepare you to get it the moment it’s available.
To do so, head over to your PC's settings and click Windows update. Once you’re there, make sure you turn on Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available. With that, you will guarantee your spot at the front of the queue for your laptop. Need to emphasize that “for your laptop” bit, as Microsoft’s update cadence changes based on the device you have.
For example, it’s looking likely that Copilot+ PCs will get this update first, and then other older systems will follow thereafter.
For updates on when you can expect to see yours, the Redmond crew will be sharing the status of its rollout in the Windows release health hub.
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