Microsoft has announced some of the extras coming to the next version of Windows 11, rolling out from September 26 onwards. Here’s a quick look at some of these changes, in particular those which can improve your Office docs, sheets, slides and emails.
Paint
Paint app receives a major upgrade for better digital drawing and creation. Features now include background removal, layers, and the introduction of ‘Cocreator’, integrating generative AI to your editing.
Unfortunately the background removal is an ‘all or nothing’ feature. Microsoft’s cloud system decides what is background and removes that. Unlike the Office ‘Remove Background‘ feature which lets you select what to keep or remove.
Photos App
The Photos app integrates AI for streamlined photo editing. The new ‘Background Blur’ tool swiftly emphasizes subjects by blurring out the backdrop. Improved search, especially for photos saved in OneDrive (home/personal), enables users to locate images based on content or their shooting location.
Clipchamp
‘Auto compose’ suggests scenes, edits, and narratives based on your still images and videos, making video creation and editing a breeze. Export the video for a PowerPoint presentation.
New Outlook for Windows
The new style Outlook app will replace the Windows Mail and Calendar apps, providing a hub for your Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, and other accounts.
IMPORTANT: The current Windows Mail and Calendar apps will continue to work on existing Windows 11 systems.
Narrator
Updates introduce text authoring experiences, voice access, and more realistic voices in Narrator.
Snipping Tool
Extract text from images – great for sharing error messages when asking for tech support. It also introduces text redaction and sound capture.
Copilot in Windows (Preview)
Copilot assists in completing tasks efficiently. Easily accessible via the taskbar or the ‘Win+C‘ shortcut, it supports users across all apps and screens, whether at work, school, or home.
Notepad
The much-ignored Notepad now auto-saves sessions and has tabs to open multiple text files at once. Resume previous sessions with retained tabs and unsaved content.
File Explorer
The File Explorer undergoes yet another modernization with a revamped home, address bar, and search box. These updates focus on ease of access and real-time file activity updates.
Microsoft is overly proud of the new ‘Gallery’ feature as another way to browse photos with a date selector (on the right).
Windows Backup
Transitioning to a new Windows 11 PC is simplified with the Windows Backup feature. It ensures a seamless transfer of most files, applications, and settings,
