What’s New in Windows 11 Version 24H2

Windows 11 will cross two important milestones in October: Windows 11 version 22H2 will exit support and Windows 11 version 24H2–released in limited and unfinished form only with new Snapdragon X-based Copilot+ PCs in June–will be distributed more broadly to the entire user base, including the vast majority on traditional x64-based PCs.

As I write this in early September 2024, there are still some questions about 24H2 and the optional Copilot+ PC features that are currently, and temporarily, only available to those with Snapdragon X Windows 11 on Arm PCs. But 24H2 is done, as much as any Windows 11 version can be done: We will continue to get new features on a monthly basis as has been the case since this OS first launched three years ago. But this Feature Update–a slice-in-time milestone–is well understood.

Reviewing Windows 11 version 24H2 is pointless. Thanks to the steady churn of new features–a process Microsoft calls “continuous innovation”–the experience is constantly evolving. Stranger still, for now at least, all supported versions of Windows 11–currently, 22H2, 23H2, and 24H2–have the same feature set. And so Windows 11 is Windows 11, no matter what the version number says.

In the good news department, the Windows 11 Microsoft will more broadly distribute next month is dramatically better than the embarrassingly incomplete version it first offered in October 2021. The most egregious functional regressions have been addressed, and Microsoft has sanded down the rough edges, giving critics less to complain about. I always liked the Windows 11 user interface–I’ve liked it for so long it was called Windows 10X when I first experienced it–and I still have issues with some antagonistic behaviors in the OS. But I like Windows 11 quite a bit, and very much prefer it to the dated Windows 10. I can write that now without feeling defensive. I guess that’s progress.

Anyway. Here’s what’s new in Windows 11 version 24H2. With the understanding that Microsoft’s controlled feature release (CFR) strategy means that you won’t see all of these features immediately.

Start menu. Feeling the heat from Apple and its cross-device Continuity features, Microsoft has ramped up the functionality in the in-box Phone Link app and added more in-OS integration features for those with Android phones. Among them is a bizarre new Phone Link pane that can optionally attach to the right side of the Start menu so you can more quickly access (Phone Link-based) messages, calls, photos, and other phone-related data. Start has also been updated with dynamic icons that appear from time-to-time in the Recommended area: A Suggested app icon will recommend a Store app you might want to install, while a Recently added folder can appear after you’ve installed multiple apps at once, so you can find them more easily.

Desktop/Explorer. One of the weirdest functional regressions in Windows 11 was that the most commonly used file-related actions one wanted to use when right-clicking a file or other Explorer item–Cut, Copy, Paste, Rename, and so on–were hidden behind indecipherable, non-labeled icons in the resulting context menu. But Microsoft belatedly saw the light: Now these icons have labels so you can see what they do.

File Explorer. In addition to the context menu update noted above, File Explorer once again supports drag-and-dropping files into its Address bar “breadcrumb” path for copy and move operations. You can optionally connect to an Android phone’s file system when configured in Phone Link. And File Explorer can now compress files in multiple formats like Tar and 7z, and not just Zip. (You can also un-compress these file types.)

Copilot. In one year, Copilot has evolved from an all-new Windows 11 feature that was implemented as a pane to a more full-featured and resizable pane, and, now, a normal, free-floating, standalone app. Missing in action are the pointless OS integration features by which you could ponderously use Copilot to launch apps and configure a limited range of features. No one will mourn that loss. Better yet, you can uninstall Copilot now if it offends you.

Taskbar. Microsoft has updated the Windows 11 Taskbar multiple times, and several times since it introduced Copilot early in late 2023. Now, Widgets, Search, and Task view remain as the only Taskbar items (alongside Start, which can’t be removed), Copilot is a standard pinned app shortcut, and you can optionally enable a simplified system clock with shorter date and time displays and no notification bell icon. To configure this, right-click the Date/time in the Taskbar and choose “Adjust date and time.” The new options will appear under “Show time and date in the System tray.”

Quick settings. The ChromeOS-inspired Quick settings pane no longer provides a default set of Quick setting tiles but instead displays them all, using a new in-place scrolling feature so you can get to those you can’t see. You can still rearrange these tiles, but now you do so with drag and drop. And there’s no way to remove the ones you don’t use.

Power management. Power management features that used to require a control panel window–like what happens when you close or open the lid of a laptop–are now available directly in the Settings app (under System > Power & battery). 24H2 also supports separate power plans for AC power and battery. And it supports Energy Saver on desktop PCs for the first time.

Voice Focus. Not to be confused with Voice Focus, a feature of Microsoft Windows Studio Effects suite, this AI-based background noise removal tool now works with PCs that don’t have an NPU. To find it, navigate to Settings > System > Sound > [microphone] (under Input) and look for “Voice Focus.” Depending on your PC, there may be two entries, one that uses the NPU on compatible PCs and one that is entirely software-based.

Deprecated and removed apps. Microsoft periodically deprecates and then removes in-box apps and features in Windows, and you’ll see some of that in 24H2, though only on a clean install. The most notable, to me, is Movies & TV, which is the only way to watch movies you purchase or rent from the Microsoft Store in Windows. But Cortana, Maps, and WordPad are also missing in action in 24H2, and Mail and Calendar (and People, which was semi-hidden previously) have been replaced by (the new) Outlook.

But wait, there’s more. There are dozens of other small changes in Windows 11 version 24H2, including a new Color profile management interface in Settings (> Display > Color management) that replaces a legacy control panel, HDR wallpaper support for PCs with compatible displays, some Dev Drive improvements (that might lead to later file copy performance improvements in Windows 11), and a subtle but important change to how Microsoft deploys the monthly cumulative updates we’re all stuck with.

Am I missing something? Let me know, and I’ll add it to the list.

If you can’t wait for October, the tip I published back in May still works if you want to upgrade to Windows 11 version 24H2 on x64-based PCs right now: The only change is that there’s a newer Release Preview channel ISO available for download; you should get that: It still works fine. And yes, you’re still fully supported if you decide to upgrade early.

That said, I don’t see much of a reason to upgrade. The functional changes in 24H2 are mostly minor, and you’ll get it normally soon enough.