Microsoft has announced that the “Windows 11 2022 Update” is available in more than 190 countries today, with version 22621.521, and all users can download it from the official website (click here to jump to the official website).
Windows 11 has an annual feature update policy. Windows 11 feature updates will be released in the second half of each year and come with 24 months of support for Home, Professional, Professional Workstation and Professional Education editions, and 36 months of support for Enterprise and Education editions.
For monthly security updates, Windows 11 uses the familiar Windows cumulative update process, also known as “B” releases, Tuesday patches, or Tuesday updates. These monthly releases will continue to include all previous updates to continue to protect your device and keep you productive.
With the arrival of the first major update to Windows 11, Microsoft has focused its innovations on four key areas designed to “make your everyday life easier”.
- Making it easier and safer for everyone to use a PC.
- Making people more productive.
- Make Windows the best place to connect, create and play.
- Delivering greater security, manageability and flexibility in the workplace.
▲ System-wide live captioning in Windows 11
Microsoft brings a range of new accessibility features to 22H2, including system-wide live captioning, which automatically generates captions from any form of audio content on Win11. There’s also Voice Access, which allows users to control their PCs and compose text by voice, and Narrator Natural Voice, which brings users closer to natural speech and more pleasant audio to help with reading or browsing the web.
In addition, Microsoft has brought some new features to Microsoft Defender and updated a range of Microsoft 365 security features in the US. Microsoft claims that Windows 11 is the most secure version of Windows to date.
On the productivity front, Microsoft will help users be more productive with enhancements to the Snap layout, new Focus features, and performance and endurance optimizations.
In addition, Microsoft has changed the alignment layout for multitasking, making the Snap layout more versatile with better ‘touch’ capabilities to quickly search for multiple browser tabs in Microsoft Edge.
In addition to this, Microsoft has introduced two features, “Focus on Meetings” and “Do Not Disturb”, to help users minimize distractions while working.
▲ Windows Studio Effects in Windows 11
Microsoft says that the PC is increasingly being used in scenarios that point to the realm of communication, creativity and gaming, so they have improved Windows Studio Effects video and audio calling capabilities in the 22H2 update, bringing new development tools, additional gaming features and Microsoft Store updates.
▲ Clipchamp in Windows 11
In this release, Microsoft has implemented game performance optimizations, improved game lag and support for features such as automatic HDR and variable refresh rates for windowed games. In addition, Microsoft has built-in Windows 11’s Game Pass functionality directly through the Xbox app and brought more than 20,000 Android apps and games to Win11 devices that meet specific feature hardware requirements by partnering with Amazon to expand the number of Android apps to international markets.
Elsewhere, the new Windows 11 major release update 2022 brings new security features and new management tools designed to improve IT efficiency.
▲ Smart App Control in Windows 11
With the 22H2 update, Microsoft has also announced that it will take steps to improve the Windows update experience and focus on being energy efficient, carbon conscious and making your device as carbon friendly as possible, for example, Windows updates will be installed at specific times of the day.
▲ Tabs in File Explorer
Microsoft has also announced a number of additional feature updates coming in October.
- The File Explorer update includes the long-awaited ‘tabs’ feature, where you can top (pin) important files for quick and easy access, as well as personalized suggestions based on OneDrive features and Microsoft 365 accounts.
- Photos app. A new photo management feature will be introduced, bringing a gorgeous photo album interface that simplifies browsing, finding, managing and collecting, and you can also use OneDrive to quickly back up your photos and provide a ‘recap’ function.
- Copy suggestion the Dev version has been updated to give you suggestions on what to do when you copy a phone number, or date and, for example, make a call using Teams or Skype, add a new event to your calendar, and more.
- Taskbar overflow. Microsoft will add an overflow portal to the taskbar so you can quickly see all overflowed programs.
- Share to more devices. You can quickly discover and share to more devices, including nearby shares.
Finally, Microsoft has also recommended a wave of new PCs with Win11 22H2 pre-installed, such as the next generation Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, and not surprisingly the next batch of new models with the new system pre-installed will be available en masse.
