FLASHBACK: 10 years ago this week, we published the first look at Microsoft’s unreleased Moonraker smartwatch. It was colorful, Metro‑driven, and surprisingly modern for its time. Looking back now, it feels like one of the clearest examples of how close Microsoft came to having a real wearable strategy before the industry shifted. 🔗windowscentral.com/hardware/…

Microsoft’s new AI-powered Terminal is not just Windows Terminal with a few extra tricks. It feels like a different tool entirely, built around guided commands, smarter context, and a workflow that helps you get things done faster. It is a fresh take on the command line that could reshape how Windows developers and power users work. Our Windows expert, Mauro, takes a look at it and shares his experience in our latest feature🔗windowscentral.com/microsoft…

Satya Nadella openly saying AI tokenmaxxing is costly is a rare bit of honesty from the top of Microsoft. He even admits he does it himself and calls the habit addictive: "I'm a tokenmaxxer too, it's addictive. But you have to step back when the novelty wears off to say, 'What is it that I'm trying to create?'" - Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella It's not shocking, however, that the industry’s AI push comes with real financial weight and that usage patterns inside Microsoft mirror what customers are feeling too. 🔗windowscentral.com/artificia…

Matthew Ball's comments on the role of ads on Xbox have generated a ton of discussion, but why is this even being considered right now? Is it just GREED? DETAILS: windowscentral.com/gaming/xb… With consumer confidence at its lowest level since the pandemic, even active users are increasingly becoming *unmonetizable* as free-to-play games become more affordable alternatives to premium offerings. When you're selling your hardware at a loss ... that's potentially unsustainable.

Flight Simulator fans, particularly those on Xbox, will want to see this. PowerA and Meridian GMT have come together with Project X-Ray, a wild idea to cram all the essential flight controls into the form factor of a regular Xbox controller. And it looks *insane* ✈️ windowscentral.com/gaming/xb…

A massive week for Windows (and Xbox!) | Windows Central Podcast LIVE x.com/i/broadcasts/1jGXggEgN…

Microsoft Flight Simulator fans suddenly have even more options for sticks and yokes, thanks to a newly expanded range from Thrustmaster. Unveiled at Flight Sim Expo in Minnesota, the TCA Sky Yoke and Warthog MK II are among the brand's exciting newcomers ✈️ windowscentral.com/gaming/mi…

Despite the ongoing memory crisis, new market research suggests that GPU shipments remained fairly flat in Q1 2026. A bigger surprise? Only Intel showed any growth as AMD's struggle to claw back market share continues. windowscentral.com/hardware/…

Join @Daniel_Rubino and @zacbowden today at 2PM ET to discuss the big week Windows and Xbox have had between Build, Computex, and Xbox Games Showcase. There's LOTS to discuss, so don't miss it! youtube.com/watch?v=by_eHIS4…

Microsoft employees are reportedly subject to temporary limitations on Claude Fable 5 AI due to concerns around Anthropic's data retention. A risk of exposing sensitive information seems to be the primary reason for the usage limits and bans. windowscentral.com/artificia…

Fed up with the native Windows 11 taskbar? I didn't realize what I was missing until I tried GroDock. It's deeply customizable and has the tools needed to maximize productivity; after testing it out on my PC, it's not going anywhere. Here's why: windowscentral.com/software-…

When you're looking for a simple, affordable controller to enjoy the wonderful world of Xbox, you can't go wrong with the Series X|S controller. ➡️ Grab it for only $44.99 at Best Buy in a deal that ends in ~18 hours! winc.shop/xscontroller

Playground Games has acknowledged the save-wiping bug in Forza Horizon 6, with fixes rolling out on PC and Xbox. For now, you can disable Quick Resume to reduce the risk of losing your progress ⤵️ windowscentral.com/gaming/fo…

Xbox is facing a margin crisis. windowscentral.com/gaming/xb… 📰 How did we get here? A string of misses, a massive memory drought, and a circle of incongruous subsidies have made Xbox's business model buckle under its own weight. Here's what I've learned over the past couple of days.

Microsoft is shifting Edge to a much faster, two‑week release cycle — a big change that aims to deliver improvements more steadily without overwhelming users. Instead of one larger update each month, Edge will now ship smaller, more focused builds twice as often. The idea is simple: quicker security and platform fixes, smoother validation for IT teams, and a more predictable flow of features. For most people, the experience shouldn’t feel heavier; each update carries about half the content of a monthly release. The new cadence begins with Edge 152 on August 27, marking the last stretch of the current schedule before things speed up. A notable shift for a browser that’s evolving fast. windowscentral.com/microsoft…

A recent Windows 11 update quietly changed how folder icons behave, and many users thought it was a bug. Microsoft says the change is intentional and part of a broader design update. It is another example of Windows 11 shifting small but noticeable parts of the UI without much warning. Let's break it down: 🔗windowscentral.com/microsoft…

Some thoughts on Apple's news this week from WWDC, and its long-awaited play into AI. Investors are overreacting to the EU/China/no-firm date bit about Siri, but there's also some overreaction about the potential benefits here to consumers, whereas I think all the fixes and improvements to Apple's various OSs are probably a bigger deal. Apple is in a great position, long-term, to benefit from its agentic AI move, but I also don't think this will result in another 5G hardware upgrade-like cycle for consumers.

Is Windows 11 on 8GB of RAM really as bad as many make it out to be? It's been a while since I used a PC with the new memory baseline, so I thought I'd test it out myself! Here's what I found out ⤵️ windowscentral.com/microsoft…

Xbox leadership openly saying it has become difficult to explain why someone should pick an Xbox console is a major moment. The company says exclusives need to serve a bigger purpose than sales and that the console message is not landing the way it used to. This could signal a major shift in how Xbox defines its hardware and its first-party strategy. 🔗windowscentral.com/gaming/xb…

🤔Studios relying on AI are in for a “rude awakening” A former Halo artist is warning that AI will not solve the industry’s problems. He believes it will actually make players finish *fewer* games and that studios leaning on AI are setting themselves up for a rude awakening. “Unless you know what you’re doing, AI is not going to help you, all the problems that people have had in games and the reasons why they don’t finish games, AI is not going to solve that. AI is going to help you not finish games even more. If you’re the type of art director who doesn’t know what they want, you still won’t know what you want.” It is a sharp critique from someone who helped shape Halo’s identity and it raises real questions about where game development is heading. 🔗👇windowscentral.com/gaming/ha…