Xreal announced the launch of its Aura smart glasses with Google's Android XR and Qualcomm's Snapdragon Reality Elite, featuring a 70-degree FOV, hand-tracking, and strong multimodal AI.
Microsoft rolled out several preview builds of Windows 11 in early June 2026 as part of the Windows Insider Program, focusing on refining existing functionalities rather than introducing many new features. A new Beta channel for version 26H1 was launched, featuring:
- Screen Tint: An accessibility feature that provides a system-wide color overlay to reduce eye strain, accessible through Settings > Accessibility > Vision > Screen Tint, offering six preset colors or custom hues.
- Low Latency Profile: Temporarily boosts processor frequency for 1 to 3 seconds during interactive tasks, improving application launch times by up to 40% and interaction times by as much as 70%, operating automatically without manual toggles.
- Widgets Experience Update: Widgets now open without hover activation, Taskbar badges are off by default, and alerts are limited until user interaction. The dashboard displays Widgets under "widgets," and badging aligns with the system accent color.
- Magnifier Enhancements: Users can input specific zoom percentages directly and access additional zoom presets ranging from 5% to 400%.
- File Explorer Changes: Improvements for compatibility, performance, and reliability, including support for paths with double backslashes and quotation marks, and middle-click support for opening folders in new tabs.
- Windows Update: Unification of drivers, .NET, and firmware updates with monthly quality updates, reducing required restarts to one per month.
- Windows Search Enhancements: Improved handling of typos, missing letters, and partial app names, prioritizing accurate search results even with input errors.
Windows 7 now has a user base of only 0.07%, while 8.54% of Nvidia RTX owners still use the RTX 20 series graphics cards. The RTX 20 series, launched in 2018, introduced technologies like ray tracing and DLSS, which have since evolved and become standard in modern gaming. Despite their decline, both Windows 7 and the RTX 20 series are still utilized by loyal users, with the RTX 20 series being the oldest generation still in use. The RTX 20 series is recognized for laying the groundwork for advancements in PC gaming, and its long-term impact is expected to be significant.
Microsoft is enhancing transparency in Windows 11 app updates through the Windows Insider Program, allowing users to view detailed descriptions of updates for key applications like Calculator, Camera, Clock, Media Player, Paint, Photos, and Sound Recorder on the Windows Insider Documentation Hub. Notable changes include:
- Calculator: Enhanced accuracy for square-root results, improved readability in high-contrast themes, fixed layout for right-to-left languages, and reliability updates.
- Camera: Improved zoom slider, front camera support, additional video resolution options, better QR link functionality, and intuitive default settings.
- Clock: New timer features, option to disable daily goals in Focus mode, and a 15-minute snooze feature.
- Media Player: Custom captions, indexing banner in the play queue, playlist enhancements, bug fixes, and improved reliability.
- Paint: More responsive toolbar, adjustable eraser transparency, refined stamp brush strokes, selection improvements, and performance enhancements.
- Photos: AI watermarking, improvements for viewing small images and pixel art, enhancements for scanned text, crash bug fix, and streamlined keyboard navigation.
- Sound Recorder: Live waveform display for Bluetooth microphones, simplified deletion processes, bug fixes, and additional enhancements.
The timeline for these updates is uncertain, but app updates are expected to be deployed more quickly than system updates.
Microsoft's June 2026 Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 11 include enhancements for versions 25H2, 24H2, and the new 26H1, which is designed for new PCs with Qualcomm ARM chips. Key features of the update include:
- Shared audio allowing two users to listen to the same audio stream via Bluetooth LE audio accessories.
- NPU usage displayed in Task Manager for devices with NPUs, including optional columns for NPU and NPU Engine.
- Multi-App Camera support enabling multiple applications to access the camera stream simultaneously.
- Improvements to the Magnifier feature for clearer announcements and support for magnifying protected content.
- Customizable user folder names during setup.
- Optimized Windows Search functionality for locating local files with just two characters.
- Performance enhancements through a “Low Latency Profile” for faster app launches and core shell experiences.
The update also addresses a BitLocker security bypass vulnerability (CVE‑2026‑45585) that could allow attackers to circumvent BitLocker Device Encryption. The KB5095051 patch for version 26H1 includes support for shared audio over Bluetooth LE and features from the previous month's update, such as Xbox mode and expanded archiving support in File Explorer.
Modern laptops are powered by advanced processors like Intel Core Ultra, AMD Ryzen AI, and Snapdragon X, which enhance performance and battery life. Windows 11 Pro plays a crucial role in optimizing these devices by intelligently scheduling workloads between performance and efficiency cores, improving multitasking and responsiveness while conserving energy.
Devices running Windows 11 Pro, such as Copilot+ PCs, utilize dedicated Neural Processing Units (NPUs) for AI tasks, enhancing system efficiency. Users can customize power settings in Windows 11 Pro to balance performance and battery longevity, with options like "Balanced" and "Best Performance" modes.
Windows 11 allows users to manage startup applications to reduce background activity, improving responsiveness and power usage. The Energy Saver mode helps extend battery life by reducing background activity when on battery power. Regular software updates through Windows Update improve performance and stability, while features like Dynamic Refresh Rate optimize display settings for battery conservation.
Windows 11 Pro includes security features that protect devices without hindering performance. Users can assign specific applications to use either integrated or dedicated graphics for optimal performance. Storage Sense automatically cleans up temporary files to maintain system responsiveness.
Google Chrome has achieved scores of 61 in Speedometer 3.1 and 469 in JetStream 3, marking a 10% increase in JetStream and a 5% boost in Speedometer compared to the previous year. These benchmarks were measured on a MacBook Pro with macOS 26.0.1 and the Apple M5 chip. Enhancements in Chrome's performance are largely due to improvements in the V8 JavaScript engine, which included optimizations for asynchronous tasks, string comparison, and data sorting. The Chrome team has improved code optimization decision-making and made advancements in BigInt handling and memory allocation for security. Additionally, Chrome has upgraded WebAssembly performance, optimizing internal data management and compiler times. The rendering engine, Blink, has been tuned for better code translation into visual pages, and page loading has been improved through SIMD processing and optimizations in typography and graphics handling.
Microsoft is working on a more efficient, streamlined, and customizable right-click context menu for Windows File Explorer and Desktop interactions, responding to user feedback about the cluttered nature of existing menus. The initiative aims to improve user experience by allowing customization, which marks a shift from Microsoft's previous rigid approach. Developers will need to adapt to new APIs and guidelines for context menu interactions, and there may be restrictions on the number of items that can be added. Performance improvements are also planned to address slow-loading context menus. The timeline for implementation is uncertain, but updates may first appear through Windows Insider testing channels. The changes are part of Microsoft's broader strategy to modernize Windows 11 and improve basic functionalities like file management and interface responsiveness. Customizable context menus could provide enterprise IT departments with new management options, and the initiative reflects Microsoft's awareness of competition from other operating systems.
Nvidia unveiled the RTX Spark chips at Computex 2026, featuring a 20-core Nvidia Grace CPU and an Nvidia Blackwell RTX GPU with 6,144 CUDA cores, comparable to the GeForce RTX 5070 desktop GPU. The chips utilize NVLINK technology for faster data transfer than PCI Express. They support DLSS 4.5 upscaling technology, which enhances performance without the issues of DLSS 5. Currently, the gaming handheld market has limited DLSS support, with the Nintendo Switch 2 being an exception. Community feedback indicates a preference for DLSS 4.5 over native visuals. RTX Spark chips are expected to debut in laptops and mini PCs by the end of 2026, with potential for handheld gaming devices. Pricing and power consumption remain uncertain, and Nvidia's DGX Spark mini PC retails for ,699, suggesting high costs for RTX Spark systems. Nvidia claims these laptops will run AAA games at 1440p and over 100 frames per second, but details on power draw and battery life are unclear.
Microsoft is enhancing Windows 11 by focusing on performance improvements and user experience. The initiative began in late January when Pavan Davuluri acknowledged user pain points. Key updates have included modifications to the Insider Program, enhancements to Windows Update in April, Taskbar updates in May, and changes to the Start menu. Recent improvements highlighted by Marcus Ash include enhancements to the Taskbar and Start menu, driver improvements, updates to Cloud Initiated Driver Recovery, increased reliability of File Explorer, and accessibility updates. Microsoft plans to unveil further initiatives at the upcoming Microsoft Build event and has launched a podcast discussing these changes.
