Microsoft is expected to issue the “Moment 2” update for Windows 11 in March 2023. It will become initially available as an optional update. All its features will be included in April Patch Tuesday, but they will be hidden.

Here's a detailed overview of features that will be included in Windows 11 "Moment 2" release

Microsoft has released new updates for supported versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11. Traditionally, there are fixes and general improvements, as such updates don't aim to ship new features.

Windows 11 will soon allow you to kill an app from the taskbar right-click menu in addition to the ability to close it normally. Windows 11 Build 25300 includes a hidden option in the context menu of the app button in the taskbar simply called "End tasks". It is intended to kill the app without waiting for response from the app process. It is similar to the taskkill /IM processname.exe /F command.

The addition will be pretty useful every time an app hangs and stops responding. Earlier, you had to use Task Manager to terminate it, or issue the above mentioned taskkill command. The new feature saves you a lot of time.

You can make the new menu item visible with ViVeTool, but it does nothing as of now. If you are interested, the command is c:\vivetool\vivetool /enable /id:42592269

Microsoft has accidentally pushed Windows 11 upgrade offer to unsupported devices. Hardware without TPM, Secure Boot, and even Virtual Machines with a legacy configuration started to see the invitation to install the latest version of Windows 11.

However, if you run Microsoft's PC Health check app side by side the prompt, you will clearly see that nothing has actually changed. The upgrade block by minimum requirements is still active, and the app isn't recommend you to proceed.

Microsoft has admitted that the upgrade offer was pushed by a mistake. According to the company, the bug was discovered on February 23, and resolved immediately on the same day. However, it took some time before the change reached users.

The iPhone integration is currently only available to select insiders in the Dev, Beta, and Release Preview channels. Gradually, Microsoft will make it available to more insiders.

If you are a lucky Insider that is enrolled in testing, you will get an option to pick your iPhone on the main page of Phone Link.

Currently, iPhone integration works with some limitations. Users can view and send text messages on their computer, but they cannot send MMS with an image attachment. Also, Phone Link does not support replying to group messages or sending media in messages. In addition, it only shows messages received in iMessage after you set up integration.

While Microsoft hasn’t said a single word about Windows 12, looks like it will be the next major version of the OS. As Microsoft mentioned several times, the future Windows releases will heavily use AI here and there. To be successful in this area, Microsoft needs support from its hardware partners, i.e. Intel and AMD. A leak from Intel's internal documentation mentions Windows 12 as the supported OS by the Meteor Lake desktop platform.

Intel is working on the Meteor Lake product that will receive a block for processing artificial intelligence tasks, similar to that of AMD. In addition, the company will use the chiplet design for its processors for the first time, and the chips themselves will be manufactured using the Intel 4 (7nm) process technology. It is expected that Meteor Lake CPUs will be released in late 2023 or early 2024.

Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 25309 to Insiders in the Dev channel. A new enhanced volume mixer, theme-aware icons for Widgets, an updated color scheme for Search, more personalized "Let's finish setting up your device" screen, an updated Voice Access are some of the included improvements. This build also marks the return of new Snap Layout, but revokes new Desktop Spotlight UI.

Insiders in the Beta channel are also receiving a portion of new features introduced today in the Dev channel build 25309. Microsoft has released builds 22621.1391 and 22624.1391, with the latter including new Voice Access features. Both builds come as KB5023011, but build 22621.1391 has new features disabled out of the box.

These are all hidden features you can enable in Windows 11 Build 25309. Some of them were announced as a 'gradual roll-out', some of them are brand new and not available to anyone unless you activate them with ViVeTool. You will find the appropriate ViVeTool commands in the post.

+ New Volume Mixer
+ New File Explorer
+ + File Explorer Gallery
+ Start menu badges and actions
+ Start menu recommendations to show tips, shortcuts, new apps and more
+ Auto Color Management
+ New 'Show the touch keyboard' option
+ Default position of the Spotlight desktop icon
+ Ability to create ReFS developer volumes
+ Hidden Add Bluetooth device button for devices that don't support Bluetooth

According to Microsoft, every third video the user plays in the Edge browser has a low resolution; 480p or even lower. Even on a modern powerful hardware, there could be technical reasons for that. The user may have a low bandwidth, or it could be issues on the server side.

To improve the situation, Microsoft has implemented a new 'Super Video Resolution' feature. When enabled, it will programmatically upscale the image up to 720p.

It is in a gradual roll-out, but you can enable the edge://flags/#edge-video-super-resolution flag to get it working. However, it only support NVIDIA RTX 20/30/40 and AMD RX5700-RX7800 series GPUs. Also, it only works with DRM-free videos.

The new taskbar in Windows 11 can be moved to the top. But it can be just a bug rather than a new feature. Time will tell. Found by Albacore

The ability to install Windows on ReFS may become exclusive to Windows 12. After rebooting the Insider program, everything has been scrapped from the Dev channel and moved to Canary builds. While Microsoft claims that both Dev and Canary channels may have features that will never reach production versions of the OS, the fact that ReFS support disappeared from the Dev channel may indicate that Microsoft is not going to add native ReFS support to the Windows 11 setup program.

If you want to try to install Windows on a ReFS drive, you need to be running Windows 11 Build 25314 Canary. Follow carefully these steps.

Microsoft has released March 2023 cumulative updates for Windows 11 and 10

▫️Windows 11 (version 22H2) - KB5022913 (OS Build 22621.1344). Manual download from Microsoft Update Catalog.
▫️Windows 11 (version 21H2) - KB5023698 (OS Build 22000.1696). Manual download from Microsoft Update Catalog.

▫️Windows 10 2022 Update (version 22H2) - KB5023696 (OS Build 19045.2728). Manual download from Microsoft Update Catalog.
▫️Windows 10 November 2021 Update (version 21H2) - KB5023696 (OS Build 19044.2728). Manual download from Microsoft Update Catalog.
▫️Windows 10 October 2020 Update (version 20H2) - KB5023696 (OS Build 19042.2728). Manual download from Microsoft Update Catalog.
▫️Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809) - KB5023702 (OS Build 17763.4131). Manual download from Microsoft Update Catalog.

The Dev & Canary channels are without updates this week. But Beta channel insiders are getting Windows 11 Build 22621.1465 and 22624.1465. They come as KB5023775 that enables new features for those who is on Build 22624.1465. It includes Live Captions available in more languages, updated touch keyboard settings, word prediction for Simplified Chinese IME, multi-app kios mode, a new VPN overlay icon, and several fixes and general improvements.

Microsoft has released a new version 2202.4000 of Windows Subsystem for Android. The update incorporates security fixes available for Android 13, as well as generally improves the WSA platform. Here are the changes.

+ Stability improvements to graphics card selection
+ Updates to the Windows Subsystem for Android Settings app to include performance options for graphics cards
+ Docking and undocking with external monitors issues fixed with the subsystem
+ Fixes to apps with audio buffer issues
+ Android 13 security updates

The official announcement is published here. You can install WSA from the Microsoft Store.

Microsoft has added a new option to Windows 11 that allows you to automatically install preview updates once they appear on Windows Update.

The option manages how you receive monthly C and D updates. Microsoft releases them in the third and fourth weeks of the month, respectively. D is for the latest version of Windows 11 and Windows 10, C is mostly for older versions of Windows.

When enabled, it makes your PC to automatically download C and D updates, and install them. This works if there are no upgrade blocks for your device. This way, you can speed up your access to newest features Microsoft ships now as "Moment updates".

You can enable the GUI option with ViVeTool. The command is: c:\vivetool\vivetool /enable /id:43132439
Run it as Admin, open Settings (Win + I), and click on the Windows Update section on the left. On the right, enable the new Get the latest updates as soon as they're ready for your PC toggle option.

Some Windows 11 "Moment 3" features are already in Build 22621.1483 (Release Preview):

+ Starting with this update, the profile icon in Start will display notification badges to take action. Currently, this change is available only to some insiders. It will roll out to more users in the coming months. The visual appearance of notifications may vary from device to device as Microsoft hasn't made a final decision yet.
+ When you access the new Bing, a new button will appear in the taskbar search box that opens the Bing chatbot in Microsoft Edge. If the new Bing is not available to you, then the search field will display a button to dynamically text.
+ This update brings with it many new features and improvements to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Details can be found on the official website .
+ The search field on the taskbar will become lighter if Windows has a custom color scheme. For example, when dark theme is selected for Windows 11 and light theme for apps (under Settings -> Personalization -> Colors), the taskbar search box will be light.