A lot is happening this week in the world of Windows and Surface. Today is the fifth anniversary of Windows 11, a milestone that snuck up on me and plenty of other users. Perhaps it's because I dragged my feet while making the move permanently from Windows 10.On October 7, Microsoft is hosting a Surface event where it's expected that NVIDIA's RTX Spark chip and the Surface Laptop Ultra lineup will be further discussed (and hopefully better explained).This collision of Microsoft-related software and hardware news got me thinking about a quote from the original architect of Microsoft's Surface lineup, Panos Panay:To make a great product, you can't have great software without the hardware; you can't have great hardware without the software.Panos PanayThe quote comes from an interview with TechCentral circa 2020, well before Panay departed Microsoft in 2023 to join Amazon's Devices and Services segment. The quote does a great job capturing the original reason why Surface exists at all.Microsoft originally wanted hardware that showcased the best of Windows software, and it believed its goal could only be achieved with in-house development. Surface became the bridge between software and hardware that Panay alludes to with his quote, and it's had a (mostly) great run.Where is Surface headed in 2026?What has me most confused about the upcoming Surface event is that Microsoft already revealed its new Surface Pro 12-inch (Gen 2) and Surface Laptop 13-inch (Gen 2) devices.They showed up on September 23 as part of Qualcomm's annual Snapdragon Summit, a full two weeks before the Surface event. Sure, it makes some sense due to the new Surface PCs using Snapdragon X2 chips inside, but why not save the juice for the main event?My colleague Sean Endicott attempted to answer this question at the time of the Surface/Qualcomm reveal last month. As he stated, "we can now cross two more items off the list of potential things we will see at the Windows and Surface event," noting that the October 7 Surface event also "falls after many improvements have shipped to Windows 11 or entered testing with Windows Insiders." So what is Microsoft planning to reveal at its Surface event? The Surface Laptop Ultra was already revealed at Computex 2026, but we should get more information. We might also get a glimpse of the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, especially considering NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang is part of the show.Barring the surprise reveal of more new Surface hardware — the Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12 with Snapdragon X2 chips launched this summer, so I'm not expecting anything new there — the October 7 Surface event is shaping up to be a tad lopsided.Is Surface drifting without Panay's anchoring presence?Panos Panay holding a Surface Laptop at the 2018 Surface event. Good times. It's been six years since Panay dropped his famous Surface quote. It's been three years since he left Microsoft for Amazon. And since then, Surface really hasn't felt the same. Rather than pushing OEMs to improve their own devices by providing a quality benchmark, Surface seems to be fairly stagnant, fragmented, and largely riding on its reputation.For me, someone who agrees with Panay's sentiment, a successful Surface event should include software that really only makes sense on the Surface Laptop Ultra with RTX Spark. If it's just another laptop with the chip inside, well, I won't be very excited.On that note, it'd be great to see some tuning choices that directly benefit Surface with RTX Spark. The hardware-software relationship often shows its cracks in this area, so some assurance will go a long way. Ultimately, the upcoming Surface event should be a defining moment. Will Panay's original vision carry forward as partnerships become more complicated? Will the quote remain relevant?Or will Surface become just another laptop brand alongside OEMs like Dell, HP, and Lenovo? Either way, you can tune in to the livestream on October 7 at 1 PM ET to check it out with the rest of us.Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

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Microsoft is holding a special event in San Francisco on October 7, and is remaining tight-lipped about what will be discussed. The company has confirmed that Windows, RTX Spark, and Surface are on all the agenda, but is yet to delve into specifics.This will be the first dedicated Windows & Surface event since the Copilot+ PC launch event in 2024. That event ended up being a total disaster, generating a wave of negative pushback online around features like Recall, tarnishing the category right out of the gate. Microsoft will be livestreaming its October 7 event, which means the company believes the news it's planning to announce is worthy of public attention. Both myself and Daniel Rubino will be attending the event in-person, giving us an opportunity to go hands-on with all the new features and hardware as they are announced. So, what can we expect Microsoft to discuss on October 7? Here's what I know. Surface Laptop Ultra fully revealedUnsurprisingly, a big focus on October 7 will be on Microsoft's new RTX Spark hardware. The Surface Laptop Ultra was unveiled back in June, and I'm expecting to hear more about the hardware, capabilities, and availability in San Francisco. A big part of the keynote will be about how Surface Laptop Ultra and RTX Spark are capable of running local 120B parameter models that enable on-device AI experiences and agentic workflows without requiring the cloud. The laptop will be primarily marketed at AI developers and content creators who frequently use apps like Premiere Pro, Blender, and more. I also understand that Microsoft will demonstrate how the Surface Laptop Ultra maintains maximum performance even when not plugged in, similar to the MacBook Pro. It'll also highlight the PixelSense Ultra display, which sources tell me will be both sharper and brighter than the display on the upcoming MacBook Pro/Ultra with touch. Surface Laptop Ultra also features a large haptic trackpad that supports Windows 11's built-in haptic engine system that provides subtle feedback when interacting with apps and UI surfaces. I also expect Microsoft to reveal a unique USB-C port that may feature a breakaway design, similar to Surface Connect.ComponentSpecificationsPlatform / SiliconNVIDIA RTX Spark Superchip (integrating NVIDIA Grace CPU and Blackwell RTX GPU) with native CUDA supportProcessor Options18-Core CPU with 5,120-core GPU20-Core CPU with 6,144-core GPU Unified Memory (RAM)18-Core: 24 GB or 32 GB20-Core: 32 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB, or 128 GB AI PerformanceUp to 1 PetaFLOP AI compute; runs local frontier-class models up to 120B+ parametersDisplay15-inch PixelSense Ultra touchscreen, 2,000 nits peak HDR brightness, 262 PPI, high-precision color accuracy, Dolby VisionDimensions & WeightUnder 18 mm thickness; weight under 4.5 lbsTouchpad & InputHaptic touchpad (over 30% larger than Surface Laptop 15-inch) with next-gen haptic experience support.AudioDolby Atmos surround soundPorts & I/O1x HDMI, 3x USB-C, 1x USB-A, Full-size SD card slot, 3.5 mm headphone jackBattery & Performance ParityAll-day battery life; maintains 99.6% performance parity whether plugged into wall power or running on batteryColorsPlatinum and NightfallOperating SystemConsumer: Windows 11 Home on entry SKUs; Windows 11 Pro on higher SKUsCommercial: Windows 11 Pro across all configurations Microsoft will also delve into configurations of the Surface Laptop Ultra that customers will be able to buy. According to my sources, Surface Laptop Ultra will be available in two RTX Spark configurations: an 18-core model with 5,120 GPU cores, and a 20-core model with 6,144 GPU cores for higher-end workflows.The 18-core model will be available with 24GB or 32GB RAM, and the 20-core model will be available with 32GB, 48GB, 64GB, or 128GB RAM. The entry-level 18-core SKUs will ship with Windows 11 Home, and higher-end configs will come with Windows 11 Pro.Of course, all eyes will be on pricing. Sources haven't been able to confirm exact pricing just yet, but I understand that Surface Laptop Ultra will not be cheap, likely starting well above $2,000 for the entry-level 18-core model with 24GB RAM. I also wouldn't be surprised if we hear more about the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, which I suspect will likely start shipping at or around the same time as Surface Laptop Ultra. Windows K2 recap, and support for agents(Image credit: Zac Bowden / Windows Central)In addition to the new RTX Spark hardware, Microsoft has teased that "something new is coming from Windows" at this event. Details around what exactly Microsoft is planning to talk about remain under wraps, but I have a few theories.Of course, the company will likely spend some time recapping the Windows K2 effort that has been ongoing this year. It'll highlight recent performance, reliability, and feature improvements delivered to the OS, and maybe even discuss how it has tuned the Prism emulation layer to run better on RTX Spark PCs. I'm also expecting Microsoft to highlight some refreshed user interface and design improvements across the OS. The company has been working to bring WinUI to more areas of Windows, including File Explorer, Start menu, and more, which is expected to improve performance.Windows is also set to gain new unified memory controls that will allow users to adjust how much memory is reserved for the GPU on RTX Spark. This should help enable more advanced local AI workflows and increased gaming performance when needed. Agents on Windows have been in the works for well over a year. (Image credit: Microsoft)But the big focus will be on how Windows 11 now supports agents. Microsoft has been working on adding agentic capabilities to the OS over the last year, and I'd be surprised if we don't get a demo showcasing how the platform has been updated to run agentic workflows locally and securely.At Build 2026, Microsoft unveiled three new in-house language models that are designed to run entirely on-device: Aion Instruct, Aion Plan, and MAI Code Flash. I suspect all three will be highlighted as working great on RTX Spark. Lastly, I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft finally takes the wraps off its new voice-enhanced user experience that it has been teasing is in the works over the last year. On multiple occasions, the company has said it's working to adapt and improve voice input across Windows in the wake of AI.Pavan Davuluri said in July that Microsoft is working to make "voice more natural and fluid to interact across the apps you use every day." We are yet to see this work in action, and so I expect October 7 will be when the company reveals this. Microsoft's play for the high-end, MacBook Pro AI developer crowdAccording to my sources, this event will focus a lot on appealing to the AI developer crowd, a large chunk of which has flocked to the high-end MacBook Pro or Mac Studio for all their on-device language model needs.The Mac platform has become the default choice for AI development, and Microsoft and NVIDIA are keen to win back those users. Microsoft will use this event to appeal to that audience, along with content creators who have also chosen the Mac for photo and video editing needs.Hopefully there will be some surprises in the form of Windows announcements, but I fully expect the majority of the event to focus on how Windows is now ready for RTX Spark and local agents.Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Microsoft Copilot has changed a lot over the past month. Microsoft recently outlined its broader plan for a unified AI experience across Microsoft 365, but it also shipped several new Copilot features users can try right now.Microsoft rounded up the changes in a recent blog post, highlighting updates across Copilot Chat, Teams, Word, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and OneDrive. The updates expand Copilot to more services and add new features across Microsoft's software suite:"New design and functionality for Copilot ChatPlugins, connectors, and Work IQ enhancements to the Copilot AppTeams Phone agent for Copilot in Teams PhoneCitations and image modifications for Copilot in WordSkills and connectors for Copilot in PowerPointGeneral availability for Copilot in SharePointGeneral availability for Copilot in OneDrive"Microsoft outlined several new features, but one stood out to me: citations in Copilot responses.Copilot can be a useful tool, but it has limits. If you've ever asked Copilot to handle a task that depends on current information, you've probably run into those limits. AI tools can also struggle when interpreting historical, legal, or highly specialized material.Now, Microsoft Word can show its sources for specific Copilot answers. You can then click the source to confirm the information provided by Copilot."Citations in Copilot responses in Word let users see the sources behind Copilot’s answers. Users can view citations to relevant web and work content directly in the response," explains Microsoft."This provides greater transparency and helps users understand where Copilot’s information comes from."Hallucinations are one problem, but AI tools can also misinterpret legitimate sources and present incorrect conclusions. In some cases, an AI tool can misread context and produce an incorrect response. I've had Copilot share the exact opposite of the truth before.Citations with links allow you to check the source material and make sure Copilot understood the context of the source and extracted the correct information. Windows Central takeI've found that Copilot (and other AI tools) can make up seemingly authentic sources of information. If you ever use the tool for meaningful work, you need to double-check original sources and assume Copilot will make mistakes.Of course, that fact could be used to argue that you just should not use Copilot for work. But there's probably a middle ground where Copilot helps draft or gather information while a human verifies the final output.In general chats with Copilot, you should ask for a source and press Copilot if it continues to speak in generalities. The new feature in Word simplifies that process and ensures that there's a verifiable source of content generated by Copilot.Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

An OpenAI publicist tried to change the topic of CEO Sam Altman's interview with Vanity Fair's Mark Guiducci after the editor brought up a ChatGPT user's suicide. When Guiducci confronted Altman about the incident, the publicist warned Guiducci about running out of time, saying she'd like to "move on" to another topic.The interruption came shortly after Guiducci asked Altman if he knew who Laura Reiley is, a journalist who wrote an essay for The New York Times about her daughter's conversations with ChatGPT before she took her own life. "Her daughter committed suicide after speaking to ChatGPT. ChatGPT did not tell her to kill herself-" Gu …Read the full story at The Verge.

I’ve made sure every smart appliance in my house remains usable even when it’s disconnected from Wi-Fi. I don’t want an internet outage to stop me from using something I own, especially when it’s sitting a few feet away. But I recently noticed that quite a few of my home automations still depend on the cloud. I’ve been paying attention to how the devices work without giving the automations the same treatment.

AI visibility gaps call for different fixes. Constance Tan shows how to decide between correcting information, earning mentions, creating content, and checking bot access.The post AI Cites Your Brand: How to Choose Your Next Move appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Keep content working long after launch with a distribution owner, a repeatable checklist, and a 90-day plan to earn backlinks and AI citations.The post How To Build A Content Distribution System That Compounds appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Sam Altman thinks that the benefits of AI will be so great that "the world should accept some bad things happening" along the way.The OpenAI CEO pointed to hacks, scams, and "other bad things" as costs society should expect to tolerate because "people will do tremendously orders of magnitude more good stuff" with AI, without elaborating on the potential benefits. His comments come as OpenAI pushes for a "lighter touch" approach to AI regulation amid intensifying anxiety over the safety of frontier models - fears fueled in part by the company's repeated failures to keep its increasingly capable AI agents from hacking real-world targets. I …Read the full story at The Verge.

Full Release NotesInsider Beta Preview Build 26220.9587Experimental Preview Build 26340.9596Experimental (26H1) Preview Build 28120.3151Beta (26H1) Preview Build 28020.3142Experimental (Future Platforms) Preview Build 29680.1000Microsoft's Windows 11 and Surface event is only a couple of days away. At the event, we expect to hear a recap of improvements made to the operating system as part of the Windows K2 initiative. But why simply watch people talk about updates when you can test them out yourself?Many of the biggest changes to Windows 11 have already shipped through Windows 11 version 26H2. But items that are still in the works are being tested among Windows Insiders. A flurry of five builds shipped recently.👉Don’t miss Microsoft’s October 7 Windows & Surface keynote — here’s how to tune in and follow the biggest revealsMany of the changes are rolling out to multiple builds, such as added support for Unicode 17.0. Below, I've outlined all the updates and improvements rolling out to Windows Insiders. Make sure to check the channels noted below to see what's on the way to your PC.Unicode (Beta, Experimental)We've updated Windows text shaping support for Unicode 17.0, helping Windows correctly display and shape newly encoded characters and scripts. Unicode 17.0 added 4,803 characters, including support for four newly encoded scripts: Beria Erfe, Sidetic, Tai Yo, and Tolong Siki.These updates help keep Windows text support current as the Unicode Standard evolves and improve support for languages and writing systems used by people around the world.Settings (Beta, Experimental)We're making performance improvements to the Settings home page, which should result in reduced loading times in certain scenarios.Settings (Experimental (Future Platforms))Updated Settings > Apps > Installed apps to show the version number at the top level for packaged apps, as it already does for other apps.Recovery (Beta, Experimental We're adding a new entry point for Cloud Rebuild under Settings > System > Recovery, making it easier to access the feature from Settings.Windows Recovery (Beta (26H1))We're introducing Cloud rebuild, a new recovery option that restores a Windows 11 PC to a clean, known-good state by performing a full OS reinstall, even when Windows won't boot. Unlike Reset this PC, Cloud rebuild downloads both the target Windows image and the device's drivers from Windows Update, so the device comes back fully functional without USB media, without a custom image, and without depending on the health of the currently installed OS.In this preview, you can try Cloud rebuild today:Start it directly from the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) by selecting Troubleshoot > Recovery and uninstall > Cloud rebuild.Connect over wired Ethernet or a Wi-Fi network from within WinRE.Review the target Windows build, edition, and language, then confirm the data-loss warning before the rebuild begins.File Explorer (Experimental)Address Bar now supports '~' , making it quicker to navigate directly to your user profile folder and subfolders (e.g., "~AppData").File Explorer (Experimental (Future Platforms))This update adjusts how the preview pane handles files downloaded from the web. For HTML files, a new Preview anyway button lets you acknowledge the warning and preview the file. Non-HTML files, such as PDFs, are now previewed automatically.Fixed an issue causing the previews in File Explorer to have an unexpected bar in the middle in recent flights.File Explorer (Experimental (26H1))CustomizationsImproved File Explorer to keep folder view customizations, such as sorting and icon size preferences, consistent across different access paths and apps.Address bar improvementsThe address bar now supports paths containing double backslashes and quotation marks, for example, C:Usersuser or "C:Usersuser", improving compatibility with a wider range of inputs.Improved reliability of the address bar suggestion dropdown so it now consistently closes after an item is selected.Refinements to the rename experienceFixed an issue where text would be repeatedly selected while renaming items in folder views.Fixed an issue where updated names with case-only changes weren't immediately reflected in folder views across local and cloud storage.Windows Magnifier (Experimental (26H1), Beta (26H1))Magnifier now gives you more control over how you zoom. You can type an exact zoom percentage directly in the Magnifier toolbar to land on precisely the level you need.We've also added preset step increments (5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, 100%, 150%, 200%, and 400%) to the Settings dropdown, so you can jump to common levels in a single click. Whether you need a subtle boost or a dramatic close-up, Magnifier adapts to how you want to zoom.Cloud rebuild (Experimental (26H1))We're updating Cloud rebuild, the recovery option that restores a Windows 11 PC to a clean, known-good state by performing a full OS reinstall, with two additions.Cloud rebuild can now sanitize the device's drives as part of the rebuild. When you start a rebuild in WinRE, choose Remove files if you're keeping the PC, or Remove & sanitize files before recycling, returning, or reassigning it. The sanitize option uses the storage hardware's erase capability to securely erase data before Windows is reinstalled and is irreversible.IT administrators can now configure and start a Cloud rebuild remotely through the Recovery CSP, using either the currently installed build or a target build you specify.Windows Share (Experimental (Future Platforms))Added the ability to pin your favorite apps in the Windows share window.Family Safety (Experimental (Future Platforms))Improved family safety messaging when applications are blocked because of age-restricted parental controls.Taskbar (Experimental (Future Platforms))Fixed a few small visual polish issues when using the taskbar in alternate positions.Audio (Experimental (Future Platforms))Fixed an issue affecting certain USB Audio Class 1.0 devices, including some multichannel audio headsets, that could prevent the device from working correctly after installing the latest updates.Remote Desktop (Experimental (Future Platforms))Fixed an issue causing Remote Desktop to not use the correct window size after recent flights.Other (Experimental (Future Platforms))Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience extreme lag over time after updating to the last two flights.These changes aren't as substantial as the new features and upgrades in Windows 11 version 26H2, but they help create a smoother computing experience.My favorite improvements are those rolling out to Windows Magnifier. Fine-tune controls make it much easier to create the best experience for your specific screen. The presets make it easy to jump incrementally, but I prefer entering the magnification manually.Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

I use a UGREEN DH4300 Plus NAS to store my files and keep backups, and since those backups run automatically, I don’t have to keep copying things over myself. You still need to check what you’re backing up, though, especially if you’ve moved files around or included folders that contain some of the same data. I recently had ChatGPT Codex audit my NAS, and it found 2TB of duplicate files that I was paying to back up twice.

TCL’s P80 Ultra is its first Nxtpaper phone with an OLED screen. | Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge I've spent most of the last couple weeks using an otherwise unexceptional midrange Android phone with one amazing feature: a matte OLED display. That screen is by far the best thing about the TCL P80 Ultra, and weirdly, it's made me more excited for the iPhone Duo and its matte inner display.2023's TCL Nxtpaper 40 first brought matte displays to the company's phones, after they appeared on tablets in 2021. Nxtpaper is more than a simple matte finish on a panel: it also includes a paperlike feel and low-power, monochrome modes that create a reasonable facsimile of an E Ink screen. But the matte effect has always been the biggest draw for me …Read the full story at The Verge.