Windows users about to get 'something big' this week as Microsoft drops major hint
Microsoft has teased 'something big' for Windows PCs this week, and it looks like it could be a new feature or functionality that will make Windows PCs more powerful
Microsoft could be trying to win back its millions of users worldwide after irritating quite a few by cutting support for Windows 10 this week. Starting Tuesday October 14, Windows 10 will stop getting free software updates, marking the end of a decade for the operating system.
In what might be a strategic move to distract from backlash over this choice, the official Windows X account has dropped a hint about "something big" launching this week.
"Your hands are about to get some PTO," Windows posted on X. "Time to rest those fingers...something big is coming Thursday".
'PTO' stands for 'paid time off' in the US, suggesting that users won't need their hands as much. Combined with giving fingers a break, Windows appears ready to introduce new voice command capabilities.
According to Windows Central, Microsoft has been hinting lately about shifting Windows toward enhanced voice input features. Pavan Davuluri, President of Windows and Devices, recently explained that soon "you'll be able to speak to your computer while you're writing, inking, or interacting with another person. You should be able to have a computer semantically understand your intent to interact with it."
Windows 10 users might feel left out though. Whatever this new capability turns out to be, it'll probably only work on Windows 11, since Windows 10 isn't getting updates anymore - meaning no new Windows features or security fixes.
"I think we will see computing become more ambient, more pervasive, continue to span form factors, and certainly become more multi-modal in the arc of time," Davuluri recently stated in an interview on Windows' official YouTube channel.
"I think experience diversity is the next space where we will continue to see voice becoming more important. Fundamentally, the concept that your computer can actually look at your screen and is context aware is going to become an important modality for us going forward."
These might be hints, but we could be completely off track. Regardless, the new feature set to launch today will likely involve AI - specifically, Microsoft Copilot, the company's modern branding for its AI tools.
Copilot is available on many new Windows 11 PCs and has taken over from Cortana as Microsoft's voice assistant. It's marketed as more than that, with Microsoft integrating the AI with various apps and services, the idea being you can have lifelike, contextual conversations with Copilot.
This already works in some cases on newer Windows 11 computers, so we'll just have to wait until later today to see exactly what this "big" new something Microsoft has up its sleeve is.