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If I made webcams for a living, I’d be worried! A new feature in Windows 11 2024 Update (24H2) allows you to use your smartphone as your PC’s webcam, and it’s a powerful tool. Not everybody has an older smartphone lying around, but many do. With the big investments that smartphone makers are putting into their phone cameras, it’s pretty clear that you’ll look better with either your phone’s selfie, or front-facing, camera than on many webcams, even the best webcams you can buy. You know how some streamers use DSLR cameras to make themselves pop on camera? You can do pretty much the same thing with your smartphone. For right now, this feature, known as Connected Camera, works only on Android phones. It doesn’t appear to be a feature that requires a Copilot+ PC with an NPU, either, though I haven’t extensively tested it. So far, I’ve only tried it with the Surface Laptop (7th Edition) that shipped preloaded with Windows 11 24H2. To get started, you’ll need an Android phone running Android 8.0 or later and a PC equipped with Bluetooth, running Windows 11 24H2. (At least for now, this doesn’t work with iPhones.) Actually finding this feature is sort of a pain. Within the Windows settings menu, search for “Open mobile device settings.” The search function is very specific, and I couldn’t find an obvious way to navigate to the page via the Bluetooth page within Windows 11’s Settings. You’ll need to navigate to this page on the Windows 11 2024 Update to get started. You’ll need to navigate to this page on the Windows 11 2024 Update to get started.Mark Hachman / IDG You’ll need to navigate to this page on the Windows 11 2024 Update to get started.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG If you haven’t paired your phone with Windows yet, you’ll need to do so. For years, the most well-known way to do this involved setting up the phone with Phone Link, the app that connects your Android phone or iPhone, and allows Windows to view texts, see photos, and so on. Our older Phone Link / Your Phone tutorial will get you started down that road, if you’re interested. But it’s not necessary. (One more note: Phone Link can connect to iPhones; Manage Mobile Devices and Connected Camera can not, at least for now. Microsoft’s Phone Link also competes with Intel Unison, which some might argue is a better app. Unison works with iPhones, too.) I don’t think connecting your phone to Phone Link is necessary to use your phone as a webcam, but it’s a nice feature that Windows 11 offers, nevertheless. I don’t think connecting your phone to Phone Link is necessary to use your phone as a webcam, but it’s a nice feature that Windows 11 offers, nevertheless.Mark Hachman / IDG I don’t think connecting your phone to Phone Link is necessary to use your phone as a webcam, but it’s a nice feature that Windows 11 offers, nevertheless.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG The Manage Mobile Devices controls and Phone Link start off the same way, but then diverge. Basically both procedures ask you to scan an HTML glyph with your phone, and then agree to certain permissions on your phone to get started. Your phone and your PC will also need to be on the same Wi-Fi network. You’re allowing Windows permission to access your camera, of course. If you have Phone Link already set up, the process is straighforward: You should already see your available phones as options on the Manage Mobile Devices. You’ll need to scan a code to link your phone to your PC. You’ll need to scan a code to link your phone to your PC.Mark Hachman / IDG You’ll need to scan a code to link your phone to your PC.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG From here, the process is thankfully rather simple. The Manage Mobile Devices screen has toggles to do two things: send a notification to your PC when your phone captures a photo, and to use your phone’s camera as a connected camera. The latter makes your phone a “camera” to those apps that require a webcam. It’s interesting that as powerful a feature as this is, there’s really no brand name associated with it. Connected Camera will have to do! All you’ll need to do now is to open an app, like Zoom or Microsoft Teams, that can take advantage of that phone’s webcam. I used the Windows Camera app for demonstration purposes. (The screenshots used my smartphone camera to generate them. You think selfies are a challenge to look good? Try synchronizing two cameras!) Once your cameras are connected to your PC, you can start using your smartphone camera as a webcam. Once your cameras are connected to your PC, you can start using your smartphone camera as a webcam.Mark Hachman / IDG Once your cameras are connected to your PC, you can start using your smartphone camera as a webcam.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG The implementation is surprisingly sophisticated. On the phone, you’ll have the option of using the front or rear camera. If you rotate the camera vertically, the camera will send vertical video. If you hold it horizontally, the camera will broadcast in landscape mode. What’s extremely interesting is that Windows will apply Windows Studio Effects to your phone’s camera, too, if your laptop supports them: applying background blur, AI framing, and more. You should look great! Your phone’s sensor is far more sophisticated than what your laptop and webcam can provide, and my guess is that the difference will be night and day. On your laptop, however, you may experience a gotcha of sorts. Using my Surface Laptop’s native webcam, the camera captured me in 1080p resolution, at 30Hz. But my smartphone’s camera output was only captured at 720p, 30Hz. Of course, it looked great on my screen, but your viewers might not experience you, in your best light. The light balance, color, and other aspects will almost certainly be superior, but the resolution itself might be a bit grainy unless Microsoft solves this. Not that you’d necessarily want this, but portrait video is possible with a smartphone, too. Not that you’d necessarily want this, but portrait video is possible with a smartphone, too.Mark Hachman / IDG Not that you’d necessarily want this, but portrait video is possible with a smartphone, too.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG I’m not sure why this is, and it may be that this will be a feature that can be tweaked to deliver “full” resolution in the future. In any case, the connected camera feature inside Manage Mobile Devices has incredible potential, and I hope Microsoft absolutely nails this in the future, even if it puts its own superior Surface webcams at risk. The one thing you’ll surely notice, however, is that you’ll need to position your phone so that the camera focuses on you. If you’d like to use your phone as a webcam, you’ll need some sort of a stand. If this takes off, however, I’d expect some enterprising Shenzhen developer to pump out either stands or phone mounts for your laptop. Poof! A new industry is born. In certain moments you can see history be written right before your eyes. Do you remember when Google debuted its free Maps app, complete with on-device GPS? An entire industry of standalone GPS devices became irrelevant almost overnight. I’m not rooting for webcams to disappear. But Microsoft’s new Windows feature could certainly hasten their demise. Read...

So you thought your new robot vacuum with its self-emptying bin and LiDAR navigation was state of the art? Well, not anymore.  Robot vacuum technology has grown by leaps and bounds over the past year alone. Besides simply emptying their own bins and mapping your rooms with lasers (that’s so 2022), the latest robot vacuums can hoist themselves over door thresholds, extend robotic arms to reach dust particles tucked in corners, apply elbow grease to stubborn floor stains, and more.  Read on for seven of the hottest features coming to the latest robot vacuums and mops, starting with…  ‘Monster truck’ wheels  Ever watch your robot vacuum struggle to crest a door threshold that’s barely an inch tall? It’s a sad sight, not to mention a barrier (literally) to achieving total vacuum coverage for your floors.  Well, good news. We’ve already seen a pair of robot vacuums that boast ”monster truck” wheels (that’s what we’re calling them, anyway), perfect for helping the bots hoist themselves over door thresholds, high-pile rugs, and other obstacles that conventional bots can’t scale.  These robot-lifting wheels are coming to Shark’s PowerDetect Self-Empty Robot Vacuum in the form of “NeverStuck” technology, while Roborock is calling its version “AdaptiLift.”  Don’t expect these power-lifting wheels to allow a robot vacuum to leap tall buildings in a single bound; for its part, Roborock says its AdaptiLift tech will help the new Qrevo Curv clear standard door thresholds up to 3cm high or “complex” double-layer thresholds up to 4cm tall.  Still, just that little extra can make a big difference in terms of your robovac making it over, say, the bathroom door threshold without a human assist.  Has `monster truck` wheels: Qrevo Curv Pros Not yet reviewed Cons Not yet reviewed Best Prices Today: Not Available at Amazon Read our Roborock Qrevo Curv news story Anti-tangle roller brushes  One chore that robot vacuum owners hate is pulling thick, knotted tangles of hair off the roller brushes. If a member of the household has long hair or—worse—you’ve got four-legged furry friends at home, you may find yourself cutting the hair off with scissors.   Well, good news, pet lovers. The latest crop of robot vacuums includes models with anti-tangle roller brushes.   These brushes come with metal teeth (generally integrated into the brush guard) that cut any swept-up hair before it has a chance to wrap itself around the rollers, allowing the vacuum to suck the strands directly into its dust bin.  It’s a terrific idea, and one that cuts down on one of the biggest robot vacuum pain points.  Detangles its own roller brush: Eufy X10 Pro Omni Pros Thorough, balanced vacuuming and mopping Excellent obstacle avoidance Auto-detangling brush Requires little hands-on attention from user Cons Large base station Self-cleaning functions are noisy Best Prices Today: $599.99 at Amazon Prime$799.99 at Amazon Read our full Eufy X10 Pro Omni review Robot vacs that come with hand vacs  As good as the latest robot vacuums are, there are some spaces where even the highest-end models simply can’t reach—under sofa cushions, within tight corners, on countertops, and so on.  That’s why we’re seeing more robot vacuums that come with their own hand vacs. These combo units typically offer integrated charging for both the robot and the hand vacuum—and in some cases, the base will empty both the bot and the hand vac.  Just like standard hand vacs, the ones that come bundled with robot vacuums often come with their own attachments, including different-sized heads and even stick accessories.  Of course, getting a robot vaccum-and-hand vac combo means you’ll have to settle for the handheld model the manufacturer gives you, so if you have particular needs when it comes to a cordless hand or stick vacuum, you might be better off purchasing the component separately.  That said, these combo models cut down on clutter by allowing you to use a single charging station for both units—and the self-emptying functionality is priceless.  Comes with its own hand vac: Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo Pros Great vacuuming and mopping performance Hot water mop wash prevents cross-contamination Both robot vacuum and hand vacuum are auto emptied in dock Integrated voice assistant Cons Base station is huge Minimal features on hand vacuum Expensive Best Prices Today: $749.99 at Amazon Read our full Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo review Self-washing mop heads  Got a robot vacuum that doubles as a mop? Not bad, but do you have to wash the mop heads manually? Time for an upgrade.  The latest robot vacuum and mop combos can wash their own mop heads, first detaching them from the bot before conveying them to the base station for a thorough, hands-free cleaning.  Even better, higher-end robot mops will wash their mop heads with hot water, perfect for cleaning stubborn grime as well as stopping bacteria in its tracks.  Finally, the best robot mops will dry the just-washed mop heads as well, thus keeping mold from getting a foothold.  Washes its own mop heads: Roborock Qrevo S Pros Excellent vacuuming and mopping Automated maintenance Reasonable price Cons Mop pads often get caught on edges and snap off No hot-water wash for mops Dock takes up a fair amount of floor space Best Prices Today: $519.99 at Amazon Prime$799.99 at Amazon Read our Roborock Qrevo S review Extendable side brushes and mop heads  For years, a spindly side brush was the best way for a robot vacuum to clean the squared-off corner of a room. But as ingenious as they are, side brushes still can’t reach into the very back of a corner, leaving small but stubborn traces of debris behind. If only those little brushes could reach out a tiny bit further…  Well, now they can. The latest robot vacuums and mops come with extendable robotic arms that can extend side brushes and mop heads ever so slightly from the bot’s chassis, allowing them to clean even closer to the edges of a room and deeper inside corners.   Watch a state-of-the-art robot vac and mop now, and you’ll see its mop heads extending a tad as the bot navigates around a table leg or floats along a baseboard, allowing it to scrub within a millimeter from the edge.  Can extend its mop heads: Dreame X40 Ultra Pros Excellent vacuuming and mopping performance Empties its dustbin and sanitizes its mops Accurately detects and avoids obstacles Cons Mop heads tend to get stuck on carpet edges Expensive Best Prices Today: $1,399.99 at Amazon Prime$1,899.99 at Amazon Read our full Dreame X40 Ultra review Dirt detection Most robot vacuums and mops clean rooms by methodically scouring every possible inch of floor space, as opposed to actively seeking out dirt and grime.  The most advanced models, however, actually can look for dirt—and when they spot a mess, they can adjust their schedules or slow down to apply some extra elbow grease.  IRobot’s Dirt Detective technology, for example, keeps track of where the robot has encountered dirt before and essentially creates a dirt map of your home, noting the rooms and areas that tend to get the dirtiest. Using the map, the robot can create custom automations for tackling your grimiest rooms.  Other robots, like models from Dreame and Roborock, use AI to scan your floors in real time, allowing them to slow down, boost their suction, increase water flow, and take other measures for a more thorough cleaning when they spot a mess.  Detects dirt: iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ Pros Retractable mop arm keeps carpets dry New Clean Base design blends in with home furnishings Recognizes and prioritizes dirtiest areas Cons Companion app’s maps are basic and many controls are buried in sub-menus Mop pads must be cleaned manually Expensive Best Prices Today: $799 at Amazon Read our full iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ review Back-and-forth scrubbing  Remember when robot mops did little more than drag a damp cloth across the floor? Now, most robot mops boast rotating mop heads that apply downward pressure as they clean—but even so, nothing really beats a hard, back-and-forth scrub for those really stubborn stains.  The good news is we’re starting to see robot mops that mimic that back-and-forth motion, employing mopping pads that vibrate thousands of times a minute. Roborock’s S8 MaxV Ultra, for example, has a VibraRise 3.0 mopping pad that vibrates at up to 4,000 times a minute, while the Shark Matrix Plus applies a tough, back-and-forth scrubbing motion. Can scrub side-to-side: Shark Matrix Plus Pros Vaccums and mops well Applies scrubbing motion during mopping Self-emptying dustbin Matrix clean delivers deep cleaning Cons Can’t use self-emptying feature with mopping attachment Pet hair tends to ball up and prevent to debris from being sucked out of dustbin Runs over cords Best Prices Today: $349.99 at Amazon Read our full Shark Matrix Plus review Read...

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The big Windows 11 2024 Update (also known as Windows 11 24H2) is both a brand-new operating system but also one that’s been out for several months now. It’s Windows 12 — but it’s also not. And its best features are really reserved for those who have invested in a next-gen Copilot+ PC powered by chips from Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD. These seeming contradictions are at the heart of Windows 11 24H2, which begins rolling out today in a “phased” rollout that will last several weeks. But when you get it and what you get with it will all depend on whether you own a Copilot+ PC. Get Windows 11 Pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro In other words, there’s a set of basic features that everyone will receive (including new energy-saving features for laptops and desktops, improved smartphone integration, plus support for Wi-Fi 7 and the upgraded 80Gbps capabilities of USB4), along with more advanced features that are only available to Copilot+ PC users. Microsoft describes the Windows 11 2024 Update as a “full operating system swap,” which signals that it’s more than just a minor update. Windows 11 24H2 has been out for months, natively shipping with the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 and Microsoft Surface Laptop 7. But since those devices came with Windows 11 24H2 preinstalled, we don’t yet know how much of a hassle it’ll be to actually upgrade. We’ll hopefully have that answer in the coming weeks. Rather than exhaustively listing every new tweak, quirk, and detail, I’m just going to hit the biggest features and changes that I really like in Windows 11 24H2. Let’s start with the best and move down. Use your phone as a webcam Phone Link has been one of the more interesting features in Windows that, for whatever reason, never quite caught on. But it’s getting a killer new feature that could be disastrous for the webcam industry: the ability to use your phone’s camera as a webcam. New options within the Windows 11 2024 Update give you more control over your phone’s capabilities. New options within the Windows 11 2024 Update give you more control over your phone’s capabilities.Mark Hachman / IDG New options within the Windows 11 2024 Update give you more control over your phone’s capabilities.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG Under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile devices, you now have the option to Manage devices. You’ll first have to set up a phone via Phone Link if you haven’t already, but then you’ll have the ability to do things like view the photos on your phone, respond directly to text messages, and more. (Phone Link is geared toward Android devices.) But you can now do two more things: get notifications when photos are taken, and use your phone as a “connected camera” (i.e., webcam). The latter option seems to work just fine, which means that instead of using a crappy 1080p webcam, you have access to the high-tech camera in your smartphone and all that it offers. You’ll probably need some sort of a mount for your phone, though. Also worth noting is that Windows will record you in 720p at 30 FPS, or at least it did under my tests. By comparison, the native camera on my laptop recorded in 1080p at 30 FPS. My phone’s camera was far better than the built-in webcam on my test Surface Laptop 7, but your mileage may vary depending on what you have. Sorry, I just had to. Sorry, I just had to.Mark Hachman / IDG Sorry, I just had to.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG Side note: Based on earlier builds, I expected to see Phone Link attached to the Start menu (as Microsoft previously promised) as well as the ability to navigate through my phone’s file structure within File Explorer. I’m not seeing either, which may mean the feature was cancelled or postponed. Support for Wi-Fi 7 and 80Gbps USB4 Support for a technology like Wi-Fi 7 requires coordination on all fronts: access points, controllers, radios, laptops, drivers, and operating systems. We’ve had Wi-Fi-7-capable hardware for months now, but without the operating system support necessary to enable it. I don’t own any Wi-Fi-7-capable hardware yet, but see below for an example screenshot of what it should look like on your system. Wi-Fi 7 enables theoretical speeds up to 46Gbps, which should be enough for most people. Learn more in our Wi-Fi 7 deep dive. An example of what Wi-Fi 7 should look like on your system, courtesy of Microsoft. An example of what Wi-Fi 7 should look like on your system, courtesy of Microsoft. An example of what Wi-Fi 7 should look like on your system, courtesy of Microsoft. In January, Microsoft also began testing support for the upgraded 80Gbps version of USB4, sometimes known as USB4 Gen 2. Very similar to Thunderbolt 5 (of which we’ve already seen the first docks), USB4 should allow for high-speed I/O, even up to 120Gbps in some cases. You’ll still need laptops and docking stations that support the new technology, however, and those are currently in short supply. Look for that to improve over time. Bluetooth LE Audio for hearing aids Bluetooth Low Energy Audio is one of those “if you know, you know” technologies that I, thankfully, don’t know very well yet because my ears are fine. But it’s an important technology because some hearing aids and cochlear implants now ship with Bluetooth Low Energy Audio support, allowing them to stream music as well as aid in conversation. Windows 11 24H2 enables support for Bluetooth LE Audio on PCs, and it allows you to adjust audio presets and ambient sound volume (using settings determined by your audiologist) within Settings. For this, you’ll need both a PC and hearing aids that support Bluetooth LE Audio. Fortunately, a 2022 executive order by President Biden now makes hearing aids available over the counter, and Bluetooth 5.3 includes the LE Audio specification. That means that devices like Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 (which use Bluetooth 5.3) can be controlled by your PC. Battery life just got even longer If you’ve followed our coverage of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and Intel Lunar Lake chips, you’re probably giggling at the thought of even more battery life. We’re already at 17 hours or so under load. Extending that even further might feel like overkill. However, the new Energy Saver control — which dials down screen brightness by 30 percent, disables transparency effects, and throttles some background tasks — can be set to operate while the PC is plugged in, making it useful for both laptops and desktops for saving power. It can turn on automatically, but you can also set it to always run, too. (Energy Saver doesn’t let you alter performance settings while it’s on, though, so don’t think of it as a cool way to undervolt your PC.) The new Energy Saver feature in Windows 11 24H2. The new Energy Saver feature in Windows 11 24H2.Mark Hachman / IDG The new Energy Saver feature in Windows 11 24H2.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG While many desktops already feature a “quiet mode” or other alternatives for lowering power and performance, Energy Saver promises to provide overarching controls that accomplish much of the same. If you’re like me and live in the Western US where “summer” can last through October, cutting power usage can save on energy and lower heat generation. You don’t really need the full power of a desktop if you’re just browsing the web or performing office work. The one thing that earlier builds promised but didn’t appear on my Surface test PCs was the ability to configure different performance settings for both battery and plugged-in power. That may be coming later. Text labels for right-click menu icons One of the things I really disliked about the first Windows 11 builds was the right-click context menu, for two reasons: first, it extended into a second menu because it couldn’t fit everything into the main menu, and second, Microsoft made the foolish decision to replace simple actions (like copy, paste, and rename) with icons. The mysterious right-click action icons now come with text labels. The mysterious right-click action icons now come with text labels.Mark Hachman / IDG The mysterious right-click action icons now come with text labels.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG Now, three (!) years later, the icons finally have text labels to go along with them. Sure, I’ve learned what they mean by now — and you probably have, too — but for the millions of users who will be forced to migrate to Windows 11 once Windows 10 hits end-of-support next year, this is going to be an important change for usability. The right-click context menu still extends into the secondary “Show more options” menu, however. Oh well. Goodbye, beloved Windows apps Windows 11’s 2024 Update removes some legacy apps. On a Surface Laptop 7, the Mail and Calendar apps came preinstalled but don’t work. Instead, Microsoft is replacing them with the “new” Outlook app, a web app that simply isn’t as functional as its predecessors. Microsoft’s new Outlook app. I’m not a fan. Microsoft’s new Outlook app. I’m not a fan.Mark Hachman / IDG Microsoft’s new Outlook app. I’m not a fan.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG Microsoft hasn’t provided any links to the older Mail or Calendar apps, but links (at least on the web) still remain to the “old” Outlook app, which provides a greater number of features and runs as a dedicated app. Cortana is gone (replaced by Copilot), and Movies & TV as well as Maps have been removed. WordPad has, too. (You can get WordPad back, however, and the replacement Windows Media Player is quite nice.) Hello, AI features for Copilot+ PCs As a rule of thumb, any AI feature that includes “Copilot” in the name depends upon the cloud for processing. But there are several AI features that rely on your PC’s NPU. In Paint, Microsoft has two AI tools: Microsoft Image Creator, the scaled-down version of Microsoft’s Bing Image Creator/Microsoft Designer, and Cocreator, which works in conjunction with Paint. Image Creator uses a cloud-based generative AI art tool, though it requires an internet connection to ensure you aren’t creating anything naughty. Cocreator involves providing a reference image, which can “tell” the AI art engine far more than a text prompt can. Cocreator and Image Creator both use prompts to generate AI art. But Cocreator also uses your input, too, as a guide. Once Cocreator has created the castle, adding “birds” and a portcullis didn’t change the finished output. Cocreator and Image Creator both use prompts to generate AI art. But Cocreator also uses your input, too, as a guide. Once Cocreator has created the castle, adding “birds” and a portcullis didn’t change the finished output.Mark Hachman / IDG Cocreator and Image Creator both use prompts to generate AI art. But Cocreator also uses your input, too, as a guide. Once Cocreator has created the castle, adding “birds” and a portcullis didn’t change the finished output.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG Microsoft Photos adds a similar feature called Restyle, which takes an existing photo and “restyles” it in some other art style. When you open Photos, Microsoft also alerts you that it’s using AI for face detection to identify the people in your photos. If you’ve ever had the hankering for an Impressionist version of a laptop, the Restyle feature in Microsoft Photos is there for you. If you’ve ever had the hankering for an Impressionist version of a laptop, the Restyle feature in Microsoft Photos is there for you.Mark Hachman / IDG If you’ve ever had the hankering for an Impressionist version of a laptop, the Restyle feature in Microsoft Photos is there for you.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG The more practical uses of AI are new additions to Windows Studio Effects, which we saw first inside the Surface Pro 9 (5G). The latest additions include a couple of (largely ineffective) background blurring effects and new Eye Contact modes that make it seem like you’re reading off a teleprompter. (The idea here is that you can move your eyes around but the subject will see an “AI” version of your eyes that focus on the camera or move back and forth like you’re reading words. I doubt you’ll notice a substantial difference.) Microsoft’s Voice Clarity voice filtering was originally designed as an NPU-specific feature, too, but the company said in January that it refined the model enough that it can run on non-AI PC processors. Everyone will have access to it in Windows 11 24H2. AutoSR (Automatic Super Resolution), a nifty little way to improve your PC’s graphics, is really an unknown for me at this point. We’ve largely concluded that the first generation of Snapdragon X PCs aren’t suited for games, but they’re the only ones to include both an NPU and Windows 11 24H2 to play games with. AutoSR does add AI-generated frames, but the real test will probably be the first Copilot+ PCs from AMD and Intel, where those frames will make a substantive difference. AutoSR does seem to work, however. In a test of Cyberpunk 2077 — a game that’s largely out of reach of the Surface Laptop’s Adreno GPU — simply enabling AutoSR raised frame rates from 26 FPS to 32 FPS, an improvement of 23 percent. (I tested at 1080p, Low settings, without any in-game frame generation options on.) A frame rate of 32 FPS isn’t really playable, but the performance improvement seems real. That’s not to diminish AutoSR, though. AutoSR is designed to improve existing games by first downscaling them to decrease resolution (and improve the frame rate) and then sharpening those frames to improve the visuals. It all runs on the NPU, with the game blissfully “unaware” of what’s being done to it. AutoSR could very well be significant for laptop gaming; we just can’t see all of the benefits yet. Oh, and Recall? You’ll see Microsoft’s controversial AI-powered search feature eventually, but not after a period of testing. If you don’t want it, that’s fine, too! Microsoft now says that you can refuse to install Recall or uninstall it later after trying it out. Minor updates in Windows 11 24H2 Windows 11’s Quick Settings are now scrollable, hiding more than one option. Windows 11’s Quick Settings are now scrollable, hiding more than one option.Mark Hachman / IDG Windows 11’s Quick Settings are now scrollable, hiding more than one option.Mark Hachman / IDG Mark Hachman / IDG Microsoft has also added some minor improvements to the Windows 11 2024 Update. They include: Windows Spotlight is now the default background for new installations. Spotlight taps Microsoft’s vault of nature photography, and it will supposedly be the default implementation for the out-of-the-box experience for new PCs. Microsoft has added “sudo” to Windows, which can be toggled on inside the Windows Terminal. Sudo is a quick way to execute a command with elevated or administrator privileges, but it also bypasses any guardrails that Windows imposes. Microsoft has added the Prism emulation layer to Windows to help make Arm apps run more effectively. I doubt an x86 PC will download this as part of the update, but it’s possible. 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TL;DR: Get lifetime access to Pin Traveler for $29.99 and map your adventures with ease. Tired of losing track of your travel memories? Pin Traveler Premium Plan offers the perfect solution for digital nomads, adventurers, and travel enthusiasts who want to document every journey with style. With a lifetime subscription on sale for $29.99 (reg. $45), you can pin past destinations, plan future travels, and even share your personalized map with friends on social media. Pin Traveler goes beyond just marking places on a map. It allows you to add photos and notes to each pin, turning your travel log into a visual story of your adventures. Plus, the Chrome extension makes it easy to save articles, photos, and travel inspiration directly from your browser. Whether you’re exploring new cities or planning a trip, it keeps everything organized in one place. The platform also offers customizable themes and markers to make your map truly your own. Want to collaborate? Pin Traveler lets you share maps with others, perfect for planning trips with friends or family. With lifetime access for just $29.99, Pin Traveler turns your wanderlust into a detailed, interactive journal you can always look back on.   Pin Traveler Premium Plan: Lifetime Subscription – $29.99 See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...