- Microsoft recently released Windows 11 version 24H2, which includes several fixes and new features.
- Among the changes are improvements to the way Windows updates work.
- After installing Windows 11 version 24H2, future updates will reduce installation time, restart time and CPU usage.
When Microsoft rolled out Windows 11 version 24H2 (also known as the Windows 11 2024 Update), the tech giant shipped several new features to PCs. The update also brought improvements to Windows 11’s underlying platform, resulting in significant performance improvements. While the immediate impact of the Windows 11 2024 Update will be performance and new features, the update also improves the process of installing updates in the future.
Windows 11 version 24H2 improves the installation of monthly updates compared to previous versions of Windows 11. How much better the update process will be depends on whether your PC has been properly maintained. Microsoft saw a 45.6% faster installation, 39.7% faster restart time, and 15.3% less CPU usage using Windows 11 version 24H2 to install an update compared to Windows 11 version 22H2. In that test the PC was well maintained.
Running the same test, but with a device that was 18 months out of date, yielded slightly less significant improvements: 43.6% faster installation time and 33.5% faster restart time. Interestingly, CPU usage has been reduced more when upgrading an outdated PC (25% less).
Microsoft outlined the improvements to Windows 11 updates:
- Parallel processing of component manifests. This complements the parallel hydration of newly serviced components using backward and forward differentials first introduced in Windows 11, version 22H2.
- Optimized reading and parsing of component manifests. After we read and parse the first time, we cache the results to use later in the process. This improves efficiency if the same part is referenced in multiple packages.
- Scalable use of available Random Access Memory (RAM). We use more RAM to store the manifest cache, if available, and less if it is not.
Traditional feature updates are also now slightly smaller, although I’m not sure a 200MB reduction will be noticed by many. That change comes as some inbox apps are updated through the Microsoft Store instead of being managed through monthly Windows updates. If your system is already using the latest version of an inbox app, such as Mail, Calendar, and Notepad, a feature update will not include changes to those apps.
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Windows 11 version 24H2
Look
Our Senior Editor Zac Bowden has a full Windows 11 version 24H2 review. He covered the following topics in that written review, as well as in his video review of the latest version of Windows 11.
Desktop and start
- Phone Link is now integrated with the Start menu
- The taskbar notification area layout has been simplified
- Quick Settings have been rebuilt to be faster and more customizable
- Windows Spotlight image is now the default background setting
- The taskbar app preview thumbnails are now animated
- You can now set HDR images as your desktop wallpaper
File Explorer
- The File Explorer home tab now features an updated shared documents layout
- You can now duplicate tabs by right-clicking on the tab.
- The context menu layout has been updated with better labels to make it easier to use.
- You can now create .7z and .TAR archive formats.
- You can view your Android phone’s file system directly in File Explorer
Apps
- A new Outlook app for email, calendar and contact is included
- Microsoft has updated Copilot as a standalone web app
- Photos now include AI-assisted generative erasing and background editing
- Photos can now generate AI images based on user criteria (Copilot+ PC)
- A new Recall app uses AI to record everything you do and makes finding things easier (Copilot+ PC)
- Paint now has built-in generative AI capabilities based on user-drawn sketch (Copilot+ PC)
Settings & Miscellaneous
- Windows Update now supports checkpointing and hot patching for faster and less intrusive updates
- Voice Clarity uses AI to remove background noise picked up by your microphone in supported apps
- Power settings for the connected/disconnected status can now be configured simultaneously
- A new Energy Saver mode replaces the battery saver and applies to both laptops and desktops
- You can now configure the direction of the mouse wheel in Settings
- Wi-Fi 7 hardware is now supported
- The new PRISM emulation layer makes x86 emulated apps work better on Arm
- Arm-based devices should now work more smoothly
- AutoSR uses AI to improve game framerate and quality (Copilot+ PC)
- Live Captions can now translate languages locally to English in real time (Copilot+ PC)
- Advanced Windows Studio effects enhance your webcam with filters (Copilot+ PC)
