If you’ve ever clicked on the Start button and watched the menu appear after a second or two, you already understand the problem Microsoft is trying to solve with its June 2026 Windows 11 update. 

The update (KB5094126) rolled out on June 9, 2026, for WIndows 11 24H2 and 25H2, and targets the shell responsiveness issues that have quietly frustrated users since its launch in 2021. The headline change is the broad rollout of the Low Latency Profile.

What is Low Latency Profile and why does it matter?

It’s something that Microsoft first tested in the May 26 preview build (with limited availability) before promoting it to the stable channel (with broader availability) this month. 

The way it works is that the Low Latency Profile briefly spikes the CPU frequency to its maximum for one to three seconds, providing an additional burst of performance whenever you interact with the core system features, including the Start menu, Search, Action Center, and taskbar flyouts. 

The burst is short enough that it doesn’t meaningfully impact battery life or thermals, but substantial enough that the shell responds immediately rather than after half a second, making those core system features feel more responsive.

With the Low Latency Profile, system flyouts can open up to 70% faster, and core apps can launch up to 40% quicker compared to the same hardware running the previous build. The performance gains are most visible on older or lower-spec machines that barely cleared Windows 11’s hardware requirements and have felt sluggish ever since.

What else is new in the June update?

Shared Audio now lets two people listen to audio from a single Windows 11 PC simultaneously via Bluetooth LE Audio. The Windows Task Manager gets new NPU usage columns, making it easier to see how your neural processing unit is being used during on-device AI tasks.

Multiple apps can now access the same camera stream simultaneously. In addition, Windows Search now finds local files with as few as two characters, which, as far as I understand, is a quality-of-life improvement for daily users. 

Windows Setup now lets you choose a custom user folder name during initial installation. Windows Hello has also been refined to consistently fall back to face or fingerprint-based sign-in after alternative methods have been used. 

You shouldn’t hold off on installing the update, as it includes the June 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes for more than 200 security vulnerabilities.

For the better part of a year, Microsoft has been telling us that the future of AI on Windows belongs to Copilot+ PCs. If you wanted Microsoft’s most advanced local AI features, you needed a machine with a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU). That was the deal. Now, Microsoft appears to be rewriting the rules.

According to updated documentation, Windows 11’s local Language Model APIs can now run on non-Copilot+ PCs, provided they have an Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-series GPU (or newer) with at least 6GB of VRAM. On the surface, this sounds like a developer-focused update. In reality, it could be one of the most significant shifts in Microsoft’s AI PC strategy since Copilot+ PCs launched last year. More importantly, it raises a question that has been lingering ever since the AI PC era began: Did we really need NPUs for all of this in the first place?

The CoPilot+ exclusivity era was always a little awkward

When Copilot+ PCs debuted in June 2024, Microsoft positioned them as the gateway to local AI experiences on Windows. To qualify, a device needed 16GB of RAM, SSD storage, and an NPU capable of delivering at least 40 TOPS of AI performance. The messaging suggested that these specialized chips were essential for running AI workloads locally. While that’s true in terms of efficiency, it never told the full story.

Anyone familiar with AI hardware already knew that GPUs were more than capable of handling these workloads. In fact, modern graphics cards are often significantly more powerful than NPUs for running language models and generative AI applications. That’s why most enthusiasts experimenting with local AI tools, from small language models to image generators, have been relying on GPUs for years. Yet Windows’ native AI experiences remained locked behind the Copilot+ badge.

That created an odd situation. A gaming PC with an RTX 4070 had more than enough horsepower to run AI models locally, but it couldn’t access Microsoft’s native AI framework because it lacked an NPU. Meanwhile, a thinner laptop with a qualifying NPU could. This latest change doesn’t completely erase that divide, but it certainly makes it look thinner than ever.

Microsoft may be laying the groundwork for AI beyond NPUs

The newly expanded Language Model APIs allow developers to tap into local AI capabilities on supported Nvidia hardware. Microsoft says these APIs can now run on non-Copilot+ systems equipped with RTX 30-series GPUs or newer, provided they have at least 6GB of VRAM. These APIs are powered by Phi Silica, Microsoft’s compact on-device language model. Applications can use it for tasks such as summarizing text, rewriting content, converting text into tables, formatting information, and generating responses from prompts.

Think of it as a lightweight, local version of the AI features people typically associate with services like ChatGPT. The difference is that everything runs directly on the device rather than in the cloud. That’s important for two reasons. First, privacy — if AI processing stays on your PC, sensitive documents, notes, emails, and drafts don’t have to leave the machine. Second, performance — local AI features can run instantly without waiting for cloud servers, subscriptions, or an internet connection.

The interesting part is how Microsoft plans to distribute these capabilities. If an app needs Phi Silica, Windows can download the required model through Windows Update and run it locally using supported hardware. So, the operating system is beginning to treat AI models like another Windows component rather than a premium feature reserved for a specific class of PCs. That’s a notable philosophical shift.

The beginning of the end for CoPilot+ exclusives?

Before you get too excited, this doesn’t mean every AI feature is suddenly coming to older Windows machines. Features such as Recall, Click to Do, and some of Microsoft’s AI-powered creative tools still appear tied to systems with NPUs. The newly expanded support currently applies to Language Model APIs, which are primarily focused on text-based AI experiences.

Still, history suggests these walls rarely stay up forever. Once Microsoft demonstrates that local AI can run effectively on mainstream RTX hardware, it becomes harder to justify why certain AI experiences must remain exclusive to NPUs. Developers won’t care whether the AI workload is running on an NPU or a GPU as long as the experience works well. Consumers certainly won’t. That’s why this update feels more significant than the documentation change might suggest.

For now, it’s just one API. But it also represents Microsoft’s first meaningful step toward acknowledging something many PC enthusiasts have been saying all along: capable GPUs were never the problem. And if local AI can run perfectly well on millions of existing RTX-powered PCs, the distinction between a “Copilot+ PC” and a regular Windows PC may start to matter a lot less than Microsoft originally hoped.

After years of forcing Bing into nearly every corner of Windows Search, Microsoft may finally be giving users a way out. The company is reportedly testing changes in Windows 11 that would allow people to completely disable Bing-powered web results from the operating system’s built-in Search experience.

For many PC users, this is a long-overdue change. Windows Search has spent years blending local file searches with Bing suggestions, online results, news links, and Microsoft services – often frustrating users who simply wanted to find an app, document, or system setting on their computer.

According to a report by PCMag, Microsoft is now introducing options that separate local Windows search functionality from Bing’s web integration. That means users could eventually type into the Start menu or taskbar and receive only local PC results instead of being pushed toward online Bing content.

The shift appears connected to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is forcing major technology companies to provide users with greater control over bundled services and platform defaults. Microsoft has already begun making several Europe-specific Windows changes, including easier browser switching and fewer prompts pushing Edge and Bing.

Windows Search may finally become simpler again

For years, Windows users criticized Microsoft for aggressively integrating Bing into Windows Search, even when it reduced usability. Searching for local files could surface unrelated web links, online recommendations, or Bing-powered suggestions that many users never wanted in the first place.

The frustration became even more noticeable after Microsoft began integrating AI-powered Bing and Copilot features directly into Windows 11. While the company positioned those additions as productivity enhancements, many users felt Windows Search became increasingly cluttered and less focused on core desktop functionality.

The reported update could significantly improve the experience for people who mainly use Search to launch apps, locate files, or navigate Windows settings. Removing Bing integration may also improve responsiveness and reduce unnecessary online queries happening in the background.

For Microsoft, however, the move represents something larger than just a settings toggle. Bing has long been a strategic part of the company’s ecosystem push, helping drive users toward Microsoft services, search advertising, Edge, and now AI-powered Copilot experiences.

Allowing users to disable Bing more freely suggests regulators are having a measurable impact on how Microsoft designs Windows.

Microsoft still wants AI everywhere in Windows

Even with the potential Bing removal option, Microsoft is not stepping away from AI or online integrations inside Windows 11. The company continues investing heavily in Copilot and AI-powered productivity tools, which remain central to its long-term strategy for Windows.

That means the upcoming changes are less about abandoning Bing entirely and more about giving users additional control over how deeply Microsoft services are integrated into the desktop experience.

The bigger question now is whether these Bing-removal features remain limited to Europe due to DMA compliance or eventually expand worldwide. If Microsoft rolls the option out globally, it could become one of the most user-friendly Windows Search changes in years.

For longtime Windows users, though, the update already feels symbolic. After years of Microsoft insisting Bing belonged inside Windows Search, users may finally get the choice they have been requesting all along: the ability to search their PC without Microsoft’s search engine constantly getting in the way.

For the past two years, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X series has largely been confined to notebooks. The chips delivered impressive battery life and surprisingly competitive performance, but they never got the chance to challenge compact desktop machines like Apple’s Mac mini or even the more powerful Mac Studio. The Ascent QN10 changes that.

Packing the 18-core Snapdragon X2 Elite processor alongside Qualcomm’s integrated Adreno GPU, the tiny desktop also becomes the world’s first mini PC to offer 80 TOPS of AI performance through its dedicated Hexagon NPU. So, ASUS is introducing a new form factor for Qualcomm’s most powerful PC silicon.

The desktop debut Snapdragon needed

The most interesting thing about the Ascent QN10 is the fact that Qualcomm’s flagship PC chip has finally made its way into a desktop. Until now, comparing Snapdragon-powered systems to Apple’s Mac mini has always felt slightly unfair. One sat inside a laptop chassis with battery constraints, while the other was a dedicated desktop built for sustained performance. The QN10 brings Qualcomm into that conversation.

ASUS says the system combines the X2 Elite’s 18-core CPU with up to 32GB of LPDDR5X memory running at 9600MHz, promising a balance of performance and efficiency while maintaining cool, quiet operation. That’s the same pitch Apple has successfully used for years with the Mac mini: serious performance without the noise and heat of traditional desktop PCs. Whether the QN10 can truly compete with Apple’s compact desktops remains to be seen, but for the first time, Qualcomm finally has the hardware platform to make that comparison meaningful.

The chip leaves the nest

Of course, ASUS and Qualcomm are leaning heavily into AI. At Microsoft Build, the companies demonstrated the QN10 running developer tools such as Visual Studio Code and GitHub Copilot while processing AI-assisted workflows locally. Another demonstration showed the machine running private large language models using LLMWare and AnythingLLM without relying on cloud servers.

That’s where the 80 TOPS NPU comes into play. Instead of sending data to external servers, developers can run AI workloads directly on the machine, which offers advantages in privacy, security, and responsiveness. The QN10 also supports Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC experiences, making it one of the first desktop-focused systems built around Microsoft’s growing AI ecosystem.

Still, the biggest takeaway from ASUS’ announcement is that the Snapdragon X2 Elite has finally escaped the laptop category. And if Qualcomm wants Windows on Arm to be taken seriously as a long-term alternative to Apple’s silicon strategy, a compact desktop like the Ascent QN10 is exactly the kind of product it needed to build.

If you have ever typed a file name into Windows Search but stopped midway because you only remembered part of it, Microsoft has something for you. 

In its latest Windows 11 Insider Preview build, Microsoft has added a focused but genuinely useful improvement to the way Windows Search finds your files. It is one of those fixes that makes me wonder why it took so long. 

What is Search by Substring and why does it matter?

Released on May 29 to both the Experimental and Beta channels, the new feature is called Search by Substring, and what it does is quite simple. 

Previously, looking for a file in Windows required you to enter the beginning of its name. So, typing “april” would not surface a file called MeetingNotesApril, simply because Windows was not looking inside more complex file names. 

Search by Substring changes that for good. Type “april” and Windows will now return files whose names contain that string anywhere, whether at the start, end, or middle. 

The same applies to content within files. Type “status” and a document called ProjectStatusReport becomes discoverable immediately.

Is this actually a big deal?

For anyone who stores files with descriptive compound names, people working in documents, project folders, or any kind of organized file system, yes, the new Search by Substring feature surely is a big deal. 

The old behavior forced you to remember exactly how a file started, which is not how human memory works, added comma before. This is a small fix with a a disproportionately large quality-of-life impact.

The Search by Substring improvement is available in the Experimental channel with Build 26300.8553 and in the Beta channel with Build 26220.8544. In the same build, Microsoft has added Start menu improvements including section-level toggles, a renamed Recommended section now called Recent, and size options for the Start menu itself.