Skip to main content TechRadar the technology experts Search TechRadar View Profile België (Nederlands) Deutschland North America US (English) Australasia New Zealand Tech Radar Pro Tech Radar Gaming Amazon Prime Day Back to school Nintendo Switch 2 NYT Wordle today Best laptop Best web hosting Recommended reading New update for Windows 11 24H2 is the most feature-packed for some time, delivering some seriously useful additions I don't generally recommend downloading Windows 11's preview updates, but some gamers may want to chance Microsoft's latest effort Microsoft takes unusual step of delaying a Windows 11 update, leaving some PC gamers still waiting for crucial fixes for 24H2 Still on Windows 11 23H2 because you’re worried 24H2 is a disaster for PC gaming? Microsoft’s latest update could persuade you to finally upgrade Windows 11 24H2 update arrives in preview with important fix for blue screen crashes – but I still wouldn’t rush to install this upgrade The end is nigh for Windows 10 – here are 5 things Microsoft must do to get people to love Windows 11 Microsoft explains game-crashing bug in latest Windows 11 update, says it ‘likely didn’t’ affect many people New Windows 11 update delivers a host of new features and fixes - here are 4 things I'm looking forward to Darren Allan 9 July 2025 July patch packs more than most Windows 11 updates When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Future) Windows 11's July update is now out It offers quite a number of new features and tweaks There are also some important fixes, particularly for gamers Windows 11 24H2 has a new update and it's a weighty affair packing a bunch of feature additions and some important fixes. What goodies can you expect with the cumulative update for July? I'm going to briefly summarize some of the changes deployed here - and those fixes - first of all, before picking out a few personal highlights here in terms of the bigger moves afoot with introducing new features. It's also worth remembering that the update formally known as KB5062553 has some features on a gradual rollout, so you may not see everything land on your PC straightaway after applying the patch - but rest assured, this is all in the pipeline. You may like New update for Windows 11 24H2 is the most feature-packed for some time, delivering some seriously useful additions I don't generally recommend downloading Windows 11's preview updates, but some gamers may want to chance Microsoft's latest effort Microsoft takes unusual step of delaying a Windows 11 update, leaving some PC gamers still waiting for crucial fixes for 24H2 Onto the changes, one of which is faster native unzipping of files under File Explorer (the folders on your desktop). There are also a couple of tweaks for the Windows Share interface, which allows for easily sharing files via a range of apps. First off, this now offers a visual preview of any web content that's being shared. Secondly, for images, there's also file compression available on tap, allowing you to quickly shrink the size of a picture to a predefined level (low, medium, or high compression), making it quicker and easier to share with somebody else. As for the fixes, there's a lot of work that PC gamers will appreciate, including the resolution of a problem whereby Alt-Tabbing away from a game could mess with the mouse cursor (if the game's resolution was different to that of the desktop). There's also a fix for Alt-Tabbing away from a full-screen game causing some apps to freeze up. Furthermore, Microsoft has cured instances where 'display resets' - meaning the monitor screen goes black for a couple of seconds - have been bothering people, including when gaming. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Other fixes include squashing a bug where windows could change their size and position after a device had woken from sleep, and a problem where when dragging a window around the desktop, File Explorer could crash. Next up, here are my highlights for the new features delivered - or about to be delivered - with the July update for Windows 11. (Image credit: Shutterstock) 1. Honey, I shrunk the taskbar icons Microsoft has made a small but impactful tweak with the taskbar. The idea is that as you open up more apps, and the taskbar becomes a more crowded place, the icons on the bar automatically shrink down. This means you can see more apps and icons in these scenarios (rather than having them overflowed onto a separate panel), which is pretty nifty. That said, looking at the feedback to this change, not everyone wants shrunken icons. The good thing is if you fall into this category, you can simply disable this behavior and have the icons act as they do now. (Image credit: Check terms) 2. Accessibility goodies Voice Access is a feature I still use from time to time (though I used to employ it a lot more when I suffered from RSI for a couple of years in the past), and the July patch brings with it the ability to add custom words to the dictionary. This is a neat feature that was present in Nuance's Dragon speech recognition software (which Voice Access is built on), and it's good to see it appear in Windows 11. Microsoft has also added a privacy feature for Windows 11's screen reading tool, Narrator, which is called the 'screen curtain'. This means that while Narrator is reading out the contents of the screen, the display is blacked out, so in public, no one can peek over your shoulder at potentially sensitive or confidential material. You will, of course, need to use headphones to listen to the content being narrated privately. (Image credit: Microsoft) 3. Begone, Edge This update makes a change relating to browsers which, sadly, will only be for folks in Europe like myself. It's a simple tweak which means that Windows 11 will now tie your chosen default browser to all file types that are opened in a web browser. Isn't that the case already? Well, no, not for some more obscure formats, and what this means is sometimes you'll get Edge popping up when those files are accessed. So, this means less Edge in your face in those scenarios, which has got to be a good thing. For those in Europe, that is - and why is this change restricted to that region? Because it's bound up in European data regulations, which sadly means those in the US, or elsewhere, won't get the benefit of this tweak. That's something Microsoft should change in my opinion, but I don't think it's likely to happen. (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol) 4. PC-to-PC migration This is a feature that's part of the Windows Backup app which I'm very pleased to see, as it'll make it easy for people to switch from an old PC to a new one. It'll do all the grunt work for you, transferring your files and installation across (with both machines connected to the same network). However, there is a big caveat - at this point we're just getting a 'first look' at the feature. Right now, it's not actually functional, but the shell of the PC migration ability is now in place. What this means is that it should be on the way soon (in a 'future update' we're told), and you can bet Microsoft wants this in place likely well before the expiration of Windows 10 (in October 2025 when support runs out). So, what I'm happy about here is that this signals the imminent arrival of a (hopefully) powerful new piece of functionality that should really help novices in particular make the transition to a new PC. You might also like... No, Windows 11 PCs aren't 'up to 2.3x faster' than Windows 10 devices, as Microsoft suggests – here's why that's an outlandish claim macOS Tahoe 26: here's everything you need to know about all the new features Can’t upgrade to Windows 11? This Linux project wants to save your old PC from the scrapheap when Windows 10 support ends See more Computing News Darren Allan Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013). You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. New update for Windows 11 24H2 is the most feature-packed for some time, delivering some seriously useful additions I don't generally recommend downloading Windows 11's preview updates, but some gamers may want to chance Microsoft's latest effort Microsoft takes unusual step of delaying a Windows 11 update, leaving some PC gamers still waiting for crucial fixes for 24H2 Still on Windows 11 23H2 because you’re worried 24H2 is a disaster for PC gaming? 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