Windows 11’s ‘February 2024 Moment’ update brings new AI and accessibility features – plus no more Bing blackmail (for some people)
The next major update for Windows 11 is expected to arrive at the end of February, and what awaits users includes artificial intelligence (AI) tools for organizing your desktop, the ability to disable Bing in Windows Search (if you is in the EU), the ability to uninstall Microsoft Edge (again only in the EU), Notepad updates and more.
This Windows 11 update is called “Moment 5” and “February 2024 Moment” (the latter is the name Microsoft uses internally).
Although this update will bring a number of new features and adjustments, this update is mainly aimed at making Windows 11 compliant with the new European Union legislation, the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Mozilla recently published a report accusing Microsoft of using “dark patterns” and poor market competition practices regarding browser choice, so at least in the EU this situation will improve somewhat.
What Windows 11 users can look forward to and when
Some of the updates coming with the Moment 5 update include improvements to Windows 365’s Cloud PC integration, built-in accessibility features in Windows 11, an option to remove news from the Widgets Board, and the ability to disable Bing remove the Windows search box (if you are in the EU). A preview of these features is expected to be available in late February 2024 or early March 2024.
Here’s everything we know about Moment 5 at the moment: according to Windows Central, and we will continue to review and report new information on the upcoming update as we have it. Judging from the internal name given to the update, ‘February 2024 Moment’, it is not expected to extend into March, and Windows Central suggests that users will be able to install this update from February 27, 2024.
You can try out this update yourself (if it is available on the expected date) by doing the following:
1. Go to your PC Institutions app.
2. Select from the left menu Windows Update.
3. In the resulting menu, click the Button Check for updates.
This will prompt Windows to check for newly released available updates. If it finds them, it will automatically download and install them on your device.
EU phoria for select Windows 11 users
This update is good news for EU users as they can now disable Bing in Windows Search and choose a different search engine instead, as well as uninstall pre-installed apps like Microsoft Edge. It’s certainly a win for Windows 11 users in the EU and a cause for envy among the rest of us: they get more choice and they get more control over their computers.
It’s not just Microsoft that’s been accused of anti-competitive practices. Mozilla and Google also recently called out Apple for not going far enough with the new rules and regulations created as a result of the DMA, and, somewhat similarly to Microsoft, for engaging in poor competitive practices in the browser market.
Users have complained about Microsoft’s persistent and annoying attempts to get them to switch to the Edge browser, and at least for EU users this will now hopefully end – or at least become less aggressive. However, the rest of us will have to wait and hope that our governments will follow suit.