Based on a number of new features being rolled up within new "Release Preview" updates for Windows 11, Microsoft appears to be readying a push for AI-powered enhancements in the coming weeks. Although Microsoft typically reserves major feature releases for the fall, April 2025 is a key month for the software giant because it marks the 50th anniversary of the company's founding. With two preview releases of Windows 11, Microsoft has tipped off what features your PC will be receiving soon--most likely in April. If you do, note that Microsoft isn't releasing all of these features in one fell swoop. Some of them will be released "normally" while others are rolled out in a "gradual" cadence.

The upgraded Magnifier app stands out with iOS 18. Technology can be wonderfully convenient and provide a great deal of entertainment, but it can also be a great way to improve your everyday life, too. For those who experience visual challenges, a variety of apps and features can help you. That's why we love this question about apps and features that can help visually challenged loved ones: "I am not tech savvy. I need to know if there is an app that I can download on a phone, that will allow my mother to tell the app, without needing internet services, who she wants to make a phone call to? She's losing her eyesight and can no longer see the numbers on her phone. She's 88 years old and doesn't own a computer and has limited income," writes "Sheryl" of Westminster, Colorado.

I've touted Windows' ability to type with just your voice for years, so I finally decided to put my money where my mouth is: I used Windows' Voice Access and Windows Dictation to "type" this entire story. It was easier than I thought… and, weirdly, harder. Windows 11 contains two methods to control a PC with your voice: Voice Access and Windows Dictation, whose original version debuted in Windows 10. Voice Access allows you to navigate within your PC using just your voice, while Windows Dictation allows you to dictate text into a document. While they were both designed for accessibility, they might--potentially?--improve

In today's announcement, Microsoft seems to be stressing the social and creative aspects of Bing much more. This isn't a bad thing, as these functions are better suited to the limitations of AI language models. In the Skype blog post, for example, the company highlights Bing as "a great tool for generating ideas and inspiration," with screenshots of the chatbot writing poetry. There's only a passing mention of using Bing to find out about the news; a task for which the chatbot is ill-suited, making frequent factual errors.

Microsoft issued a meaty Windows Insider Build on Wednesday for the Dev channel, testing one substantial improvement: Voice Access, as well as a couple of personalization improvements that should be welcomed by Windows users. Technically, the new features offered in Build 22518 of the Dev Channel for Windows 11 are new, untested code, which might not even make it to the stable channel. Still, there's a good chance that at least Voice Access will come to market, as it leans on Microsoft's accessibility strengths. Microsoft's new build has also added a "Spotlight" feature that will provide fresh, updated desktop backgrounds, and it tweaked the Widgets feature to resemble Windows 10. Microsoft describes Voice Access as a new feature, and one that's distinct from dictation, which has been in Windows for some time.