Major Windows 11 update adds Notepad tabs, iPhone pairing, and a dash of AI

Enlarge / A PC running Windows 11. (credit: Microsoft)

Today Microsoft announced 2023’s first major batch of updates for Windows 11, part of the company’s plan to release new Windows features “when they are ready” instead of waiting for the big annual update in the fall.

The headliner, at least for people who have signed up for the AI-powered preview of “the new Bing,” is support for those AI-powered Bing features (including the infamous Bing chatbot) in the Windows taskbar. We’ve written more about those features separately. The other changes are more typical of a regular Windows 11 release, featuring a combination of things we’ve seen before and stuff Microsoft has been testing in its Insider Preview channels for the last few weeks or months.

Some of the additions enhance existing Windows 11 apps or features. The Notepad app, updated relatively recently with a Windows 11-style design and dark mode support, now supports tabs so you can view multiple notes in a single window. A redesigned Quick Assist app streamlines the process of remotely connecting to, viewing the screen of, and taking control of a PC you’re providing remote tech support for. And the Snipping Tool now supports recording onscreen video in addition to screenshots, making it more useful for recording quick app demos or other snippets.