Windows 11: Available as a release preview; Copilot coming as a store app, IoT LTSC announced

[German]One more addendum: The EU and the Digital Service Act (DSA) are working. While Microsoft has been rolling out the half-finished Copilot with Windows 10/11 in many countries for months, Redmond has only been working with the brakes on in the EU. Now, with the release of the Release Preview version of Windows 11 24H2, it has become known that users in the European Union (EU) can only obtain Copilot as an app from the Microsoft Store. Meanwhile, Microsoft has also announced Windows 11 2024 IoT Enterprise LTSC and published hardware certification rules. Here is an overview of these Windows 11 topics.

Windows 11 Version 24H2 Release Preview

The completion of Windows 11 version 24H2, expected in fall 2024, is nearing its end. Microsoft's developers have published the release preview of this version on May 22, 2024 as build 26100.712. This can be seen in the article Releasing Windows 11, version 24H2 to the Release Preview Channel n the Windows blog. Windows 11 version 24H2 contains a number of new features such as:

• HDR wallpaper support, Energy Saver,
• Sudo for Windows (see Microsoft bestätigt versehentlich sudo-Implementierung für Windows),
• Rust in the Windows kernel,
• Wi-Fi 7 support, clear speech and more.

In addition, according to Microsoft, this Windows 11 release includes many improvements such as a scrollable view of the Quick Settings flyout in the taskbar, the ability to create 7-Zip and TAR archives in File Explorer (in addition to ZIP), etc. There are also improvements for connecting Bluetooth® Low Energy Audio devices. In the coming months, Microsoft plans to announce more details on many of the new features and improvements in Windows 11, version 24H2. General availability of this version is expected in late fall 2024.

Copilot, coming as an app

This Windows 11 version will also be used for the Copilot+PC devices Microsoft introduced recently. What's interesting in Windows 11 24H2 release preview is Microsoft's statement "Please note that the new AI features, such as Recall, that were just announced will no longer be available on your PC after installing this update, as they require a Copilot+ PC."

With the update of Windows 11 to version 24H2, Copilot will then be offered as an app that is pinned to the taskbar. This should enable users to benefit from the advantages of a conventional app (enlarge windows, move etc.).

This change will soon be available for Insiders in the Canary, Dev and Beta channels. Copilot in Windows will be rolled out gradually to Windows Insiders in global markets. Customers in the European Economic Area will soon be able to download Copilot in Windows as an app from the Microsoft Store.

In other words: If you want to use the Copilot function under Windows 11 24H2, download it as an app from the Store. If you don't want Copilot, simply don't download it – in my opinion, this is an effective solution. I pointed out the potential implications of Copilot in the article Microsofts Copilot+PC, a privacy and security nightmare – Part 2.

The fact that Microsoft will not be able to make an easy breakthrough with its Copilot plans was already evident with the release of Windows 11 23H2 (see Windows 11 23H2: Rollout chaos; no copilot in Europe thanks to DMA). For Europe, Microsoft had postponed the rollout of Copilot until spring 2024 thanks to the Digital Service Act (DSA).

Is Bitlocker activation also coming for Home?

A few days ago, there was a rumor that new installations of Windows 11 24H2 would automatically activate encryption using Bitlocker. This is also supposed to be the case for the Home version. Neowin.net, for example, picked up on it in this article (with reference to this deskmodder.de article) and refers to it in the following tweet.

In my opinion, the whole thing is not really that new, because "Device Encryption" has existed before and also for Windows 10. At this point I would like to remind you of my blog post indows 10/11 Home Edition and the OEM Bitlocker pitfall from February 2023. For interested users, I would like to link to the article How to block Windows 11 from encrypting drives during installation by Martin Brinkmann on ghacks.net, which describes the registry entries and other options for blocking this encryption.

New hardware certification

Microsoft has also published the requirements for devices that are "classified as compatible" with Windows 24H2 (as well as Windows Server 2025) in the Techcommunity article Windows Hardware Compatibility Program – Guidance for Windows 11, version 24H2 Release. Neowin has said a few words about this here, and had pointed out in this article that Microsoft had increased the system requirements for Windows 11 24H2. CPUs without SSE4.2 and PopCnt are now blocked for the upgrade to 24H2..

Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024

I had already read some time ago that an LTSC of Windows 11 IoT Enterprise was also on the way. Microsoft announced this version on May 22, 2024 in the Techcommunity article Announcing Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024: Empowering Edge Innovation! The colleagues from neowin.net have picked up on this here.