Microsoft finally plays its trump AI card, Recall, in Windows 11 but for me, its completely overshadowed by another new ability for Copilot+ PCs

Date:
Wed, 23 Apr 2025 08:52:33 +0000

Description:
Recall leaves me cold its AI pepping up the taskbar search box in Windows 11 that Im really jealous of.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Microsof t has finally made Recall available on Windows 11 for Copilot+ PCs its rolling out with the April preview update Click to Do is also generally available now, as is an AI-supercharged version of Windows 11s basic search functionality The latter improved search feature is what might interest many Copilot+ PC owners

Microsoft has finally unleashed its Recall feature on the general computing public after multiple misfires and backtracks since the functionality was first revealed almost a year ago now .

In case it escaped your attention which is unlikely to say the least Recall is the much talked about AI-powered feature that uses regularly saved screenshots to provide an in-depth, natural language search experience.

Microsoft announced that the general availability of Recall for Windows 11 is happening, with the feature now rolling out, albeit with the caveat that this is for Copilot+ PCs only. Thats because it requires a chunky NPU to beef up the local processing power on hand to ensure the search works responsively enough.

Alongside Recall, the Click to Do feature is also debuting in Windows 11 for Copilot+ PCs, which is a partner ability that offers up context-sensitive AI-powered actions ( most recently a new reading coach integration is in testing, a nifty touch ).

Theres also a boost for Windows 11 search in general on Copilot+ laptops, which now benefits from a natural language approach, as seen in testing recently . This means you can type a query in the taskbar search box to find images of dogs on beaches and any pics of your pets in the sand will be surfaced. (This also ties in cloud-based results with findings on your device locally).

Microsoft further notes that it has expanded Live Captions, its system-wide feature to provide captions for whatever content youre experiencing, to include real-time translations in Chinese (Simplified) covering 27 languages (for audio or video content).

Its Recall thats the big development here, though, and while Microsoft doesnt say anything new about the capability, the company underlines some key
aspects ( we were informed about in the past ) regarding privacy.

Microsoft reminds us : Recall is an opt-in experience with a rich set of privacy controls to filter content and customize what gets saved for you to find later. Weve implemented extensive security considerations, such as Windows Hello sign-in, data encryption and isolation in Recall to help keep your data safe and secure.

Recall data is processed locally on your device, meaning it is not sent to
the cloud and is not shared with Microsoft and Microsoft will not share your data with third parties.

Furthermore, were also reminded that Recall can be stripped out of your Copilot+ PC completely if you dont want the feature, and are paranoid about even its barebones being present (disabled) on your PC. There are
instructions for removing Recall in this support document that also goes into depth about how the functionality works.

All of these features are set to be rolled out to Copilot+ PCs starting with the April 2025 preview update, which is imminent (or should be). However,
note that for certain regions, release timing may vary. The European Economic Area wont get these abilities until later in 2025, notably, as Microsoft already told us. (Image credit: Shutterstock) Analysis: The real gem for Copilot+ PC owners

The arrival of Recall is not surprising, because even though its been almost
a year since Microsoft first unveiled the feature and rapidly pulled the curtain back over it for some time, after the initial copious amounts of flak were fired at the idea it was recently spotted in the Release Preview
channel for Windows 11. Thats the final hurdle before release, of course, so the presence of Recall there clearly indicated it was close at hand.

I must admit I didnt think it would be out quite so soon, though, and a relatively rapid progression through this final test phase would seem to suggest that things went well.

That said, Microsoft makes it clear that this is a controlled feature rollout for Copilot+ PCs and so Recall will likely be released on a fairly limited basis to begin with. In short, you may not get it for a while, but if you do want it as soon as possible, you need to download the mentioned optional update for April 2025 (known as the non-security preview update). Also ensure youve turned on the option to Get the latest updates as soon as theyre available (which is in Settings > Windows Update ).

Even then, you may have to be patient for some time, as I wouldnt be
surprised if Microsoft was tentative about this rollout to start with. Theres a lot at stake here, after all, in terms of the reputation of Copilot+ PCs.

Arguably, however, the most important piece of the puzzle here isnt Recall at all, although doubtless Microsoft would say otherwise. For me if I had a Copilot+ PC (I dont, so this is all hypothetical, I should make clear) what Id be really looking forward to is the souped-up version of Windows 11s basic search functionality.

Recall? Well, it might be useful, granted, but I have too many trust issues still to be any kind of early adopter, and I suspect I wont be alone. Click
to Do? Meh, its a bit of a sideshow for Recall and while possibly handy, it looks far from earth-shattering in the main.

A better general Windows search experience overall, though? Yes please, sign me up now. Windows 11 search has been regarded as rather shoddy in many ways, and the same is broadly true for searching via the taskbar box in Windows 10. An all-new, more powerful natural language search could really help in this respect, and might be a much better reason for many people to grab a Copilot+ PC than Recall, which as noted is going to be steered clear of by a good many folks (in all likelihood). (Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsofts own research (add seasoning) suggests this revamped basic Windows 11 search is a considerable step forward. The software giant informs us that on a Copilot+ device, the new Windows search means it can take up to 70% less time to find an image and copy it to a new folder compared to the same search and shift process on a Windows 10 PC.

Of course, improved search for all Windows 11 PCs (not just Copilot+ models) would be even better obviously and hopefully thats in the cards from an overarching perspective of the development roadmap for the OS. The catch is that this newly pepped up search is built around the powerful NPU required
for a Copilot+ laptop, of course, but that doesnt stop Microsoft from enhancing Windows search in general for everyone.

Naturally, Microsoft is resting a lot of expectations on Copilot+ PCs,
though, noting that it expects the majority of PCs sold in the next few years to be these devices. Analyst firms have previously predicted big things for
AI PCs , as theyre also known, as well. You may also like... Windows 11 users are getting fixes for some longstanding bugs in 24H2, including the cure for
a seriously annoying File Explorer glitch Windows 11 is getting a very handy change to the taskbar, as Microsoft takes a leaf from Apples Mac playbook Microsoft looks to be making a big change to how you install and log in to Windows 11 and Im not happy about it at all



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsoft-finally-plays-its-trump- ai-card-recall-in-windows-11-but-for-me-its-completely-overshadowed-by-another -new-ability-for-copilot-pcs


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