Microsoft has officially begun rolling out Windows 11 version 25H2, bringing a suite of new features designed to make the operating system more intuitive, secure, accessible, and reliable.
The update introduces Copilot+ and agentic experiences, while enhancing productivity, gaming, and AI-driven workflows. According to Microsoft, this release also strengthens security, protects against phishing and malware, and improves accessibility for all users.
File Explorer and Microsoft 365 Integrations
Windows 11 25H2 introduces AI actions in File Explorer, allowing users to interact more deeply with their files. By right-clicking or pressing Shift + F10, users can perform tasks like editing images or summarizing documents directly from File Explorer. Supported image actions include:
- Bing Visual Search: Search the web with an image to find similar products, landmarks, or faces.
- Blur Background: Highlight subjects and blur backgrounds automatically in Photos.
- Erase Objects: Remove unwanted elements from photos using Generative Erase.
- Remove Background: Instantly cut out subjects in Paint with one click.
For Microsoft 365 subscribers, Copilot AI enables summarizing files stored in OneDrive and SharePoint without opening them. Commercial customers with work or school accounts can also view Microsoft 365 People cards, displaying collaboration insights directly in File Explorer.
Widgets Enhancements
The Widgets board now features multiple dashboards and a redesigned Discover feed, offering a more personalized, organized layout with Copilot-curated stories, videos, and summaries from trusted sources.
Lock screen widgets have also been updated, allowing users to add, remove, and rearrange items such as Weather, Sports, and Watchlist.
Accessibility and Narrator Updates
Windows 11 25H2 adds a Braille viewer for refreshable displays, helping students and teachers visualize both text and Braille simultaneously.
- Narrator now provides smoother reading in Microsoft Word, with improved navigation for lists, tables, footnotes, and comments.
- Voice access also gains natural language support, allowing mobility-impaired users to control their PC using flexible, conversational commands.
PC Gaming Improvements
Gaming on Windows 11 is more seamless with the introduction of Gaming Copilot (Beta) in Game Bar, providing voice commands, in-game assistance, and personalized recommendations.
The Xbox PC app now consolidates libraries, apps, and play history, while the new Network Quality Indicator helps troubleshoot cloud gaming issues. Developers can also benefit from advanced shader delivery, reducing load times and stuttering.
Security and Authentication
Windows 11 continues to prioritize security with several key updates:
- Windows Hello refresh: Automatically selects the safest credential and supports passkeys for seamless sign-in.
- Passkey manager integration: Use credential managers like 1Password with Windows Hello authentication.
- Edge password management: Unified Microsoft Password Manager replaces legacy Wallet for safer syncing.
- Kernel security improvements: Parts rewritten in Rust to reduce memory vulnerabilities and allow driver development in Rust.
- Wi-Fi 7 support: Faster, more reliable connectivity for consumers and enterprises.
Developer Tools and Productivity Features
Windows 11 25H2 enhances developer workflows with a redesigned Advanced settings page, Git integration in File Explorer, and the new Microsoft Edit command-line text editor.
Windows ML is now generally available for AI model inference, while Task Manager metrics have been standardized.
Craft Improvements
Windows 11 25H2 continues refining the user experience with system tray, taskbar, File Explorer, and Settings updates. Following earlier improvements like streamlined restart and quick machine recovery, this update introduces several usability enhancements while keeping the interface modern and intuitive.
Key refinements include:
- Larger clock with seconds returns to the notification center and now appears on secondary monitors (Settings > Time & language > Date & time > Show time in Notification Center).
- Dividers added to top-level icons in File Explorer context menus.
- Hardware indicators for brightness, volume, airplane mode, and virtual desktops can be repositioned via Settings > System > Notifications > Position of the onscreen pop-up.
- Keyboard shortcuts for en dash (–) and em dash (—) using Windows + Minus (-) and Windows + Shift + Minus (-).
- Modernized dialog pop-ups across Windows 11 for updates, app failures, and activation.
- Time, language, and keyboard settings moved from Control Panel to Settings, with easier access to clocks, date/time formats, number/currency formats, and accessibility options.
Copilot+ PC Experiences
Windows 11 now brings smarter AI-assisted workflows to Copilot+ PCs.
- Recall (Preview) offers a personalized homepage showing recent snapshots, top apps, and websites, with a new left-side navigation bar for easy task resumption.
- Click to Do highlights popular AI actions and provides concise summaries. A first-time interactive tutorial demonstrates summarizing text and editing images, powered by the Phi Silica model.
- Agent in Settings now offers direct links to relevant pages and is powered by the on-device Mu model across all Copilot+ PCs.
- Voice Access now supports natural language commands, allowing mobility-impaired users to speak conversational instructions like “Open Edge” or “Switch to Microsoft Edge,” which Windows executes intuitively.
Inbox Apps
Windows 11 enhances productivity with improvements to core apps:
- Paint supports saving editable .paint files and introduces an opacity slider for Pencil and Brush tools.
- Snipping Tool offers Quick Markup, enabling annotations directly within the capture area (Win + Shift + S or Ctrl + E).
- Notepad AI allows summarizing, writing, and rewriting tasks without a subscription. Subscribers can switch between local and cloud models. Currently, AI features support English only.
Availability
Windows 11 version 25H2 is available via the Windows Update “seeker” experience for PCs meeting Windows 11 hardware requirements. Users are encouraged to install the October 2025 security update to access all features and improvements.