Windows 11’s big 24H2 update is here: 5 features to try first

Microsoft has released its big Fall 2024 update for Windows 11codenamed 24H2, and brings with it a number of updates and fixes that should improve your Windows experience.

Even if you are a die-hard fan of Windows 11, you might not have noticed this Windows 11 24H2 is hereand for good reason: Microsoft staggered the release of large updates like this over several weeks or months, so you might not see them unless you’re diligent about checking for Windows updates and keeping the “Get the latest updates as soon as these” is available” setting enabled.

It may even be installed without you noticing – an easy way to check and see what version of Windows 11 you’re running is to press the Start button and type “Windows information”, then select “Windows specifications” from the results. This will open the About page of System Settings, where you can see what edition and version of Windows 11 you’re running.

If you see the 24H2 build listed, congratulations: you’ve got the big Windows 11 Fall update! There are all sorts of little tweaks and fixes to improve Windows (like Wi-Fi 7 support), as well as some new features to try out.

Some of the new features are available exclusively on Copilot+ computers, such as the new Windows recall feature, Live Subtitles and some advanced graphics enhancements.

But you don’t need a fancy Copilot+ PC to take advantage of tons of new upgrades in the latest version of Windows. No matter what PC you have, here are 5 of my favorite Windows 11 features you should check out first!

Phone Link comes to the taskbar

Windows 11 Phone Link runs 24H2

(Image credit: Microsoft)

One of my favorite things about using a Mac with my iPhone is how Apple makes it so easy to send my text messages to both devices so I can see them while I’m working without touching my phone.

Windows 11 has had an anemic Phone Link app for a while that lets you wirelessly connect your Android or iOS smartphone to your PC to check messages, but it can’t match the interoperability of iPhones and Macs.

However, with the 24H2 update, it gets a lot better – if you have an Android phone, at least. Those of us on iPhones are still stuck with just a Phone Link app in the taskbar that shows our notifications, but you have an Android device, you can send and receive messages from your Windows 11 PC, browse remotely in your phone files and you can even see a live display of your phone’s battery status, connection status, and recent messages in the Start menu. You can even use your Android smartphone camera as a webcam by going to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile devices.

It’s practically as good as macOS Sequoiahis iPhone mirroring feature, at least if you’re using an Android device.

Extended Quick Settings

New Windows 11 24H2 features in action on a Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i laptop

(Image credit: Future)

Once you have 24H2, try opening the Quick Settings menu, which you can do by clicking the Wi-Fi icon in the corner of the taskbar.

When you do this, you should notice that the usual streamlined interface has been expanded and given pages, which you can scroll through using your mouse or by clicking the arrow icons on the right side of the menu.

This change basically gives you easy access to all the tools in the Quick Settings menu, instead of just being limited to what you put there.

The upside is that Microsoft can keep adding tools and you can just scroll down to access them instead of having to dig through the “Edit Quick Settings” tools to add them manually.

One of the new settings you can quickly enable or disable from the Quick Settings menu is Energy Saver mode, another new addition that I’ll explain next.

The new way to save energy

Energy Saver mode runs on Windows 11 24H2

(Image credit: Future)

Once you get the 24H2 update, you might notice the new Power Saver button in the Quick Settings menu, which is basically a better version of the existing Battery Saver mode.

Battery Saver in Windows 11 is only available on laptops, and when enabled, it tries to reduce power consumption by doing things like dimming the screen and limiting app activity in the background.

This is now replaced by Energy Saver mode, which is available on both laptops and desktops, so you can use it to reduce your energy bill as well as extend your battery life.

This is part of Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to make Windows greener, and in the Settings > System > Power & Battery menu you’ll find plenty of options you can use to adjust how much power your device uses when is connected. and when you are in the new Energy Saver mode.

Wi-Fi refresh

Windows 11 24H2 Wi-Fi refresh button in action

(Image credit: Future)

One of the smaller new features I really, really appreciate is the new Wi-Fi menu button on the Windows 11 taskbar, which lets you refresh your view of available Wi-Fi networks.

If that sounds like a minor feature, it is, which is why it’s been so incredibly frustrating to use Windows laptops over Wi-Fi over the past few years. There have been so many times I’ve tried to connect to my iPhone’s hotspot in a crowded conference room or train car, only to be frustrated by the flood of other Wi-Fi networks that I fill my queue with available networks.

In the past, I had to turn Wi-Fi off and on on my laptop multiple times to refresh the list of networks so that the one I wanted would become available. With this new feature, I can hit the Wi-Fi refresh button whenever I need to—a small but welcome update for Windows.

File Explorer is getting some much-needed upgrades

Windows 11 24H2

(Image credit: Future)

Fire up File Explorer and you may notice some new features to play with, including a new set of compression tools that not only let you compress to .ZIP, but now to .TAR and .7z.

This effectively ends the dark ages we Windows users were in when it came to file compression. For the longest time we had to download something like 7-Zip every time we wanted to pack or unzip a file in anything other than .RAR, but a recent Windows 11 update unlocked the ability Windows to unzip .7z files.

Now that 24H2 has added the option to compress files in these formats as well, you no longer need to go to the web to get a decent file compression tool – although you may want to, as Windows 11’s built-in file compression tools are still significantly slower than something like 7-zip.

While you’re fooling around in File Explorer, notice another one of my favorite new features in 24H2: the text labels on the Cut, Copy, Rename, Share, and Delete buttons in the right-click context menu.

Since the debut of Windows 11, these functions have been hidden in the context menu as icons, and while I finally found out what it is, it took me months to remember it.

Now new Windows 11 users won’t have to deal with this headache – text labels are on the new icons, so it’s quick and easy to find the Delete or Rename buttons.

These are just a few of the new features available to everyone in Windows 11 24H2, so keep checking back to see what else is new in Windows.

Microsoft is also removing part of the operating system, which is why Windows is losing these 7 features in 2024. You probably won’t miss features like Cortana and WordPad, but they’re worth knowing about as we prepare for 2025!