Microsoft has made Windows 11 version 24H2 available – but right now, it’s for Copilot+ PCs only, at least officially.
This means that to begin with, the 24H2 update is only being released for those specific devices, which means to begin with, Windows on Arm laptops with the new Snapdragon X (Arm-based) chips – and no other PCs.
As Windows Latest spotted, Microsoft states in its release notes: “Windows 11, version 24H2 is only available for Copilot+ PCs devices.”
However, there’s a twist in that what Microsoft means here is that 24H2 is only available in its finished version for Copilot+ PCs. These devices go on sale tomorrow (June 18), and when you fire up your Copilot+ laptop, it’ll be running 24H2 and will immediately apply KB5039239 (it’s the cumulative update for June).
Those who don’t have a Copilot+ PC can actually download and run KB5039239, but only as a Windows Insider. In other words, 24H2 is only available as a test build (26100.863) which is in the Release Preview channel.
As Windows Latest points out, though, if you do run this preview on a standard (non-Copilot+) system you may experience a rough ride in terms of bugs, more so than a normal test build (certainly one in Release Preview which is, as the name suggests, the final step before release).
Analysis: Missing out? Not really
If you’re afraid that you’re missing out by not getting Windows 11 24H2, we wouldn’t worry about that. As we already noted, yes, this is only for Arm-based Copilot+ PCs, and while you can technically put the preview spin on a PC running an AMD or Intel CPU, there isn’t much in the way of new features anyway. (And the one huge feature for Copilot+ PCs, Recall, was pulled as you may remember, and put into testing for the foreseeable).
Indeed, for now, all the initial 24H2 release does is apply some bug fixes – including one to ensure games with BattlEye anti-cheat work with Windows on Arm – and security tweaks.
There is one sizable change with Copilot, though, which will become an ‘app experience’ so the desktop assistant can be treated like any app within Windows 11. In other words, you can move the Copilot window, snap or resize it and so forth – rather than having it locked to a side panel – but even that’s something you can likely wait for.
When the full release of the 24H2 update comes, likely in September if rumors are right – though it could slide until later in 2024 – there will be a lot more features on-board (though some of them will be for Copilot+ PCs only, like Recall).
So for now, you’re not really missing out on anything, and indeed this preview build returning to testing is a good sign for everyone in terms of the release timeframe of the full Windows 11 24H2 update. If you recall, the rollout and testing of the preview was paused due to various nasty bugs, and we were worried there might even be a delay to 24H2 – but with the build having its rollout resumed in the Release Preview channel, that’s a good sign that things remain on track regarding the launch schedule.