Windows Central Insider
Xbox's Matt Booty says Forza Horizon 6 takes him back to the golden years of racing games
Xbox Forza Horizon 6 will likely be one of the biggest Xbox games of the year, and CCO Matt Booty says "It really feels like a whole new, fresh game."
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Features
Take a nostalgic trip to where it all began for Forza Horizon
Xbox Forza Horizon 6 may well be upon us, but the franchise owes its roots to the first Horizon Festival in Colorado almost 14 years ago. Take a trip down memory lane with this epic retrospective.
Microsoft's overpriced Surface PCs are now too expensive to make any sense
Windows 11 It no longer makes sense to recommend a Surface at any price point over a similarly spec'd MacBook, iPad, or third-party OEM Windows machine.
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Windows 11's customization scene is thriving — here’s why
Windows 11 Windows 11 users are turning to third-party tools as Microsoft resists giving them more customization options.
7 major Windows 11 Insider changes in April, shaping what’s coming later in 2026
Windows 11 Windows 11 Insider builds add haptic feedback, Xbox mode, Secure Boot alerts, and touchpad tweaks in April 2026 updates.
Windows & Software
AppControl's new feature is basically a private IT tech in your PC
Apps AppControl's latest update is a doozy, adding AI integration that makes it super easy to figure out what your PC's been up to over the last 72 hours.
The new Tom's Guide is here: Here's what our sister site overhaul means for you
Websites Our sister site, Tom's Guide, just launched its overhaul, featuring all-new shopping tools and exciting prospects for the future. Here's what it all means.
Windows 11 version 26H1: Here's what we know
Windows 11 Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 11 version 26H1 is now shipping exclusively on new PCs that ship with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X2 SoC. Here's what you need to know.
PC Hardware
Is the lightweight Zenbook A16 a better buy than the Zenbook S 16?
Laptops Two similar PCs with Snapdragon and AMD hardware make for an interesting comparison.
Alienware goes after budget PC gamers with its new QD-OLED display
PC gaming Alienware's QD-OLED displays are popular, but they're often priced too high to make economical sense. This new 27-inch model, starting at $349, aims to change that, and it's now available to buy.
Microsoft's overpriced Surface PCs are now too expensive to make any sense
Windows 11 It no longer makes sense to recommend a Surface at any price point over a similarly spec'd MacBook, iPad, or third-party OEM Windows machine.
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Rumors point to NVIDIA negotiating to purchase a large PC company
Hardware There's definitely more than a 0% chance NVIDIA could be working on acquiring a large company in the PC and server market.
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Deals
Our favorite Xbox headset raises the bar for sound quality with a lower price
Deals Turtle Beach's Stealth 700 (Gen 3) gaming headset is back on sale for a 33% discount, so players can enjoy its immaculate soundscapes and comfortable ergonomics at a lower price.
Microsoft is hiking Surface prices, but this deal will beat them
Deals Microsoft's 7th Edition Surface, one of the best AI laptops we use daily for its supreme workflow performance and perfected clamshell, is now 38% off to defy the recently announced price hikes.
Handheld Gaming PCs
How the Steam Deck became an unlikely Windows handheld
PC Gaming Valve's Steam Deck is a great piece of hardware that runs SteamOS out of the box. What about Windows? Well, it's possible, but not without some help from a community of enthusiasts.
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Gaming
Take a nostalgic trip to where it all began for Forza Horizon
Xbox Forza Horizon 6 may well be upon us, but the franchise owes its roots to the first Horizon Festival in Colorado almost 14 years ago. Take a trip down memory lane with this epic retrospective.
WWE 2K26 is almost the best in the world, but yearly releases hold it back
Review WWE 2K26 delivers the best gameplay and biggest roster in the WWE 2K series, but there are bigger issues elsewhere.
Starfield PS5 sales raise big Xbox exclusivity questions
Gaming Reported Starfield sales on PS5 suggest a slower start than expected, raising questions about Xbox’s multiplatform strategy and whether moving away from exclusivity impacts hardware value.
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Artificial Intelligence
Microsoft says its faster MAI-Image-2-Efficient AI model slashes costs
AI Microsoft unveils MAI-Image-2-Efficient, a faster and cheaper AI image model designed to deliver photorealistic results at scale.
Former Microsoft Xbox VP says AI is "the big question mark" for the future of gaming
AI Microsoft's former gaming and Xbox VP Ed Fries believes AI is "the big question mark" for gaming moving forward, and says it's not going away.
Did ChatGPT just call Sam Altman a liar?
AI OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently admitted that ChatGPT doesn't have the capability to keep track of time, but the chatbot insists it does.
Lenovo Qira and HP IQ are both heading your way soon. Which one suits you best?
AI Lenovo and HP have both devised on-device AI assistants designed to make your digital life easier. I dug into the features to discover similarities and differences.
Microsoft
Windows and Xbox shift toward user feedback, but fans are questioning the timing
Microsoft Is Microsoft's big AI push falling off the rails? Possibly, but not for the reasons you might think.
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Azure's cloud platform problems stem from AI, says a former engineer
Azure An ex-Microsoft engineer recently detailed how Azure’s rushed launch, talent exodus, and AI hype left Microsoft’s cloud fragile and struggling to compete.
Microsoft faces new questions from UK watchdog over AI competition
Microsoft The UK CMA is coming after Microsoft again, and this time it's all about AI and ecosystem control, which are at the center of the debate.
Microsoft plans $146 Billion AI spend even as investor interest wanes
MICROSOFT Microsoft could be looking at the worst quarter since the 2008 financial crisis because of AI, but it still wants to make a $146 billion infrastructure investment in 2026
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Peripherals & Accessories
How CRT gaming is being reborn with the help of diehard enthusiasts
Hardware If you've ever used a CRT screen, you know how much better the tech is for retro games. But as CRT displays decline in number, enthusiasts have created a new way forward with modern OLED tech.
