Microsoft News Roundup: Giant NVIDIA RTX 4090, Surface Duo to get Windows 11 look, Overwatch 2, and more

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From massive graphics cards to a look back at the early days of Windows 8, these are the biggest stories from last week.

Surface Duo 2 open
(Image credit: Future)
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Next week is set to be one of the biggest weeks for tech news of the entire year. As an appetizer, a handful of new stories came out last week. NVIDIA's new RTX 4090 was mocked for its massive size, Microsoft released a website about its planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and we exclusively reported that Microsoft will bring design elements from Windows 11 to the Android 12L update for Surface Duo.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is big

NVIDIA RTX 40 Series

(Image credit: NVIDIA)

When people said that the NVIDIA RTX 4090 would be one of the biggest pieces of tech this year, they must have meant it literally. NVIDIA's latest and greatest graphics card made the news rounds this week due to the fact that it's bigger than an Xbox Series S.

Of course, the RTX 4090 is significantly more powerful than the Xbox Series S, but that fact didn't stop people from picking on the chunky GPU.

The large form factor of the RTX 4090 may require some people to choose different PC cases. Those that do fit the GPU into a system will have one of the best graphics cards on the market, easily capable of handling 4K resolution at 100 FPS.

The only thing about the RTX 4090 bigger than its size is its price. The graphics card starts at $1,600.

Microsoft launches site about Activision Blizzard

Xbox Activision Blizzard

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizard has faced some pushback since the agreement was first announced. The European Commission is currently looking at the deal and has a deadline of November 8, 2022 to make a decision. Microsoft launched a dedicated website last week to argue why the tech giant purchasing Activision Blizzard is good for the gaming industry.

Earlier this year, Microsoft announced an agreement to purchase Activision Blizard for $68.7 billion. Several major franchises will become part of Microsoft if the deal is approved, including World of Warcraft, Candy Crush, and Call of Duty. Unsurprisingly, Sony has been one of the biggest opponents of the deal.

We'll have to wait until next month to see which side regulators fall.

Android 12L to feature Windows 11 design

Surface Duo 2 Glancebar

(Image credit: Daniel Rubino)

Android 12L is a version of Android optimized for devices with large screens or multiple displays. That includes the Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2, which are set to receive the Android 12L update in the near future. Last week, our senior editor Zac Bowden exclusively reported that Windows 11-inspired design elements will make their way to the Surface Duo line of products.

Blur effects, fluid animations, and notification boxes will all make the Surface Duo look more like an extension of a PC running Microsoft's latest operating system. The Surface Duo will also have a new pen menu that's similar to the one seen on Windows 11.

Enterprise customers will be able to extend their Duo to a monitor through a feature called "Duo Connect." The tool is somewhat similar to Continuum, which was seen on Windows 10 Mobile, though Duo Connect is powered by Windows 365. It's worth noting that Duo Connect may not ship on the same day as Android 12L.

Overwatch 2 rolls out

Overwatch 2

(Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

Overwatch 2 came out this week, earning critical acclaim from several outlets. Our Overwatch 2 review gave the shooter a 4.5 out of 5 for its progression system, smooth gameplay, and shift to being free-to-play.

While the game has earned solid reviews, the launch of Overwatch 2 hasn't been smooth. Blizzard had to take the game's servers down for maintenance several times this week.

We have a guide on Overwatch 2 known bugs, launch issues, and how to fix them that includes bug fixes and a schedule for server maintenance.

Ex-Windows chief gives a glimpse of early Windows 8

Windows 8 presentation

(Image credit: Hardcore Software)

Windows 11 may be all the rage these days, but we recently saw a throwback to the early days of Windows 8. Former head of Windows, Steven Sinofsky, shared a video from the early days of Microsoft's controversial OS. The presentation was shown to Microsoft employees in 2010 to illustrate the concept of Windows 8, which later went on to ship in 2012.

There aren't any shocking elements shown off in the video, especially to those that followed the development of Windows 8 back in the day. One tiny tidbit was the fact that the early concept of Windows 8 had a side panel that appeared somewhat similar to the Windows 11 Widgets panel.

Reviews

Each week our team of experts looks at the latest tech. Over the last week, we reviewed Overwatch 2, the ASUS Vivobook S14X laptop, and several accessories.

Asus Vivobook S14X with lid partially closed

(Image credit: Daniel Rubino)
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Sean Endicott
Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He's covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean's journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.