The Windows Central Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered

What to expect at Microsoft's October 7 event

In this episode of the Windows Central Podcast, Daniel Rubino and Zac Bowden recap major industry developments from Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit and preview Microsoft's upcoming October 7 hardware and platform showcase in San Francisco. Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit & New Surface Gear: Zac shares his impressions from Hawaii, breaking down Qualcomm's announcements alongside Microsoft's surprise reveal of the second-generation Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch. Powered by the 6-core Snapdragon X2 Plus, both devices feature improved power efficiency, brighter 500-nit screens, and a sleek black color option—though accompanied by noticeable price bumps. Microsoft also introduced an updated, ergonomically refined Surface Mouse ($80) featuring native Windows 11 haptic feedback. Exclusive Insights from Surface Lead Brett Ostrum: Zac recounts his one-on-one sitdown with Microsoft's Brett Ostrum, who confirmed that Microsoft is quietly moving away from using the "Copilot+ PC" marketing label for its newest devices. Ostrum also addressed why AMD chips are absent from current Surface designs, why Microsoft chose not to field a direct budget rival to affordable notebooks like the MacBook Neo, and why a standalone Surface Studio desktop monitor remains off the table due to prohibitive panel costs. Signal65 Benchmarks — Qualcomm vs. Intel & AMD: Daniel analyzes the comprehensive 20-page benchmark report from Signal65 comparing Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite, Intel's Core Ultra 3, and AMD's Ryzen AI. The results demonstrate Snapdragon's clear lead in multi-core throughput, single-core speeds, and unplugged performance retention, while Intel holds the upper hand in raw gaming graphics with its Arc B390 GPU. Both hosts discuss why daily ARM battery life and quiet thermals continue to win them over for everyday workloads. Previewing Microsoft's October 7 Keynote: Looking ahead to their live on-site coverage in San Francisco, the hosts lay out what to expect from the Surface Laptop Ultra and the NVIDIA RTX Spark platform. Designed for heavy AI development and generative workloads rather than general consumers, the laptop is slated to offer 18-core and 20-core chip configurations with unified memory up to 128GB. On the software front, the duo anticipate demonstrations of agentic voice input concepts, modern WinUI enhancements for File Explorer, and general system polish. Windows 11, Peripherals & Gaming Round-Up: The episode wraps with a look at the rollout of Windows 11 Version 26H2 (the sunset platform for Snapdragon 850 hardware), Daniel's review of the Shure MV6 Gen 2 dynamic USB microphone, a 30-year look at Panasonic's modular Toughbook lineup, and strong launch critical acclaim for Xbox's latest releases, including Gears of War: E-Day and Minecraft Dungeons 2.

Windows 11 just keeps getting better

In this week's episode of the Windows Central Podcast, Daniel Rubino and Zac Bowden break down the latest Windows 11 insider features, focusing heavily on major overhauls coming to context menus, File Explorer polish, and options to force apps to open full-screen. They also dive into a surprising new Signal 65 processor study highlighting how Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 chips stack up against Intel and AMD, wrap up recent Windows 11 improvements from March onward, and touch on various tech ecosystem shifts. This episode of the Windows Central Podcast is sponsored by Surfshark VPN. Unlimited devices, access your content from anywhere, and auto-block malware on Windows, Edge, and other platforms from $2.50/mo, with 3 months extra FREE. Sign up today! <ul data-slate-fragment= "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

The Surface Phone finally leaked?

On this week's episode of the Windows Central Podcast, Zac and Jez sit down to discuss newly leaked images of an old Windows Phone prototype that looks suspiciously like it could have passed for a Surface Phone back in the day. Is this the Surface Phone finally revealed? Also on the agenda: Microsoft begins its push to unify Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot, Windows gains support for Xbox backward compatible games, and the latest news from the gaming world.

Microsoft explains how its modernizing and fixing Windows 11

In this episode of the Windows Central Podcast, Daniel Rubino and Zac Bowden sit down with Marcus Ash, Corporate Vice President of Design and Research for Windows at Microsoft. The discussion centers on the user experience vision for Windows 11, balancing modernization with legacy app compatibility, and optimizing system efficiency across diverse hardware configurations. The Windows Central Podcast is sponsored by Surfshark VPN. Unlimited devices, access your content from anywhere, and auto-block malware on Windows, Edge, and other platforms from $2.50/mo, with 4 months extra FREE. Register today!

Windows can now play (some) Xbox games

Welcome back to the Windows Central Podcast! It's Daniel Rubino and Jez Corden in the driver's seat this week, tackling a massive news cycle in the Xbox and tech space. We kick things off with a frustrating trend: LG monitors forcing McAfee pop-ups, and we get a little philosophical about the "enshittification" of our hardware. On the gaming front, we dive deep into the newly discovered OG Xbox emulation coming to Windows PCs and what it means for the future of game preservation. Jez also gives us the behind-the-scenes breakdown of his exclusive interview with Todd Howard, contextualizing the recent, devastating Bethesda layoffs with the push for Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5. We also unpack the latest reports on Xbox studio heads pushing back against Game Pass, break down that surprise 86% spike in Xbox console sales in June, and get a little bit of sticker shock over the newly announced Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Flip 8.

Copilot OS leaked (and Microsoft laid off thousands)

The tech world is sweating, and it's not just the summer heatwave. This week on the Windows Central Podcast, Daniel Rubino, Zac Bowden, and Jez Cordon sit down to unpack a massive wave of Microsoft layoffs. We break down Asha Sharma's internal memo revealing a staggering 14 layers of middle management at Xbox, why the gaming division has struggled to capitalize on massive acquisitions like Fallout and Minecraft, and whether turning Xbox into an independent subsidiary is the brand's last chance for survival. Zac walks us through the shocking Discord leak of "Project Ion," an experimental, web-native Copilot Operating System built entirely inside Microsoft Edge. Finally, we break down the quiet arrival of Snapdragon X2-powered Surface devices, the new 24 GB RAM "sweet spot," and why sources tell us the Surface Go lineup is officially dead.

The path ahead for Xbox

On this episode of the Windows Central Podcast, Zac and senior Xbox editor Jez Corden sit down to discuss the current state of Xbox, and where the business is headed. It has been a wild month since Asha Sharma took the reins as Xbox CEO. While the team has been working to re-capitalize the brand and bring back some big-name exclusives, the narrative over the last week has taken a sharp negative turn. Between heavy rumors of Microsoft looking to sell off or close down certain first-party studios, console price hikes hitting shelves, and a massive rethink of what the next-gen hardware looks like, we wanted to figure out what's actually going on with Xbox as a business. In this episode, we break down the brutal economic realities hitting the industry. From the "RAM apocalypse" destroying console profitability to how free-to-play giants like Fortnite and Roblox have completely upended the old hardware subsidy model. We also look ahead at the next-generation "Helix" console, discussing whether Microsoft can actually deliver on its open Windows/Steam ecosystem vision if the hardware costs a grand, and what Sony's shift away from physical media means for the future of discs.

A massive week for Windows and Xbox