Microsoft Releases February 2025 Patch Tuesday Updates for Windows 11

Microsoft has released today the February 2025 Patch Tuesday updates for all supported versions of Windows 11 and Windows 10. The versions 24H2 and 23H2 of Windows 11 are getting a similar set of new features, including improved previews for apps on the taskbar, a new Windows Studio Effects icon in the system tray area, and more.

Windows 11 version 24H2 is getting the KB5051987 patch today, while the version 23H2 of the OS is getting the KB5051989 update. Here are the main new features included in these February 2025 Patch Tuesday updates:

Previews for apps on the taskbar: Microsoft has improved the previews and animations that show when your cursor hovers over apps on the taskbar.

Windows Studio Effects: On PCs with a neural processing unit, a new icon will now appear in the system tray when you use an app that supports Windows Studio Effects. Selecting the icon will open the Studio Effects page in Quick Settings, and hovering over the icon will show the app currently using the camera.

File Explorer improvements: When you right-click items in the left pane, the “New Folder” command appears on the context menu.

Mouse performance improvements: This update fixes various issues causing the mouse cursor to disappear, stutter, or become transparent.

Time zone settings: You can now change time zones in Settings > Time & Language > Date & Time without admin rights.

OneDrive continuity feature (23H2 only): Windows 11 will now ask you if you want to resume work on OneDrive files that you recently opened on your phone. To see these cross-device resume notifications, you must sign in to OneDrive and your PC using the same Microsoft account, and work and school accounts are currently not supported.

Windows Share (23H2 only): You can now share directly to apps that support sharing in Windows. Just right-click local files in File Explorer or on the desktop.

Magnifier app: This update adds a new CTRL+ALT+Minus sign keyboard shortcut to quickly switch between the current zoom and 1X zoom, as well as new buttons to reset zoom.

For Windows 10 users, today’s KB5051974 patch for the version 22H2 of the OS will automatically install the new Outlook for Windows client. The app replaces the Windows Mail and Calendar apps that Microsoft deprecated at the end of last year. A new app icon for this new Outlook client will be available in the Apps section on the Start menu, and it will appear near the classic Outlook app if it’s already installed.