Surprise, Microsoft’s new “native” Copilot app for Windows 11 is still just a website

Surprise, Microsoft's new "native" Copilot app for Windows 11 is still just a website

  • Microsoft has announced a new Copilot app for Windows that it’s calling “native” to Windows.
  • However, the new native app still just displays the Copilot website.
  • It does have a new quick view mode, which just displays the Copilot website in a smaller window frame than normal.

As a long-time Microsoft enthusiast who’s been through multiple OS iterations, I must admit, I find myself a bit puzzled by this new Copilot app for Windows 11. The term “native” has always meant something special to me – seamless integration, smooth performance, and an experience tailored specifically for the operating system. However, in this case, it seems that Microsoft’s interpretation of “native” is a bit loose.

Microsoft is currently testing an upgrade for the Copilot app on Windows 11 that will change it from a web-based app powered by Edge into a “homegrown” Windows 11 application, as stated by Microsoft. However, it’s important to note that none of the Copilot experience itself is specifically designed for Windows. Instead, the app displays the Copilot website, much like the previous Copilot web app did.

Here’s how Microsoft describes the new Copilot:

In this latest version, the old Copilot Progressive Web App (PWA) gets swapped for a native one. Once you’ve updated the Copilot app, launching it will make it show up on your system tray.

The newly introduced native Copilot continues to open copilot.microsoft.com, but it’s no longer reliant on Microsoft Edge’s Progressive Web App (PWA) system for operation. Instead, it employs WebView2, the rendering engine behind Edge, to show the Copilot user interface.

Surprise, Microsoft's new "native" Copilot app for Windows 11 is still just a website

It seems unusual for Microsoft to label the new Copilot app as exclusively built for Windows, given that most of its functionalities aren’t actually native to the platform. The only elements within the new Copilot app that are truly native to Windows are the miscellaneous menu in the title bar and an ‘About’ screen, which simply displays a link to a text file listing third-party notices, offering no substantial Windows-specific features.

The latest Copilot app for Windows comes with an exciting update – a “quick view” user interface, accessible by pressing Alt+Spacebar keys. Essentially, this quick view is similar to the Copilot website but within a smaller window. Additionally, it places a Copilot icon in the System Tray.

Indeed, the Copilot app is currently in a preview stage, allowing Microsoft to refine the user interface and make it more seamlessly integrated with the Windows environment (a bit of a joke there). Although the company might have grander plans for this native Copilot app on Windows, during this initial preview, not many new features are showcased.

The new Copilot app is rolling out now in preview for Insiders in all channels.

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2024-12-11 01:09