- 4d ago
Microsoft adds European access oversight and offline AI to its sovereign cloud
A European partner will oversee Microsoft engineers' remote logins to customer systems in the EU and EFTA, and customers can hold their own master keys. The changes were announced on 20 October at the Paris stop of the Frontier Tour.
- Oct 12
Microsoft's Brad Smith says milk and washing machines face tougher rules than AI
Microsoft president Brad Smith said in a BBC interview published on Monday, 12 October, that AI is less regulated than food and household appliances. He called for emergency brakes, incident reporting and independent evaluators, and said the UK is best placed to lead.
- Oct 7
Microsoft and Nvidia unveil Surface Laptop Ultra with RTX Spark chip and $2,599 starting price
Announced in San Francisco, the device runs AI models locally with up to 128 GB of unified memory, with United States deliveries scheduled to begin on 16 October.
- Oct 1
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma rules out unit sale following 3,200 planned job cuts and studio shifts
Asha Sharma confirmed to The New York Times that Microsoft will retain Xbox, moving franchises like Halo to Activision while continuing a 3,200-person layoff plan.
- Sep 25
Microsoft revamps Copilot with Code tool, autonomous Autopilot agent and direct Office integration
Microsoft unveiled a restructured Copilot application on Friday, introducing natural-language software creation tools, persistent autonomous agents, and direct document editing across Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
- Sep 23
Microsoft refreshes Surface Pro and Laptop with Snapdragon X2 Plus chips from $1,149.99
Microsoft unveiled second-generation 12-inch Surface Pro tablets and 13-inch Surface Laptops with Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Plus processors, raising base memory to 16GB and starting prices to $1,149.99 ahead of an October 13 release.
- Sep 22
Xbox cuts 268 jobs and shifts Halo franchise development to Activision
Microsoft eliminated 268 roles across Xbox, transferred the Halo series to Activision, and consolidated multiple internal game studios as part of an ongoing restructuring.
- Aug 31
Microsoft tests Exchange Online fix after authentication fault halts Outlook email
An authentication component error inside Microsoft Exchange Online disabled email delivery, logins, and calendar tools for millions of users on 31 August 2026 before technicians began deploying server updates.
- Jul 23
Xbox Insiders can now stream owned games free with ads as Amazon puts Luna inside Prime Video
Microsoft's Xbox Insiders can stream owned titles like Forza Horizon 6 free for one-hour sessions after watching ads, while Amazon puts Luna inside Prime Video to reach casual players.
- Jul 6
Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs and overhauls Xbox, divesting four studios
The layoffs, representing 2.1% of the workforce, hit commercial sales and gaming hardest as Xbox CEO Asha Sharma calls the business 'not healthy' and divests four studios.
- Jun 25
Microsoft extends Windows 10 security patches to 2027, quietly adding another year of free support
Microsoft quietly moved the end date of its free Extended Security Updates for Windows 10 to 12 October 2027, buying time for users held back by Windows 11 compatibility requirements and rising hardware prices.
- Jun 16
Microsoft's new Surface Pro and Laptop arrive with Snapdragon X2 chips and $600 price hike
Microsoft's 8th-gen Surface Laptop and 12th-gen Surface Pro launch with Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 processors and haptic enhancements, but base prices climb to $1,499 and $1,599.
- Jun 11
Xbox CEO warns of 'reset' as Microsoft prepares significant layoffs for July
New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma told staff the division's 3% margin 'cannot continue' after spending $20 billion over five years while revenue fell by nearly half a billion dollars.
