So let me get this straight... Microsoft demanded all PC manufactures change their keyboards to add a new key that is only useful in Windows (at a considerable cost to manufacturers), and now that key doesn't do anything? No wait, I shouldn't be surprised.

My new work laptop came with one of those keys and I was like why? I pressed it and it did nothing, it has been disabled by my employer. Great a useless key.

I'd have never bought a computer with one of these keys anyway. They dictate enough about my device, the keyboard is where I'm drawing the hard line.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

It’s the first big change to Windows keyboards in 30 years, but all the key does now is launch a Progressive Web App (PWA) version of Copilot.

The web app doesn’t even integrate into Windows anymore like the previous Copilot experience did since last year, so you can’t use Copilot to control Windows 11 settings or have it docked as a sidebar anymore.

Microsoft hasn’t explained why it’s changed Copilot from a more integrated experience in Windows to just a web app that can no longer control Windows settings.

“We’re also evolving the Copilot experience on Windows as an app that will be pinned to the taskbar,” says the Windows Insider team in a recent blog post.

“This enables users to get the benefits of a traditional app experience, including the ability to resize, move, and snap the window – feedback we’ve heard from users throughout the preview of Copilot in Windows.”

Microsoft says it will be able to “more agilely develop and optimize” the Copilot experience as a result of these changes, so maybe we’ll see some future changes that make this regression in functionality make sense.

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