It's an extremely welcome addition, which had been left up to laptop makers to step in and provide (or not) in recent years. Unfortunately, for now it's part of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3000 (KB5050103), via the Dev Channel — which means that Microsoft may rescind it, and it probably won't arrive on "stable" mainstream PCs for several months.
The new iconography is pretty self-explanatory: Green signals a laptop with plenty of battery life left. A red icon means that you better plug in soon. Yellow means that you're running low on power, and that (in this build) your laptop is running in its low-power, battery-saver mode.
(Microsoft seems to have been a bit confused in its example, however, since the "yellow" icon here is associated with a laptop battery at 80 percent. Microsoft said that the yellow icon will generally trigger only at 20 percent or below.)
Microsoft is making available "classic" versions of its Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family plans, that remove the Copilot surcharge. But, as Microsoft said when it announced the changes, these new Classic plans are available for a limited time. This article will show you how to switch back.
Right now, here's what you'll see when you sign up for Microsoft 365, with the option to pay $12.99/mo and $9.99/mo, too. Those reflect the higher rates with the Copilot surcharge included.
That's why it's imperative that you use a VPN while doing any torrenting or P2P file sharing. A VPN can keep your connection private and encrypt your data so that unwanted prying eyes — cybercriminals, overbearing ISPs, or nosy government watchdogs — can't monitor your online activity. (See "Can a VPN really hide all of your torrent activity?" to learn more.)
Why you should trust me: Here at PCWorld we've been testing computer hardware, software, and services since the 1980s. As PCWorld's primary VPN reviewer, I'm continually testing all of the major VPNs on the market and many lesser-known services in order to curate a list of the very best VPNs across a variety of categories. Below you'll find my favorite VPNs and additional information about what to look for when choosing a VPN on your own.
If you're interested in using a VPN for something other than just torrenting you can check out my list of best VPN services for even more great options.
