You’ve gotta be kidding me was honestly my first reaction when I downloaded an update for Copilot from the Store, expecting something interesting, and it “upgraded” the app to a full-blown WebView-based app yet again. Yet again, yes, and at this point, I’ve lost count of how many times Microsoft has tried to redefine Copilot on Windows.

On Windows, a native app usually means the main interface and app logic are built directly on Windows frameworks like Win32, WinUI, WPF, or UWP, rather than being mostly a website wrapped in WebView2, Electron, or a PWA shell.

If the app mainly depends on Microsoft Edge / Chromium to render the experience, most people would not call it fully native in 2026.

Copilot was built on WinUI, but it’s now dropping the native UI framework for WebView.

New Copilot for Windows 11 appears to be a hybrid app, not fully native.

I installed the new Copilot update (version 146.0.3856.63) rolling out in the Insider Program, tested it, and found that it’s indeed a web crap.

If you look at the screenshot below, Task Manager proves my thesis.

This new Copilot has several sub-processes running in the background, including Renderer, GPU Process, Utility: Network Service, Crashpad, and PWA Identity Proxy Host.

Those are part of Microsoft Edge, and you’d come across this kind of structure if you expand WhatsApp in Task Manager or any web app.

In fact, if you have access to the new Copilot and open its settings, you’ll notice that the version number literally matches Microsoft Edge. For example, my Copilot app is running “Microsoft Copilot version 146.0.3856.63 (Official build) beta (64-bit).” Likewise, my Edge browser is running version 146.0.3856.59.

Windows Latest understands that the new Copilot isn’t exactly the old-school web crap, as it appears to be a web app running inside a desktop shell through Edge/WebView-style components.

That means the web experience is wrapped around a Windows app shell, and you’re also going to spot “Utility: On-Device Model …” in Task Manager.

Copilot is able to hook into some Windows AI features or on-device AI, and the shell is indeed native, but it’s still loading copilot.microsoft.com inside.

New Copilot is as fast as the native version. In fact, it opens faster than the native Copilot app, which tells us a lot about WinUI’s current state. It also appears that Microsoft has really worked on the web-based version of Copilot for better performance, so this isn’t exactly a horrible experience for users who prefer Copilot.

Although the new Copilot is faster, it’s still a web app, and Windows does not need more web apps. From WhatsApp to Discord, all popular Windows apps are web-based, and it’s not helping with a poor Windows experience. The creator of JavaScript has also warned against rushed Web UX over native code.

Copilot is ditching the native framework (WinUI) in favour of web-based tech again, as Microsoft just can’t decide

Copilot on Windows has had a tough past. Well, not emotionally, as AI has not reached consciousness yet, but it’s more to do with how Copilot is integrated into Windows 11 or even Windows 10.

Microsoft announced Copilot as a sidebar on Windows on May 23, 2023, which can also be launched from the taskbar or Win + C. We later found that Copilot’s sidebar experience wasn’t exactly native, as it was just Bing Chat delivered through Edge/WebView2, not a truly native Windows UI.

In March 2024, Microsoft began rolling out an updated Copilot that could switch between the old docked mode and a movable, resizable normal app window.

Microsoft finally killed the classic sidebar-style Copilot and turned it into a full-blown PWA-style app.

Later in the same year, Microsoft claimed it began rolling out a “native” version of Copilot, which was not exactly native, as it loaded copilot.microsoft.com in a shell (frame) that was native, and used more RAM than ever. Outrage from users pushed Microsoft to do better, and a native app finally shipped.

Microsoft decided to build a native Copilot app in 2025

In 2025, several months after Mustafa Suleyman took over from Mikhail Parakhin, who was responsible for Copilot and Windows, Microsoft finally began using Windows 11’s native app UI framework (WinUI) for Copilot.

In fact, Windows Latest tests found that it is the first native Copilot app that no longer loads web components.

This new, truly native Copilot app began shipping to everyone in March 2025. It’s true that Microsoft later began loading some parts of Copilot, such as the ‘Pages’ or canvas, in a web shell, but the rest of Copilot remained native, so nobody really complained.

It seemed like a happy ending, but that changes today, at least for those in the Windows Insider Program.

Copilot is back to being a web crap, and this change should begin rolling out to non-Insiders in the coming weeks. There’s no going back, unfortunately.

The post Microsoft appears to be dumping native Copilot for Windows 11 in favour of web wrapper yet again appeared first on Windows Latest

Someone is appearing on Jeopardy this week... Apple announces the AirPods Max 2. The MacBook Neo is its most repairable MacBook in 14 years. And are new colors coming to the next-gen iMacs later this year?

• I'll take 'beach reading' for $1000, Ken.
• Apple introduces AirPods Max 2.
• 2026 Apple Studio Display review: The smallest of upgrades.
• MacBook Neo is the most repairable MacBook in 14 years.
• Apple paying a premium to move iPhone production outside China as it hits milestone.
• Should keycaps use text or glyphs for delete, return, tab, caps lock, and shift?
• macOS Tahoe 26.4 beta 4, iOS 26.4 beta 4, and iPadOS 26.4 beta 4 distributions highlight nine upcoming emoji characters.
• Rumor: Apple to debut "new colors" for next-gen iMacs this year.
• Apple's Liquid Glass interface isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
• Gone (Almost) Phishin'.
• Mac on-screen camera indicator light.
• How to survive the loss of Rosetta.
• First footage shows X-Plane 12 on Vision Pro, including an ARKit trick in action.
• F1: The Stream - how the launch leveraged Apple's entire ecosystem.
• 'F1: the Movie' is now an Oscar-winning hit.
• Severance season 3 gets timing update, new characters teased.

Picks of the Week

• Leo's Pick: Lil Finder 5K Wallpapers
• Christina's Pick: 3D Print Lil' Finder Guy
• Andy's Pick: Stickies for Mac\
• Jason's Pick: Delcom USB HID Handheld Programmable Button Switch

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Andy Ihnatko, Jason Snell, and Christina Warren

Download or subscribe to MacBreak Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/macbreak-weekly.

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Sponsors:

• zocdoc.com/macbreak
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How does artificial intelligence become more sustainable? Richard chats with Darshna Shah about her experiences as Chief AI Officer at Elastic. Darshna discusses the resources required to run large language model experiments, the pressure this has put on the electrical grid, and more. The conversation turns to efficiency - and the idea that there is little incentive in the current land grab around LLMs to be more efficient - that the focus is on growing quickly. But as technologies mature, efficiency becomes a key competitive advantage!

Links

• R
• DeepEval
• Azure AI Evaluation SDK
• GitHub Green Software Foundation

Recorded January 29, 2026

Summary

In this episode, Andy talks with Brett Harned, founder of the Digital PM Community and the Digital PM Summit, and author of Project Management for Humans: Helping People Get Things Done. Brett has spent years coaching project leaders and helping organizations rethink what project management really is. His core conviction: the human side of the work is not a nice-to-have. It is the work.

In this conversation, you'll hear how Brett fell into project management and what early experiences shaped his perspective on people and projects. You'll learn the patterns he sees repeated across teams and industries, practical habits for when projects feel messy or start to drift, and why he believes project management is a leadership role that most organizations still undervalue. Brett also shares his candid take on AI, what it can and cannot do for project leaders, and what advice he would give his younger self.

If you lead projects or teams, whether or not you have a PM title, this episode is for you!

Sound Bites

• "Often with PMs, it's finding or receiving or feeling the permission to lead like a human instead of like a machine or a robot."
• "Projects fail because conversations didn't happen or they happened way too late."
• "Project management is a leadership role and too often organizations don't see it as a leadership role the way that they should."
• "Project managers are quietly carrying emotional labor that no one really acknowledges."
• "You can't earn trust by being invisible."
• "The role has become less about task tracking and more about judgment, good communication and trust building."
• "If you call people on your team resources, they have every right to call you overhead."
• "Slowing conversations down before speeding up the work is like the biggest thing."
• "Drift isn't usually about effort. It's about misaligned understanding."
• "AI is not going to replace a really good leader."
• "AI is great at admin. It's terrible at the leadership stuff. It can't read the room, it can't navigate tension, it can't earn trust."
• "Say the thing now. Saying something early is almost always safer than saying it too late."
• "The job of a project manager isn't to absorb chaos. It's to make it a conversation."
• "Caring about people and building relationships is a skill, and it's a skill that's necessary for this career."

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:52 Start of Interview
• 01:57 How Brett Describes What He Does
• 03:29 When the People Side Became Clear
• 06:52 Patterns Across Teams and Organizations
• 10:32 How Expectations of the PM Role Have Changed
• 12:28 The Impact of Remote and Hybrid Work
• 15:26 Practices for When Projects Feel Messy
• 18:20 How to Name What Is Happening Out Loud
• 21:30 A Question for When Projects Start to Drift
• 23:43 How AI Will and Won't Change the PM Role
• 25:50 Practical Ways Brett Uses AI
• 30:21 Advice to Younger Brett
• 33:40 How PM Skills Show Up Outside of Work
• 35:58 The PM Squad and Same Team Partners
• 38:01 End of Interview
• 38:22 Andy Comments After the Interview
• 41:30 Outtakes

Learn More

You can learn more about Brett and his work at SameTeamPartners.com and BrettHarned.com.

For more learning on this topic, check out:

• Episode 336 with Clint Padgett. During the interview with Brett, Andy mentioned the weakness of using only percent complete or status colors. That's something Clint and Andy talked about in episode 336.
• Episode 99 with Mike Roberto. The topic of conflict came up several times in this discussion. In episode 99, Mike and Andy talk about managing the tension between conflict and consensus. It's a discussion worth hearing, especially if you grew up thinking conflict is mostly a negative.
• Episode 500 with Steve Brown, former Google DeepMind futurist. Andy and Steve talk about AI and the future of work, and it's a discussion highly recommended for anyone leading projects today.

Chat with PMeLa

You can chat directly with PMeLa—the podcast's AI persona—to get episode recommendations and answers to your project management and leadership questions. Visit PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/PMeLa to chat with her.

Pass the PMP Exam

If you or someone you know is thinking about getting PMP certified, we've put together a helpful guide called The 5 Best Resources to Help You Pass the PMP Exam on Your First Try. We've helped thousands of people earn their certification, and we'd love to help you too. It's totally free, and it's a great way to get a head start.

Just go to 5BestResources.PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com to grab your copy. I'd love to help you get your PMP this year!

Join Us for LEAD52

I know you want to be a more confident leader–that's why you listen to this podcast. LEAD52 is a global community of people like you who are committed to transforming their ability to lead and deliver. It's 52 weeks of leadership learning, delivered right to your inbox, taking less than 5 minutes a week. And it's all for free. Learn more and sign up at GetLEAD52.com. Thanks!

Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Power Skills

Topics: Project Management, Leadership, Team Dynamics, Communication, Emotional Labor, Human-Centered Leadership, Conflict Management, AI, Future of Work, Stakeholder Management, Psychological Safety, Remote Work, Project Recovery

The following music was used for this episode:

Music: Echo by Alexander Nakarada
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Synthiemania by Frank Schroeter
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Scott Hanselman sits down with Allen Stewart, Partner Director of Software Engineering at Microsoft, to explore how AI agents with persistent memory are transforming scientific research and software engineering. Allen explains how his team built an AI system that learns from every investigation turning a 12-day autonomous drug discovery run into reusable knowledge that makes future research exponentially faster. Instead of starting from scratch each time, the AI inherits hypotheses, methodologies, and findings from previous work, saving hundreds of millions of tokens and weeks of effort.