The Windows, Office, and Azure company’s big annual developer conference is upon us again, this time again in an all-online format. And once again, it’s likely to be focused on developer tools, cloud services, and training, rather than on splashy product releases.
That said, there are murmurings that the first major update to Windows 11, codenamed Sun Valley 2, might appear in time for Microsoft Build 2022.
How to Watch Microsoft Build
Anyone can sign up for the conference and watch everything on the web at the Microsoft Build subsite for free. Create a profile to tailor the conference to your needs and build a personalized session schedule as well as a “backpack” with your contacts and session recording for later reference after the show.
The conference kicks off at 11:15 a.m. on May 24 with the first keynote presentation from CEO Satya Nadella. It will last just 45 minutes—refreshing when compared to some tech conference keynotes that regularly top two hours of late.
Microsoft Build Sessions
Many sessions will be on-demand as well as live, and the conference will also feature Imagine Cup World student coding contest awards, Breakout Sessions, a Connection Zone for interacting with presenters and attendees, and a Microsoft Build After Hours. You can also book 45-minute one-on-one sessions with Microsoft professionals for personalized help and info.
The conference will feature regional content for France, Germany, Japan, Latin America, and the UK, as well as global content. You’ll find sessions in several languages on the conference site, and AI-powered captioning will be available in 28 languages.
According to the schedule, the keynote will highlight “innovations that are shaping the flexible, innovative, and secure business environments of the future.” As in recent years, topics emphasized will include AI and the cloud (including hybrid and multi-cloud). It will also include sessions on building Android apps for Windows 11, a new capability in that OS. Edge computing and working with the Microsoft Graph are topics that reappear this year.
The absence of one technology in particular stands out: HoloLens, Microsoft's AR headset, is nowhere to be found in the session catalog. It's also extremely light on game development, thought the company has another show for that.
Other sessions at this year’s conference focus on inclusion, equity, low-code development, tech for good, and preparing for the metaverse.
Azure Arc, a technology for managing hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure, apps and services, figures heavily in several sessions, as does Azure in general. Sessions on programming techniques for leveraging Microsoft Teams, which boasts over 270 million users, are well-represented as well. Of particular interest are sessions on building conversational AI bots for the platform.
There are plenty of offerings for those just getting started, too, including sessions about which programming language you should learn and one about creating an effective online resume for getting a tech job. At the other end, one session shows developers over 40 how to manage their careers.
Windows 11 22H2 Could Be Released
This may even happen before the conference, as has happened around past Builds. So, what’s in the first feature update of Windows 11 Sun Valley 2, aka version 22H2? Mostly things that can be described as improvements and tweaks. In some cases that means returning functionality that existed in Windows 10 but was lost in Windows 11. In that category is the return of the ability to drag and drop files onto taskbar icons to open them in the app. Another is folders inside the Start menu (though these will work more like app folders on mobile OSes, in which you drag one app on top of another).
More settings migrate from the old Control Panel to the new Settings app. Some additional touch gestures arrive, and Task Manager gets some modernization and an Efficiency mode to use for resource-hungry apps. Accessibility additions include a systemwide Live Captions feature, Voice Access, and natural neural voices for narrator to replace the artificial-sounding computer voice. Finally, 22H2 will let you set Windows Spotlight—formerly only available on the lock screen—on the desktop.
Virtual Trade Show
Just as physical technology conferences usually feature a mini-trade show of related companies, Build will have a Featured Partners showcase section in which the companies’ experts can field attendees’ questions and make business connections. Partners include many of the names you’d expect—Adobe, IBM, Intel, Nvidia, Qualcomm—as well as newer players.
For the latest news and coverage of technologies revealed at Build, stay tuned to PCMag’s Microsoft Build page.