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Microsoft Build 2026 Recap: Didn't Catch the Live Stream? Here's Everything You Missed

We attended Microsoft's annual Build Conference this week to see the biggest announcements and demos firsthand, including a streamlined Windows experience, an RTX Spark-powered Surface Laptop Ultra, and personalized OpenClaw agents.

 & Ben Moore Managing Editor, Software

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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SAN FRANCISCO—This year, Microsoft's Build conference was a whirlwind of AI agents, customized Windows environments, and cutting-edge hardware. Between its lengthy keynote, hundreds of developer sessions, and floor demos, the company revealed its future vision for the world's most popular operating system. We already have follow-up analysis about Microsoft's agentic obsession and renewed developer focus, but if you want a blow-by-blow recap of everything that happened on the main stage and behind the scenes, check out our timeline of posts below. We'll have even more follow-up content in the coming days, which you can find on our Build landing page.

About Our Expert

Ben Moore

Ben Moore

Managing Editor, Software

My Experience

I’ve been writing and editing technology articles for more than seven years, most recently as part of PCMag's software team. I am responsible for content in the AI, financial, graphic design, operating system, photo and video editing, productivity, and small business categories, among others. I also worked for several years on the consumer electronics team, where I edited articles on topics such as cameras, headphones, phones, speakers, and tablets. Before PCMag, I was at Neowin.net, Tom’s Guide, and Laptop Mag.

The Technology I Use

I use a Lenovo ThinkPad P14s for work and a 2021 Razer Blade 14 for everything else. I also keep a Lenovo Yoga Tab tablet and a HiBy M300 digital audio player. My current phone is a Google Pixel 9a.

As for software, I use Firefox everywhere, as well as Bitwarden and Mullvad VPN. I rely on Adobe Lightroom to edit photos and Google Keep or Microsoft Excel to manage the rest of my life. To organize my music library, I use MusicBee on Windows and Musicolet on Android.

I’m currently split between wired and wireless headphones. I use a Fiio K3 amp/DAC for the Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X headphones and the Moondrop Kato earphones. For wireless audio, I switch between the Shure Aonic 50 (Gen 2) headphones and the Technics EAH-AZ40M2 earphones.

My current camera is a Nikon Z6III.

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