Explore must-have apps and more for your new device

It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. You finally have time alone and can slowly unpack your brand-new Windows 11 device. Whether it was a gift or an expression of self-love, it’s time to wake up and smell the newness. Once you crack open the box and the choir of angels stop singing their joyful cheer, you turn on your new device, make your mark by personalizing the settings, and crack those fingers to begin. But, before you do, we’re here to point you to those apps that will drive the optimal experience you deserve with your newest toy.

• All your entertainment needs
• Get your game on
• Let’s get social
• Let’s get creative
• Time to get productive

All your entertainment needs

There’s no reason to not always have entertainment right within your reach. Whether you’re looking for the latest, greatest, and/or cult classics in TV in film or looking to catch your favorite sports team or simply want to kick back and listen to some jams or your go-to podcasts, you will never be bored. Check out our entertainment apps collection and some of users’ most-trusted apps below.

Netflix

Beyond a seemingly endless catalog of TV series, documentaries, and movies, you can count on Netflix to always release the newest, hottest original content. Is everyone talking about the latest true-crime miniseries, or biopic about a Hollywood starlet? Are you awaiting the upcoming season of your most revered TV series? If you don’t want to be excluded from all the chatter, then this app will keep you in the know and highly entertained. Enjoy in 4K Ultra HD, download many of your favorites with one click, and watch on the go (even without Internet connectivity). The power is in your hands. The choice is yours.

Disney+

Disney+ is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Of course, there’s your Disney fare, but you can also cozy up to your favorite Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic shows and movies on your fancy, new device(s). Watch the latest episodes of “She-Hulk” or round up the family to watch “Pinocchio” in person or with the whole gang through GroupWatch. As an extra bonus, with certain Marvel Studio titles, watch with IMAX Enhanced and enjoy IMAX’s Expanded Aspect Ratio for the ultimate experience.

Spotify

What’s a shiny, new device without the sound of music? Spotify brings it all to you with an impressive catalog of tracks, albums, and radio, including ready-made and personalized playlists. Are you a podcast snob? Listen to thousands of podcasts to hear the opinions of your favorite podcasters or to listen in on the latest mystery. Plus, Spotify isn’t just your audio go to. Watch video podcasts in the app as well. You also have the choice to go ad free through its premium service. Listen (or watch) right now!

ESPN

Visit ESPN to get up-to-the-minute sports news coverage, scores, highlights and commentary for NFL, MLB, NBA, college football, NCAA basketball, and more.

Crunchyroll

Stream the best anime Japan has to offer with Crunchyroll. Watch the highly-anticipated “Chainsaw Man” or episodes of “The Rising of Shield Hero,” “Black Clover,” “Sword Art Online,” and “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” along with favorites like “Attack on Titan,” “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure,” “Hunter x Hunter,” and much more. Watch from your favorite Windows 10 or Windows 11 device, and even watch anime on-the-go on mobile. By watching licensed content through Crunchyroll, you’re officially supporting the anime industry and the content creators who work hard to bring you the best anime Japan has to offer.

Movies & TV

You want commercial-free TV. You want to watch the latest, biggest movies. And you want it now. Enter Movies & TV. Rent or buy from the Microsoft Store’s huge catalogue of content, then watch at home or on the go (i.e., download to your Windows PC and watch with or without an internet connection). And with the most recent blockbusters, catch them before they are on DVD or subscription services. As an extra bonus, you can catch one of Microsoft Store’s frequent sales, promotions, and bundles (often including Xbox games). Plus, you can gain points to redeem for gift cards, sweepstakes entries, and nonprofit donations.

Get your game on

Players are always welcome. From racing games to puzzle games, there’s truly something for everyone. Casual and hardcore players have an array of games to choose from, including strategy, world builders, casino, hidden object, or battle games. Check out PC Game Pass and some of our top-rated games below. Plus, take a look at some of our top-selling games.

PC Game Pass

Whether you play to pass the time, to clear your head and unwind, to challenge your friends, or to compete with others across the globe, PC Game Pass—a video game subscription service for your PC—is your answer. The service plan gives you access to your favorite games, plus the latest and greatest titles. You’ll also find a variety of indie or experimental games that you may have not previously considered. But, with PC Game Pass, you can now try and discover your latest passion in gaming. Check out some of our hottest titles now, then simply find the game(s) of your choice and download to your PC.

Forza Horizon 5 Standard Edition

With the multi-award winning Forza Horizon 5, you’ll be questioning if you’re playing for the cars or the landscape. Described as “vibrant and ever-evolving open world landscapes of Mexico,” players can explore as well as compete in races and play in campaign mode. The choice is yours. Be careful though. The sleek hyper-realistic 4K gameplay may make you want to put the pedal to the medal as soon as you step back out into the real world!

Big Farm: Mobile Harvest

Always wanted to try your hand at farming? Well, this popular farm simulation game offers you the instruments and community to build, build, build so you can grow, grow, grow! Starting with just raw seeds, tend to your farm, care for your animals, manage your newly built village, sale your wares, and celebrate your profit. Don’t just keep Big Farm: Mobile Harvest to yourself. Invite your friends and family and/or join the Big Farm community and collaborate with farmers across the globe. Harvest away!

Raid: Shadow Legends

Domination rules when you’ve got all the tools you need to build your own unique, untouchable squad of Champions mixed with Orcs, Undead Hordes, and Lizard Men. In Raid: Shadow Legends, this is your chance to apply your strategy skills to brawl in savage, mind-blowing arena battles. Within the realms of beautiful, yet treacherous scenery, your skills will be tested as you and worldwide players remove the casted Shadow and become the true heroes of Teleria.

Halo Infinite (Campaign)

Get right in the mix and feel like you’re there with Halo Infinite’s 4K graphics, significantly reduced load times for smooth gameplay, and the ability to develop an infinite amount of combat options. Gather your four-player crew, then mix and match your weaponry, vehicles, and battle gear to morph into the Spartan you were always meant to be. Become the impossible.

Roblox

In the mood for an epic adventure? Want to compete against rivals worldwide? Or do you just want to hang out and chat with your friends online? A growing library of experiences created by an online community means there’s always something new and exciting for you every day. Roblox is the ultimate virtual universe that lets you create, share experiences with friends, and be anything you can imagine. Join millions of people and discover an infinite variety of immersive experiences created by a global community.

Let’s get social

Just when you thought staying connected couldn’t get any easier, there’s always the latest and greatest app right around the corner, or major upgrades to your go-to social platforms. Below, you’ll find a few of our users’ favorite apps, but check out our most downloaded social apps in this collection here.

TikTok

TikTok has taken the world by storm. Warning: it can be addicting as you “rabbit hole” into discovering content catered to you. Are you a sucker for partaking in the latest dance craze, the newest cleaning hack, or watching llama videos? You name it, it’s all there. But, if you fancy yourself as a creator, then the app has all the tools you’ll need to become one of the greats. Through these simple tools to capture your outrageous (or carefully planned) moments, then apply special effects, filters, music, augmented reality (AR), and more. This app has you covered. Get inspired and inspire!

Instagram

Instagram allows you to connect with friends, share what you’re up to, or see what’s new from others all over the world. Explore our community where you can feel free to be yourself and share everything from your daily moments to life’s highlights. Post photos and videos to your feed, message your friends with Messenger, and watch videos from your favorite creators, discovering new content through Instagram video.

Discord

Find your community. Now. Like, right now. And hey, if they aren’t out there, create one! Discord brings your family and friends with shared interests together through text, voice, and video. Never miss a conversation with this app as the creators truly figured out how to amplify the community experience. Its low latency voice and video offers an in-the-same-room feel. Share your screen and make a game out of a drawing session. Love watching others play video games? Watch their streams live. Go public or keep it private through custom moderation tools. While you’re at it, make your mark with personalized emojis!

WhatsApp

Got a lot to say? Well WhatsApp, a 100% free messaging platform, is your go-to connector. It’s used by over two billion people in over 180 countries. It’s simple, reliable, and private, so you can easily keep in touch with your friends and family with messages that are end-to-end encrypted. No one outside of your chats, not even WhatsApp, can read or listen to them. The popular app works across mobile and desktop even on slow connections.

Let’s get creative

You have a lot of creativity flowing through your veins. Your Windows 11 device is the perfect tool to explore, enhance, and showcase your creative side. Check out our collection of our users’ favorite creative apps.

Adobe Express

Feel like you have a designer in your corner as you select or upload your own images, try different layouts, add text to photos, and apply effects and filters in a snap. Create beautiful graphics, web pages, and video stories – in minutes. Adobe Express enables you to quickly and easily create standout social graphics, flyers, logos, and more on the web and mobile. No design skills needed and it’s free to get started.

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite

If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at graphic design, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite has a comprehensive set of pro tools for novices and design afficionados alike. From vector illustrations to photo editing, the suite of graphic design applications has you covered. Need to build and layout your organization’s first edition magazine? You will have what you need to edit raw images down to the pixels. Access professionally designed templates, over 1,000 TrueType and OpenType fonts, and 7,000 digital images. Want to liven up your creations? Tap into over a thousand high-resolution photos. The beauty of this collection of tools is that you can scale up or down based on your skill level while creating amazing visual results.

Canva

Everything you love about Canva and more is now available in a beautiful Windows desktop app. Set yourself free from browser tab overload. With the Canva desktop app you now have a distraction free space to focus on your designs, keep all your work organized and collaborate effortlessly with your team. Try it today

Time to get productive

There’s always something that needs to get done. These apps were designed to help you do just that, but easily, seamlessly, and without a hitch. Need more inspiration to increase your personal and professional productivity? See our collection of our best apps.

Drawboard PDF

All morning, you’ve been waiting for that PDF to review, sign-off on, or to simply give your final blessing. But, without fail, you’ve got to make changes. Unfortunately, you’ve got a lot of updates to make. Why play phone tag and start yet another email thread when you can apply the magic of Drawboard PDF. For fast, collaborative markups to help streamline workflows, all while reducing the usage of paper, this app allows you to annotate and make your changes with ease.

Microsoft 365 Personal

Microsoft 365 Personal is par for the course when it comes to productivity software. Even better, with this version you will have access to your work on Microsoft Office apps (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and OneNote) on up to five devices and/or in the browser of your choice. Plus, you automatically receive 1TB of cloud storage so you can save and share files and photos across your device(s) on OneDrive. You’re always connected and can rest easy knowing you’re covered with advanced security protection.

ZOOM

Start or join a secure meeting with flawless video and audio, instant screen sharing, and cross-platform instant messaging, for free. It’s simple. Just install the free Zoom app, click on “New Meeting,” and invite up to 100 people to join you on video. Connect with anyone on a Windows device, Mac, mobile devices, Zoom Rooms, H.323/SIP room systems, and telephones.