Visual Studio 2026, the latest version of Microsoft's signature IDE, is now generally available. Touted as an "AI-native intelligent development environment," the IDE also features faster startup and improved user experience. Announced November 11, the update can be downloaded from the Visual Studio homepage. Visual Studio 2026 uses AI intelligence for such things as complex debugging, performance profiling, and application modernization, Microsoft said. AI removes friction and surfaces insights, enabling developers to move faster without disrupting flow, the company said.
Microsoft has released its first preview of the Visual Studio 2026 IDE through the company's new Insiders channel, which replaces the old Preview channel for early access to upcoming features. The new IDE offers deeper integration of the GitHub Copilot AI coding assistant, including a profiler agent that analyzes performance and suggests fixes. Visual Studio 2026 Insiders, announced September 9, can be downloaded at visualstudio.microsoft.com/insiders/.
Microsoft has released a preview of Visual Studio 2026, the first major version update since 2021, promising deeper AI integration and a new look and feel. Visual Studio is the second most popular IDE after VS Code, so the first major update in five years sounds like a big deal for developers. Visual Studio 2022, also known as version 17.x, was first released in November 2021. The new version will be 18.x.
