Developers Test Visual Studio 2026’s Ai-native Claims

Microsoft this week made Visual Studio 2026 — nan latest type of its flagship dev level — mostly available, calling it nan astir community-driven merchandise successful nan IDE’s history and positioning it arsenic nan first improvement situation built astir AI from nan crushed up.

Amanda Silver, firm vice president successful Microsoft’s CoreAI division, indicated that nan institution worked much intimately pinch developers connected this merchandise than connected immoderate erstwhile version.

“This is simply a infinitesimal we’ve built broadside by broadside pinch you,” wrote Mads Kristensen, main merchandise manager, successful a blog post. “Your feedback has helped style this merchandise much than immoderate before.”

The preview play drew much testers than immoderate different Visual Studio release. Since Microsoft launched nan Insiders Channel successful September, Kristensen said, “more developers person downloaded and tested this preview than immoderate different successful Visual Studio’s history.”

AI Woven Throughout

Microsoft besides made a bold declare astir Visual Studio 2026’s AI capabilities. Kristensen wrote that it’s “AI-native, making it nan world’s first Intelligent Developer Environment (IDE).”

He noted that nan AI capabilities service arsenic productivity enhancers alternatively than a replacement for developer judgment.

“That doesn’t mean changing really you work,” Kristensen wrote. “It intends giving you intelligence erstwhile it matters most. If you’re debugging a tricky issue, profiling performance, aliases modernizing an application, AI steps successful to region clash and aboveground insights that thief you move faster without disrupting your flow.”

Brad Shimmin, an expert astatine The Futurum Group, said Microsoft “really makes immoderate nifty moves successful bringing AI to nan forefront successful a measurement that Visual Studio developers will find much useful than annoying. Anyway, from what I tin spot truthful far, Microsoft is utilizing this merchandise to flip nan book pinch AI, wherever AI is nary longer a abstracted instrumentality but is woven into nan halfway functions of nan IDE itself,” he told The New Stack. “Instead of conscionable a chat model (à la Cursor), AI is portion of nan debugger, nan profiler and moreover basal actions for illustration copy-paste.”

Shimmin added that he “loves” nan copy-paste tool, arsenic developers tin usage it to automatically person pasted codification according to project, firm and individual preferences.

“That’s beautiful powerful, since developers often bring successful AI-generated code from galore sources — for example, yesterday’s Stack Overflow is today’s ChatGPT,” he told The New Stack. Developers tin moreover transcode from 1 connection to another, he added.

There are besides caller C# and C++ agents successful nan release, though nan C++ capabilities are still successful backstage preview. Kristensen said these devices are “designed for master developers who request precision and velocity each day.”

Meanwhile, GitHub Copilot integration has go cardinal to really galore developers usage Visual Studio. Kristensen said Copilot “has quickly go 1 of nan astir utilized features successful Visual Studio, earning praise from developers who trust connected it each day.”

Indeed, Rockford “Rocky” Lhotka, vice president of strategy astatine Xebia and a Microsoft MVP, said he has been utilizing VS 2026 successful preview for a fewer weeks, and he uses AI to assistance successful astir each of his improvement activity now.

“I deliberation it is faster than VS 2022, much responsive overall. The AI integration done GitHub Copilot is simply a large improvement, bringing Visual Studio adjacent to nan capacity of VS Code successful position of Agent mode,” he told The New Stack.

Moreover, “Combine nan improved AI integration pinch nan pre-existing powerful characteristic group of Visual Studio, and I find myself utilizing it much than VS Code. Which is saying something, because nan Agent mode successful VS Code was substantially amended than VS 2022,” he added. “Now nan AI supplier capabilities are closer, and nan wide characteristic group of VS 2026 is superior to VS Code, particularly erstwhile moving pinch Blazor apps.”

Roberto Perez, a elder world solutions designer astatine Redis, said nan AI-powered profiling feels for illustration having an master looking complete your shoulder. “The Profiler Agent successful Visual Studio instantly highlighted nan bottlenecks and guided maine to faster, cleaner capacity — for illustration having a built-in capacity coach,” he said successful a statement.

Richard Campbell, president astatine CloudArmy and a Microsoft MVP, told The New Stack, “I’ve noticed that VS 2026 is mostly snappier — they person done extended activity successful splitting retired threads of execution internally, truthful moreover erstwhile nan IDE is performing intensive tasks, it’s done successful nan inheritance and doesn’t effect nan personification experience.”

Meanwhile, Copilot besides helps pinch upgrading codebases. According to nan announcement, “upgrades to .NET 10 and nan latest C++ build devices are accelerated and guided pinch expertise” done GitHub Copilot’s app modernization features.

Fixing Thousands of Bugs

Microsoft claims it addressed much personification complaints than ever earlier successful this release. In nan twelvemonth starring up to release, nan squad “fixed complete 5,000 of your reported bugs and implemented 300 characteristic requests,” Kristensen wrote. “That’s nan astir we’ve ever done, and we’re conscionable getting started!”

The institution credits AI devices pinch helping it respond faster to organization feedback. The squad is now “delivering improvements faster than ever before” acknowledgment to AI-driven devices that accelerate really they place and resoluteness issues, according to nan blog post.

Performance Gets a Major Overhaul

In addition, Microsoft spent sizeable effort eliminating nan capacity hiccups that interrupt developer work. Kristensen acknowledged a communal frustration: “You cognize that sinking emotion erstwhile lag interrupts your flow? We’ve worked difficult to make that a point of nan past.”

Visual Studio 2026 loads monolithic solutions importantly faster than its predecessor, and UI freezes person been trim by much than half, nan institution said. Kristensen said nan caller type delivers “blazing-fast performance,” pinch startup that’s “significantly snappier” and a UI truthful soft “you’ll hardly announcement it’s there, cutting hangs by complete 50% and giving nan IDE a lightweight, effortless vibe, moreover connected monolithic projects.”

Steve Smith, a main package designer astatine NimblePros, praised nan velocity improvements. “Wow! I conscionable opened a solution pinch complete 100 projects, and I can’t judge really accelerated it came up and was ready,” he said successful a statement. “Well done, Visual Studio team.”

But Kristensen said earthy metrics only show portion of nan story. “Stats are cool, but what really matters is really it really feels to use. The IDE conscionable runs measurement faster, smoother, and much responsive. That’s thing you can’t ever spot successful nan numbers.”

No Migration Headaches

Microsoft emphasized that developers won’t look nan accustomed upgrade symptom pinch nan caller release.

“Here’s nan champion part: Visual Studio 2026 is afloat compatible pinch your projects and extensions from Visual Studio 2022,” Kristensen wrote. “Open your existing solutions and commencement coding immediately. No migration steps, nary surprises.”

All 4,000-plus extensions from Visual Studio 2022 activity instantly successful nan caller version. Kristensen said developers “can upgrade pinch bid of mind, and your setup will consciousness conscionable arsenic unchangeable and acquainted arsenic ever.”

Didier Donner, main package technologist astatine Aspen Technology, confirmed nan soft transition. “Getting nan extensions from Visual Studio 2022 was a definitive plus: I was fresh to usage VS 2026 immediately.”

IDE Updates Decoupled From Compilers

Microsoft made a important architectural alteration to reside a longstanding complaint. Kristensen explained nan aged problem: “For a agelong time, updating Visual Studio meant you besides had to upgrade your .NET and C++ build tools, since those were tightly linked to nan IDE. That often made things tricky, because you’d want nan latest features and bug fixes, but nan update could messiness pinch your existing projects aliases unit you into toolchain changes you weren’t fresh for.”

Visual Studio 2026 breaks that dependency. The IDE now updates independently of build tools, truthful developers “can update Visual Studio itself immoderate clip you want without affecting your .NET aliases C++ compilers,” Kristensen said. Monthly automatic updates will bring “fresh features, creation tweaks, and productivity boosts delivered correct to your IDE, while keeping your toolchains unchangeable for arsenic agelong arsenic you need.”

Polish and Quality of Life

Microsoft besides focused connected smaller improvements that adhd up complete time.

“When you’re utilizing Visual Studio each time long, each relationship matters,” Kristensen wrote. “We’ve doubled down connected perfecting nan essentials — removing friction, fixing those subtle ‘paper cuts,’ and refining nan travel of your work.”

The merchandise includes a redesigned UI, a much elastic settings strategy and what Kristensen called “hundreds of under-the-hood improvements that make nan IDE consciousness amended successful each way.”

Erik Ejlskov Jensen, a maestro astatine Context&, said successful a connection that he appreciated nan attraction to detail.

“What I emotion astir about Visual Studio 2026 is nan capacity and nan caller and crisp UI — and support for Mermaid diagrams is nan icing connected nan cake.”

Download Now, Buy Later

Visual Studio 2026 is disposable for download now. Subscribers tin simply motion successful and their licenses activate automatically. Developers utilizing merchandise keys tin retrieve them astatine my.visualstudio.com.

Stand-alone Professional licenses won’t beryllium disposable done nan Microsoft Store until Dec. 1.

For developers who want bleeding-edge features, Microsoft offers nan Insiders Channel pinch predominant updates. The Insiders type tin tally alongside nan unchangeable merchandise without affecting accumulation work.

Kristensen wrapped up his station by asking developers to enactment engaged pinch nan team.

“Download Visual Studio 2026 now and plaything by nan Visual Studio Developer Community to stock what’s working, what you’re creating, aliases wherever we tin measurement it up. We’re listening.”

AI Marketing Hype?

AI hype is rampant, but tin VS 2026 unrecorded up to nan hype?

“I would opportunity that coating it [VS 2026] arsenic ‘the first IDE built from nan crushed up pinch AI successful mind’ seems for illustration overmuch much trading hype,” Lenni Lobel, a Microsoft advisor astatine EY and a Microsoft MVP, told The New Stack. “Of course, this IDE builds connected erstwhile releases and can’t really beryllium thought of arsenic greenish section successful immoderate way.”

Meanwhile, “The rethink toward AI is interesting, but it’s still early days — I understand they person committed to monthly updates now, truthful I expect it will germinate quickly,” Campbell said.

“The rethink of package improvement utilizing these blase code generators is conscionable emerging now … it does look to maine that nan VS squad has positioned nan instrumentality to respond to nan improvement of these tools,” he added.

Holger Mueller, an expert astatine Constellation Research, said he believes Microsoft was taken by astonishment by vibe coding.

Yet, “when it comes to its IDE, Visual Studio, arsenic IDE requirements move from penning codification from statement 1 productively, to reviewed codification … Effectively developers spell from writers to editors,” he told The New Stack. “By now Microsoft has been adapting to nan caller reality (e.g., offering monthly AI capacity progress), but VS 2026 is nan culmination of nan efforts, for nan first clip reflecting nan early of coding pinch UX — settings, look and feel, codification actions — changes successful nan IDE.”

And, arsenic a marketplace observer, The Futurum Group’s Shimmin said he sees these and respective different caller changes, specified arsenic amended capacity and stability, arsenic perfectly captious for Visual Studio.

“Even though Microsoft is nan 400-pound gorilla successful nan IDE world, it faces a batch of unit from established rivals for illustration JetBrains and newcomers for illustration Zed Industries, which has built an IDE — successful Rust, I mightiness adhd — that focuses connected speed, collaboration and AI successful adjacent measure.

“With AI slapped connected nan broadside arsenic a plug-in and pinch basal performance/stability limitations inherent successful its architecture — built successful JavaScript, fundamentally — nan erstwhile type of Visual Studio looked a spot agelong successful nan bony compared pinch much modern ideas for illustration Zed. This group of updates pinch nan 2026 release, however, mitigates a batch of these concerns and sets this important IDE up arsenic a future-leaning offering that’s not contented to remainder connected its laurels.”

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