October 5th has come and gone, but instead of a checkered flag falling, the Windows 11 race has only just begun. Redmond has a new operating system with a more complex security profile, several controversial decisions, revised features, and other elements making their debut in this edition. If you're looking to study the main Windows 11 improvements before installation, you've come to the right place.
New Windows, same vision
Need to spend hours in front of your browser? Microsoft Edge Chromium is one click away. Need to stay in touch with friends and colleagues? Microsoft Teams is the primary resource. Games, movies, specific applications? Xbox and the Store share responsibilities. Weather reports, sports, and news? MSN hasn't gone anywhere.
Make no mistake: Microsoft wants you in its ecosystem (a desire that started with Windows 8 and the “Windows as a service” strategy), and Windows 11 has been designed to advance that goal. But the question many users ask is whether the apparent Windows 11 improvements justify the decisions (some highly controversial) that Redmond made during design. Why don't we take a closer look and find out?
The Start menu
Opinions are divided. Many users see the new Start menu as an upgrade over Windows 10, while others consider it a hard regression in customization. In Microsoft's eyes, the new Start menu is an improvement, and while it's not as terrible as a default option, it definitely could use some additional tweaks. If you want to replace it completely, don't worry: We have something for you.
Snap Layouts
The most extreme examples of multitasking end with dozens of windows and apps open on the desktop. Windows 11 gives us the ability to manage all that content with Snap Layouts, to make better use of our screen real estate. Snap Layouts hides in the Maximize button of each window: hover over the button and choose one of the patterns to position the window. This is also useful for creating window groups that you can minimize and maximize together.
Virtual desktops
Finally, someone at Microsoft understood that certain things from Linux deserve to be copied, and one of the most interesting is virtual desktops. Windows 10 already supported it, but creating and managing virtual desktops in Windows 11 is superior. A right-click will let you rename each desktop and customize its wallpaper (although you'll need to activate Windows first for that).
The Windows Store
A strange moment during my tests: when I first opened the store, it was almost identical to Windows 10. After a hotfix and a restart, its appearance changed completely. This redesign makes the store more friendly... but the real challenge ahead is its content. A simple search (think 7-Zip or WinRAR) confirms it's still full of garbage. If Microsoft doesn't implement more serious quality control on its entries, users will ignore it completely.
Microsoft Teams
One of the “children of the pandemic”, Microsoft Teams went from 32 million users in March 2020 to over 250 million today. With numbers like that, it wasn't hard for the service to find a place in Windows 11, become part of its standard configuration, and replace the other messengers. Obviously, you'll need a Microsoft account to access Teams features, but given its rise in popularity, its inclusion seems like a smart move.
Clock and focus sessions
Productivity is the name of the game in Windows 11, and if you feel procrastination is eating you alive, the Clock app enables a focus sessions system where you can set the duration of your work and study sessions, coordinate tasks with Microsoft To Do (account required), and even specify a playlist with your favorite songs via Spotify.
Better secondary monitor control
The ability to add screens to our computers is increasingly popular, but managing them under Windows has always caused some headaches. Windows 11 promises to do things differently with features to automatically minimize windows when disconnecting a monitor, and remember the way windows were arranged, restoring their position when reconnecting the panel. They're minor quality-of-life tweaks, but welcome.
Widgets
Weather, stock information, news, sports, and traffic are some of the options in the new Widgets section that accompanies Windows 11. The news feed is supposedly backed by artificial intelligence and will adapt to your interests. In other words, it might need a couple of days to give you relevant information. Two details: you need a Microsoft account (see a pattern?), and there's no support for third-party Widgets, for now.
Android apps
Offside! Personally, I was really looking forward to discussing support for Android apps in Windows 11, but Microsoft confirmed that running apps won't be available at launch. I guess BlueStacks installations will stick around for a while, but this was one of the most promoted aspects by Microsoft, and its arrival via updates shouldn't take too long.
The rest requires hardware
Auto HDR and DirectStorage are also part of the Windows 11 improvements. Auto HDR will add HDR (High Dynamic Range) support to hundreds of DirectX 11 and 12 games, optimizing brightness and color availability. DirectStorage takes advantage of NVMe drives to reduce load times and free up the processor. Both sound good, but they need hardware support: certified monitor, GPU, and NVMe SSD, to be precise. Fun fact: DirectStorage will come to Windows 10 with a future update.
All that glitters is not gold
Compared to other versions of Windows at launch, Windows 11's position is more solid, and if we take everything we've mentioned here, there's enough material to justify a new edition. However, the Windows 11 improvements do not let us ignore its problems.
First, some bugs are inevitable and will require the right combination of hotfixes and driver updates. Second, the lack of flexibility in the Start menu and taskbar will irritate many users. Finally, Microsoft's communication disaster has been huge, and the operating system has a long uphill battle ahead.
Our coverage of Windows 11 will continue with plans to install copies on unsupported hardware, and more. Don't go away!
Official announcement: Click here
