Windows 11 marks a turning point for Microsoft’s decades-old operating system. Not because of the centered Start menu or the ambitious new Microsoft Store. But because, when all put together, these individual changes ultimately build on what no previous Windows update has dared to do: make Windows look and feel less Windows-y.
In recent years, almost all other major desktop operating systems, including macOS and Chrome OS, have remained faithful to a standard fundamental theme. They both feature, for example, large tiles for quick settings such as Wi-Fi on the desktop and a full screen app launcher with a precise focus on the search tool.
Windows, in comparison, continued with its more traditional setup with its nuts and bolts in the open right away. If driver software for a processor component is malfunctioning, for example, the user has to deal with it, and they won’t have to dig deep either because its main features are accessible on the desktop itself. The Start menu, the taskbar trays brimming with basic options – all of these have kept Windows its original identity through generations.
While this identity has consistently enabled Microsoft to woo its legacy customers, it has also put Windows in a box. These hacker and extremely practical features also come at a cost: they have dissuaded any non-Windows user from considering a PC as their next workstation. If a failing driver is the first thing a willing Mac user needs to deal with on their new Windows PC, it’s unlikely to stick around.
Windows 11, above all, is designed to address many of these issues. It’s intended for someone like me, who quit Windows after getting tired of its often unnecessarily primitive interface.
Windows no longer presents itself as a platform desperately trying to balance the old and the new. With Windows 11, Microsoft is taking a series of bold steps, and in many ways it already looks like a triumph.
The new Windows 11 makeover is more accessible and buries the traces of the old guard much deeper. Right-click context and file menus, for example, are no longer an exhaustive list of options. They offer shortcuts for the handful of essential functions that most people would use and hide the rest behind additional submenus.
In the same way, New Windows Store Open Has Potential To Cancel one of the most important pain points in the operating system. If all goes according to plan, Windows users won’t have to deal with an assortment of installation methods and will be able to find apps directly from the Microsoft Store itself.
Live Tiles from the disastrous Windows 8 era are also gone, and quick settings, like macOS and Chrome OS, are now more in step with the times. Additionally, the centered Start menu is redesigned for the modern era and now neatly displays your apps instead of listing each of their folders and corresponding installation files. It also intelligently suggests the files and apps you are looking for right on its homepage.
Subtle animations add to these refinements. Little details like the rounded corners and the way the Windows logo sparkles every time you launch the Start menu are not tacky and impart a gaming feeling that was lacking in previous versions of Windows.
Microsoft has updated some of the best Windows features, like its great multitasking tools, to make it easier to navigate and understand for non-business users as well. Example: You can hover over an app’s resize button to instantly place your open windows in a side-by-side layout.
For people who have always used Windows, the operating system still manages to look familiar. All the advanced options are here – it’s just that the majority of users don’t need them, and Microsoft is finally realizing it.
The work is not yet done for Microsoft. Various aspects of Windows 11 still seem to be at war with its predecessors and not aligned with Microsoft’s renewed leadership. Changing your Bluetooth device, for example, takes way too many clicks, and it’s still relatively easy to navigate old Windows menus. Additionally, several core apps, including the task manager, have yet to be upgraded with the latest overhaul. In addition, there are ads on the lock screen, and the strict compatibility guidelines made me worry about long term support.
While I expect many of these issues to be fixed as Windows 11 approaches public release, Microsoft’s desktop operating system is unlikely to ever be completely free from its roots. inherited. If Microsoft’s plans for the Windows App Store are successful, I also wonder if Windows still has room for a simpler alternate mode like S mode or even an offshoot of the dead Windows 10X – which was supposed to be a light fork of Windows 10 – which could conceal the more advanced sections of the operating system even more.
Windows 11 has turned out to be more promising than I initially thought. Microsoft’s desktop operating system has always been seen as the rambling rival, while the Mac is the one that “just worksâ€. Microsoft has set its sights on the latter this time, and its OS now seems in the game.
Microsoft has moved closer to Windows 10, but with a slew of outdated ideas like Live Tiles, it breathed a lot of the traditional Windows model. While there are still traces of the old guard, Windows 11 seems to be on the right track, and most importantly, it does so without compromising any functionality. As a Mac owner, I’ve never been so tempted to change.
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