5 upcoming Home windows 11 additions that I am mos...

Again within the

Windows 10
days, there was a time period through which Home windows growth felt rudderless. Microsoft’s cadence of bi-annual function updates had slowed to a crawl, new additions like Timeline and My People felt haphazardly carried out at finest, and there was no signal of a transparent and overarching imaginative and prescient for the platform.

This all modified with

the release of Windows 11
in 2021. With then-Government Vice President and Chief Product Officer at Microsoft Panos Panay on the helm, a serious Home windows rejuvenation try took maintain on the firm. Described by executives as “the subsequent era of Home windows” and a “reinvestment” within the working system, new options and enhancements started hitting the OS at a gradual tempo, as did a complete Fluent Design visible overhaul of many user-facing shell components.

Regardless of Panay departing from Microsoft again in fall 2023, Home windows 11 has maintained a comparatively aggressive and accelerated growth state. Other than the flashy

AI-based Copilot+ features
that require a PC with a neural processing unit (NPU), the bottom Home windows 11 expertise continues to see enhancements made at a basic stage, too.

I have been enjoying round with a few of Home windows’ upcoming additions by way of the Home windows Insider Program, whereas counting on a utility often known as ViVeTool to assist allow hidden and experimental options which are nonetheless actively in growth. Listed here are 5 upcoming Home windows 11 options that I am personally essentially the most enthusiastic about, and that I can not wait to see hit platform stability within the coming months.

A much more customizable Begin expertise is on the way in which

Since its debut in 2021, I’ve by no means been the most important fan of Home windows 11’s Begin Menu. Other than not making the very best use of house, I discover it to be too inflexible and too simplistic. Fortunately, Microsoft has heard our collective complaints, and has announced that an all-new Begin Menu design is on its approach. Thus far,

I’m enjoying this refreshed design
— I like that my whole library of apps is offered on a single display, and I like that I can toggle off the really helpful part if I so please. The short

Phone Link
entry button is a pleasant contact, and the

Apple App Library-esque organization
choice can also be welcome in my eyes.

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2

The return of seconds in notification middle

A Home windows 10 staple is about to re-debut on WIndows 11

One in every of my favourite Home windows 10 options has all the time been the massive digital clock plastered on the calendar taskbar flyout, which makes it simple to reference the present time all the way down to the second. Sadly, this second-by-second clock did not survive the large Home windows 11 shell rewrite, and I have been clamoring for its return since 2021. With

Windows 10 set to reach end of life
later this 12 months, Microsoft seems to be throwing a bone to longtime followers of the OS who’ve resisted upgrading their PCs till now. For me, displaying seconds throughout the management middle and calendar interface is a kind of small additions that I did not absolutely respect till it was gone.

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Home windows 11 is a robust and feature-rich working system, however it’s being held again from greatness in a number of key methods.

3

A brand-new Drag Tray

Quickly, sharing recordsdata and media will probably be a far simpler affair

Home windows 11 has its personal native sharing API, which permits for system-wide file and information share integration throughout surfaces just like the Share Sheet and the right-click context menu. Sadly, nearly all of third-party builders have not tapped into this function, and most desktop PC customers merely drag-and-drop recordsdata and media from one app window to a different. Microsoft’s upcoming drag tray function seems to streamline the sharing course of, by introducing a brand new context-aware bar on the high of the show when dragging a file on display. When interacted with, the drag tray expands, permitting you to rapidly drop your file right into a appropriate app, ship the file to your cellphone, or invoke the complete share sheet web page. In my testing, the function is surprisingly intuitive, and I discover myself using it each with my mouse cursor and with my finger.

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Microsoft is gearing as much as convey glanceable applets to your locked PC

Ever since

Windows 8
in 2012, Microsoft has provided third-party app builders an API for tapping into lock display content material. This permits apps to show climate circumstances, new emails, calendar updates, and different info in a glanceable ticker view close to the system clock and date. Over the previous couple of years, we have seen a

renaissance of lock screen widgets
throughout platforms like iOS, iPadOS, and Android, and Microsoft seems to need in on the motion. In an upcoming replace, full-sized desktop widgets will probably be pinnable on the lock display, with choices to rearrange, reorder, scroll, and modify widgets from throughout the Settings app.

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This third-party tool brings Aero Peek back to Windows 11

Aero Peek is a great tool that allows you to look at your desktop with a hover – Microsoft eliminated the function in Home windows 11, however you may convey it again.

5

Clearer battery life indicators

Microsoft has redesigned the system tray’s battery icon

In an effort to enhance the legibility of your PC’s battery standing, Microsoft has redesigned the battery iconography throughout the Home windows 11 taskbar. This new design, which is at the moment in preview, extends the dimensions of the battery icon, introduces yellow and pink colours for power-saving and low energy, respectively, and facilities the lightning bolt image. These are all good quality-of-life modifications that enhance accessibility, however my private favourite new addition is the flexibility to show the present battery share on the taskbar. I all the time toggle this setting on when establishing a brand new cellphone, pill, or Mac, and I am glad to see it lastly make its method to PC.

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In a perpetual cat and mouse recreation, Microsoft is plugging yet one more recognized loophole for utilizing Home windows 11 with out an web connection.