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

Again within the

Windows 10
days, there was a time period by which Home windows improvement felt rudderless. Microsoft’s cadence of bi-annual function updates had slowed to a crawl, new additions like Timeline and My People felt haphazardly applied at greatest, 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-Govt 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 improvement state. Apart from 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 taking part in round with a few of Home windows’ upcoming additions through the Home windows Insider Program, whereas counting on a utility often known as ViVeTool to assist allow hidden and experimental options which can be nonetheless actively in improvement. Listed below are 5 upcoming Home windows 11 options that I am personally probably the most enthusiastic about, and that I am unable to wait to see hit platform stability within the coming months.

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A much more customizable Begin expertise is on the best way

Since its debut in 2021, I’ve by no means been the most important fan of Home windows 11’s Begin Menu. Apart from not making the most effective use of area, 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 out there on a single display, and I like that I can toggle off the advisable part if I so please. The fast

Phone Link
entry button is a pleasant contact, and the

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

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2

The return of seconds in notification heart

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

Considered one of my favourite Home windows 10 options has at all times been the big 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 massive 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 yr, 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 heart and calendar interface is a kind of small additions that I did not totally admire till it was gone.

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3

A brand-new Drag Tray

Quickly, sharing recordsdata and media can 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 prime of the show when dragging a file on display. When interacted with, the drag tray expands, permitting you to shortly drop your file right into a suitable 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 supplied third-party app builders an API for tapping into lock display content material. This permits apps to show climate situations, new emails, calendar updates, and different data 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 can be pinnable on the lock display, with choices to rearrange, reorder, scroll, and regulate widgets from throughout the Settings app.

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

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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 crimson 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 power to show the present battery share on the taskbar. I at all times toggle this setting on when establishing a brand new cellphone, pill, or Mac, and I am joyful to see it lastly make its option to PC.

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