Windows 11 Is Finally Becoming the OS It Should Have Been From the Start

I’ve personally been a big downer on the Windows 11 experience , but I’ve seen enough from Microsoft that I’m hoping I can finally change my tune. In an extra-long blog post , Microsoft VP of Windows experiences Navjot Virk gave us a rundown of everything that’s coming to the age-old operating system, and it’s not just quality-of-life improvements that could make Windows 11 an OS you actually want to use.

Microsoft has been planning these fixes for a while , and they’re available now in the Insider beta and will see a full release later this year. There are dozens of improvements, including the ability to move the taskbar to the sides like you could in previous OS versions. I’ve seen the promised land firsthand, and it’s a Windows 11 experience that may finally not suck. I’ve seen, though I haven’t yet played around with, several bits and bobs of revised functionality built into Microsoft’s OS. Namely, the new Search capabilities and Photos app are both completely redesigned, run faster, and offer more functionality than before.

Search is especially better now. Currently, clicking the search function brings up a menu that takes up a third of the screen, and if you’re searching for a simple toggle for your keyboard backlight, it will bring up a Bing search instead through Edge. In the future, Search may have even more functionality than Spotlight on Mac. The new search can surface controls for functions like do not disturb or mic volume directly in the search box without having to go to a settings menu. Depending on your search, it may also expand to show an image of a PowerPoint or Word doc before you open them up.

One of my pet peeves is how I have to search the full term “Power, sleep, and battery settings” to change my PC’s power modes. The new search brought up that setting on the first try. Search can even use Phone Link to a connected Android device to send texts, though you’re probably better off replying to messages that appear in new pop-ups on the bottom-right of the screen. In addition, you can now send files from your desktop directly to a connected phone.

The Photos app will be completely remodeled, too. It now includes a semantic search function to let you look for specific people or objects throughout all the pictures on your PC, OneDrive, or your connected phone. The app now lets you quick-crop photos or tune the lighting in each scene. One of the more unique new features is the ability to change a photo’s lighting, like adding a “golden hour” sunset to a scene where you can physically set the directions of light sources.

All of this is coming six years after Microsoft first released its latest OS to the public. Let’s just admit the optics for Windows 11 from these past few years have been terrible. Microsoft put Windows 10 out to pasture this month one year ago. It wasn’t a great time to transition, with Microsoft having inundated its latest operating system with pop-ups and advertisements for its services and Copilot features that added nothing to the base Windows experience.