Windows 11 is here and here is my thoughts on it

Jun 25, 2021 by Kolappan N

Microsoft just announced Windows 11 and it changes the way we will use Windows. Sure it’s main focus is in the User Interface but it is just not a UI improvement that many speculated based on the leaked builds. Here are the most important things about Windows 11 in my opinion,

Gaming improvements

Windows 10 had a great adoption with gamers. According to Steam survey, 90% of gamers used Windows 10 compared to 50-60% of the general population. Microsoft is looking to replicate that success again with Windows 11. It has announced 2 new features targeted at Gamers, both of them ported directly from the Xbox.

Auto HDR - To improve game visuals
Direct Storage - To improve game performance and load times

Focus on Tablets

Microsoft is going to double down on touch and tablets.

Touch Improvements: Sure they have removed the dedicated tablet mode, but the whole UI now adapts to touch better than the Windows 10. From increased spacing to bigger touch targets for resizing windows using touch in Windows just got a lot better. And of course, they made some changes to the onscreen keyboard.

Docking: Another aspect of using Portable devices is docking. When you reconnect your tablet or laptop with an external monitor Windows will now preserve the layout of the apps for that monitor.

Android Apps: There are still a lot of caveats on this one, like requirement of an Amazon account, only apps without Google services will work, etc… But the area where Android apps will be most beneficial to Windows is the tablet form factor.

Others:

There is a new haptic feedback when you are using a Pen / Stylus.
Rotating a tablet to portrait mode now puts snapped Windows on top of each other which is more usable.

Personalization & Connectivity

Windows 11 Home now requires a mandatory Microsoft account and internet connection during the setup process. The start menu now shows your documents and files from Office & OneDrive. There is a new Widgets that has personalized news, weather, calendar, etc… baked into the OS.

This is a cause for privacy concerns as Windows 11 is now more personalized than ever.

Making Windows lighter

Microsoft promises that Windows updates will now be 40% smaller in size and can install in background. Still need to see how much of the updates fully install in background and don’t require a restart but this is good step in making Windows lighter.

They are removing some legacy stuff from Windows like Internet Explorer, the old Snipping tool, etc… Some apps like OneNote, 3D Viewer, etc… won’t be installed by default. All of this will help reduce the footprint of Windows 11.

Uniform user interface

Microsoft is serious about unifying the UI across the OS. They are not only updating the UI for new apps but are also updating the UI of apps like Paint, Notepad and even the file explorer to make them more modern.

Covid inspired Features

Teams is now integrated with Windows. If something has to be integrated, I would have preferred it to be Skype. There is also a universal mute button for microphone.

Others

The update cycle will now be one major update per year instead of two. This makes perfect sense as there was a lot of issues when there were 2 major releases per year.

They also opened up the store more in order to entice developers to use it. The 0% cut for apps will definitely make store more appealing for big companies too.