Microsoft and the next chapter of Windows.
All the best new features from Windows 11!
Last week Microsoft announced Windows 11, the next major update to Windows.
This update gives us some fantastic new designs and features for personal and business users and it brings Windows into a modern age of beautiful UX and design.
I previously spoke about the direction Microsoft was heading in last year with fluent design and their new hardware plans, and it’s all beginning to come together now.
Let's take a quick look at some of the major features from this update.
New Design
The first thing you’ll notice upon updating, the new design and layout of your start screen.
Gone are the live tiles, lists and solid colours, now replaced with modern, clean, clear and friendlier design with redesigned icons and pinned apps on a centred start and task bar.
Some of these designs take from the now cancelled Windows 10X and of course ChromeOS, I’ve seen some mention the similar style to MacOS but I think Windows 11 task bar offers far more with quick settings found on the far right compared to MacOS with setting at the top right of the display.
There is some depth here with some of the UI and also some glass pane design for things such as widgets, which I’ll talk about later.
Snap Layouts
New in Windows 11, we have Snap Layouts, Snap Groups and Desktops to provide new way to multitask. These are new features designed to help you organise your windows and optimise your screen so you can see what you need in a layout that’s visually clean.
This new layout menu option will save you time when you’re busy multi tasking and gives you all the space you need to view your content, you’ll also have six choice of layout to choose from.
This is one of my favourite new features and great for people who use multiple apps like Spotify, WhatsApp and Edge at the same time.
New messaging with teams
The last 18 months changed the way we work and with the need for greater communication online, the need for Microsoft Teams to step up and improve the working from home experience.
With Windows 11, we get Chat from Microsoft Teams integrated in the taskbar. Now you can instantly connect through text, chat, voice or video with all of your contacts, anywhere, no matter the platform or device they’re on, across Windows, Android or iOS.
If the person you’re connecting to hasn’t downloaded the Teams app, you can still connect with them via two-way SMS.
This is a great feature for business users and will make it a lot simpler for those who aren’t very tech savvy.
Widgets panel
Windows 11 brings you Widgets and a new personalised feed, now you can open a panel view directly from your desktop to view live info for weather, calendar, notes and photos to name a few.
When you open your personalised feed it slides across your screen like a sheet of glass as I mentioned with the new designs, this is a lovely new UI with a clean and easy to understand look.
I love the use of widgets and these look fantastic, I hope many more developers add to the panel of widgets.
Xbox integration
If you’re an Xbox gamer like me, this is perfect for you as Windows 11 unlocks the full potential of your system’s hardware with Auto HDR for a wider, more vivid range of colours for an amazing visual experience.
With Xbox Game Pass for PC or Ultimate, gamers get access to over 100 high-quality PC games with new games added all the time, and it’s easy to find people to play with via the task bar, no matter if they’re playing on a PC or console.
I always use my Xbox but with these little improvements and Microsoft finally embracing the Xbox name with Windows, we get some neat integrated UI options and I might just start PC gaming at last.
Android Apps on Windows.
So this is a big one and came as a surprise to many as Microsoft are bringing Android apps to Windows for the first time.
Starting later this year, people will be able to discover Android apps in the Microsoft Store and download them through the Amazon Appstore — Using TikTok or Snapchat straight from your PC.
You’ll also be able to side-load an app via APK installation for any you can’t find on the app store, great for those who want access to all apps.
This bridges to the gap somewhat with ChromeOS which allows android apps and MacOS for M1 MacBooks that also allows some iOS apps.
Personally, I don’t care for mobile apps on desktops but I know many do and this is a great option for them.
Having the choice is the whole point and Microsoft have really gone all out to give the user all the options compared to MacOS.
I’m a heavy Mac user but I sometimes use a Surface and these updates have really made me think about moving over permanently. I love the look and vibe of Windows 11, the new integrated features from Teams and Xbox, the widgets and of course the choices of mobile apps and snap layouts.
It feels like a completed OS with an elegant finish, it’ll be interesting to see where they go from here.
-
Windows 11 will be released as a free upgrade this winter, make sure to check if your current PC is eligible to receive the update with the PC Health check app here.
All images are from Microsoft.
