Although the official presentation of Windows 11 happened only now, on June 24, in fact, with a strong desire to “get acquainted” with its preliminary version, it was possible a few days earlier: an early build of the new OS from Microsoft “leaked” to the Network on June 15.
At the time of the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft announced the novelty almost as “the last Windows in its current presentation”: they say, from now on it is not a “program,” but a “service”; in other words, there will be no more big numbered releases. Instead, the 10 will receive regular updates with new features, smooth design changes, and so on. For a long time, this is how it looked: if earlier new versions of Windows were released almost every year, then after the release of Windows 10, the company “took a break” for six long years, during which the current OS received regular updates twice a year. But it looks like Microsoft has finally decided to ditch the idea and unveiled Windows 11 during its June Microsoft Windows Event.
Start menu, taskbar
The updated Windows 11 interface, as well as the process of its installation and initial configuration, vividly resembles the closed project of Windows 10X (a system focused on two-screen devices and designed to compete with Chrome OS) and continues to introduce the Fluent Design style into the OS appearance – translucency of window elements, light shadow, rounded corners.
Binding the Start menu and icons of running applications on the taskbar to the lower-left corner looked more anachronistic the further, the more it looked like an anachronism – this was normally perceived in the first versions of Windows, on screens with diagonals less than 20 inches, but since then there are, let’s say, several monitors increased in size – and now these important elements are far on the periphery of vision. So now, the icons of running and pinned applications are located in the center of the taskbar by default, with the Start button on the left, which immediately evokes involuntary associations with macOS.
The start menu also opens in the center of the screen. There are no “tiles” in it that are unloved by many users: on the main menu screen, at the top, there are icons of pinned applications, at the bottom – “Recommended,” which contains recently installed programs and opened documents. In the “header” of each of these categories, buttons open the entire list of installed software and a more extended list of “recommended” content.
All this, of course, can be customized to your liking – remove unnecessary buttons through the right-click menu, or hide the entire category altogether (in the menu settings, you can switch the display of recently installed software or opening documents, as well as the most frequently used applications, plus you can choose which folders to show in it – for example, Network Neighborhood or download/video/image directories, etc.). In general, I must admit, the new Start menu looks simpler, neater, and more convenient than the current one in Windows 10.
For those accustomed to the traditional arrangement of these interface elements in the lower-left corner and who do not want to switch to their central location, a switch to the old option is provided in the taskbar settings.
On the taskbar, in addition to the “Start” and application icons, there are several service buttons – “Search” (its window, at least at this stage, has not undergone any noticeable changes compared to Windows 10), “Task List” (can also be called by the Win + Tab keyboard shortcut and shows thumbnails of all running applications with the ability to switch between virtual desktops) and “Widgets” – this is where the tiles from the “Start” menu “moved.” A widget window opens in the left half of the screen and contains various information in cards: weather, stock exchange, news, etc. At the moment, this menu is frankly meager and not configurable in any way. Still, according to unofficial information, after Windows 11, the developer will add support for third-party widgets and customization.
Interface, Windows 11 system applications
Down with straight lines and sharp corners – rounded edges are in vogue for windows in Windows 11 again. The shadow of the windows has become a little softer and less conspicuous – because of this, the interface as a whole seems more “flat,” not as embossed and “tangible” as in Windows 10. However, the differences from the current design are not too serious, and they are not particularly striking even at first.
But what will obviously be more useful – the Snap Assist pop-up menu has appeared at the “Expand” button in the upper right corner of the “header” of the window; with its help, you can quickly change the position of the window by moving it to one or another part of the desktop.
The system applications and utilities in the leaked early build mostly looked the same or almost the same as in Windows 10 – for example, new icons in Explorer, slightly relocated items in Search, and Microsoft Store, Manager tasks “,” Device Manager, “Calculator “and much more – generally one-to-one as the old ones. Again, this all concerns only the leaked build, and, most likely, a number of these utilities will be seriously updated in future beta versions and releases. For example, since spring, rumors have been circulating that Microsoft is actively working on a new version of the Microsoft Store with an improved interface. The Xbox app in Windows 11 is already new, with convenient access to the game store and social functions; however, the same application is already available for Windows 10. You can download it from the Microsoft Store.
A detail that is hardly noticeable at first glance: PowerShell has become the main “terminal” in Windows 11 – it can be called both from “Explorer” and the context menu of the Desktop; the good old command line, however, is also present, it can be opened, for example, by searching for “cmd.” An even less noticeable improvement: Windows 11 uses Segoe UI Variable as the system font, an updated version of Windows 10’s Segoe UI optimized for display on high pixel density displays.
Of the innovations that are not noticeable at first glance: for the current build of Windows 11, Windows Subsystem for Linux is already available, which allows you to run Linux applications in the new OS, and they are added to the Start menu like regular programs for Windows. After its installation, the Ubuntu OS is installed in the system, and an additional Linux partition appears in the “Explorer.” Installing Linux applications is done through the command line in PowerShell, but they appear in the Start menu like normal Windows programs.
The eternal problem of Windows – different styles of window designs, often from different versions of the system, have not gone anywhere: as soon as you select an advanced settings menu in the modern “Parameters,” you find yourself in the classic “Control Panel” from the “eight” … Again, we hope that by the time of releasing such inconsistencies, if not completely disappear, will at least be encountered much less frequently.
Themes
Like the “ten,” Windows 11 supports various themes with additional customization in the form of a choice of the main theme color (and the ability to synchronize it with the current wallpaper). Four more “color” themes have been added to the standard light and dark themes: dark Glow and Captured Motion plus light Sunrise and Flow. I must say that the new topics turned out to be very successful, and it will not be easy to choose which one to dwell on in the end.
Sound effects
System sounds have been mostly updated (although there are old ones), Windows 11 sounds easy and pleasant: no annoying harsh signals, most of the sounds are calm and slightly muffled.
What became known during the Microsoft Windows Event
Microsoft’s online demo broadly confirmed everything that could be seen in the leaked build and several circulating rumors, plus added one really unexpected piece of news. This is, of course, “Android apps are coming to Windows”: yes, Windows 11 users will be able to download Android apps from the Microsoft Store (thanks to a partnership with Amazon and its app store), and they will work like regular windowed Windows apps, thanks to Intel Bridge technology.
Otherwise, there were no special surprises: the Start menu will look a little different, with an integrated search bar, the Microsoft Teams communication platform will be integrated at the system level (goodbye, Skype?), The display of widgets can be customized (but still not a word about support for “foreign” widgets), a convenient virtual keyboard “just like on your smartphone” will appear for the tablet mode, plus a few pleasant things for gamers will “migrate” to a PC from a Microsoft console: for example, an Xbox GamePass will be available on a PC, AutoHDR function to simulate HDR in games without its support, and DirectStorage technology will significantly reduce load time in games with its support.
Unfortunately, no specifics regarding the timing of the release, or at least the appearance of the first official preview builds, were not announced during this presentation. Overall, at this stage, Windows 11 looks more like a huge update to Windows 10, with new features and a redesigned interface, than a completely new operating system. Looking forward to the next presentations and new announcements?
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