Windows 11's New Changes and Latest Features

Author : SoftwareDiscount USA | Published On : 21 Apr 2026

Major Windows redesigns have proven disastrous for Microsoft in the past, with Windows 8 being the worst. But after testing Windows 11 myself, I found that, even though the interface looks quite different, it doesn't take long to understand how things work. At its introduction event, Microsoft's Chief Product Officer, Panos Panay, expressed a desire not to upset longtime Windows fans, and that's a good thing (though it's nearly impossible, given the way many people react to change). Despite this goal of keeping it familiar, Windows 11 boasts plenty of innovations.

Major Windows redesigns have proven disastrous for Microsoft in the past, with Windows 8 being the worst. But after testing Windows 11 myself, I found that, even though the interface looks quite different, it doesn't take long to understand how things work. At its introduction event, Microsoft Chief Product Officer Panos Panay said they didn't want to upset old Windows enthusiasts, and that's a good thing (though it's nearly impossible, given the way many people react to change). Despite this goal of keeping it familiar, Windows 11 boasts plenty of innovations.

Microsoft Windows 11 Preview

Before upgrading, you should first determine if your PC can run Windows 11. According to Microsoft, this rollout will last until mid-2022, as many PC hardware and software configurations are being validated for compatibility. Now, let's take a look at the biggest new changes and features.

Windows 11's New Look

Taskbar icons are now centered and smaller, like Chrome OS, but the Start button is still to the left of other app icons. Windows features tight, rounded corners, similar to macOS. I still don't always like those thin taskbar buttons. In Windows 10, you get wide taskbar buttons for running apps, which contrast with the thin icons for pinned apps. However, I prefer a centered look, as it doesn't require moving the mouse cursor across the entire screen to launch an app from the Start menu.

There are more subtle transparencies, animations, and clean icon designs that reflect the evolution of the Fluent Design System, which was promised but never fully arrived in Windows 10. Some of the new materials include a translucent material called Acrylic; Opaque Mica, which is slightly tinted based on the background color; and Smoke, which darkens other areas, allowing you to focus on a key input area. Dark mode also looks more consistent, and these materials change to match it.

Widgets are coming back! Apple improved widgets in iOS 14 and iPadOS 15, and Microsoft tried to bring back desktop widgets with the News and Interests panel in Windows 10. But Windows 11 widgets take this idea even further. The new widgets offer a personalized feed of news, weather, traffic, sports, and stock market data, powered by AI for customization and Edge for rendering. Later updates will let you expand the widgets panel to fill the entire screen, and third-party content providers will be able to take advantage of this new feature.

For me, Windows has long been unmatched in its ability to position, size, open, and close windows on the screen to your liking. (I'm still a fan of Aero Shake for showing the desktop.) Apple's macOS recently added the ability to set windows to take up exactly half of the screen, something Windows users have had for years.

Now comes the latest windowing feature: Snap Layouts. Snap Layouts lets you choose from a selection of window layouts (see above) and easily populate them with the app windows of your choice. Perhaps even more important than the extra layout options is that these layouts are saved and accessible via the app's taskbar icon, so you don't have to recreate them after you're done with something else on the PC.

Updated default apps in Windows 11

Many of Windows' old standbys—Paint, Photos, Notepad, Media Player, Mail, and more—have been or will be updated with a new look and, in some cases, new features. A good example is the Clock app, which in Windows 11 has received a powerful productivity feature: Focus Sessions. With Focus Sessions, you can decide when you need uninterrupted time to work.

The Photos app in Windows 11 is standout because it's not only great for organizing and editing photos, but also for editing videos with titles, transitions, effects, and more. New to Photos are an edge-to-edge photo view, a multi-image view, and an improved cropping interface with the Fluent Design update.

The new Media Player app handles both music and video, replacing Windows 10's Groove app. Similarly, the new player can handle FLAC audio and 4K video.

A Redesigned Settings App

The redesigned Settings app now has a persistent left menu. This saves you from having to exit nested settings to navigate to another group quickly. Otherwise, you get most of the features you'd find in Windows 10's Settings.

Teams is required in Windows 11

Teams is cross-platform, running on Windows, Android, iOS, and macOS. It also works with SMS for those who don't have the mobile app installed, which means you can text anyone's phone number for free from your PC, which is a good thing.

This feature has two parts: Teams Chat and Teams Videoconferencing, which opens a separate window. When you send a message to someone who doesn't have an account, they receive an invitation to sign up for the free service.

Windows head Panos Panay has predicted that Windows 11 will be the most secure version yet. One sign of the increased security is that the new OS requires PCs to have a Trusted Platform Module 2.0 (TPM) security chip and Secure Boot capability. Our security expert, Neil Rubenking, says that Windows 11 includes some good security-hardening features, though users can override them, making the OS less secure.