Windows 11 brings some tech additions from the Xbox for better gaming. Finally, the OS introduces voice typing and commands across the system. Windows 11 also adds haptics to your digital pen, so you can hear and feel vibrations as you use it for taking notes or drawing. Microsoft is aiming to make Windows 11 easier to use on tablets than Windows 10.įor tablets, Microsoft has aimed to improve the experience for touch, with more space between icons on the taskbar, and adding gestures. Enhanced touchscreen, voice and pen support While they've been around for a while (remember desktop gadgets on Windows Vista?), including in a recent Windows 10 update, you can now access widgets directly from the Taskbar and personalize them to see whatever you'd like. Microsoft/Screenshot by Josh Goldman/CNET Launch widgets from the Taskbar in Windows 11 to see at-a-glance information on weather, news, stocks and more.
You'll be able to access teams from Windows, Mac, Android or iOS. Teams is getting a facelift and will be integrated directly into the Windows 11 taskbar, making it easier to access (and a bit more like Apple's FaceTime). Microsoft Teams is built directly into the Taskbar in Windows 11 for easier video calling. They also let you plug and unplug from a monitor more easily, without losing where your open windows are located. The new OS includes features called Snap Groups and Snap Layouts - collections of the apps you're using at once that sit in the taskbar, and can come up or be minimized at the same time for easier task switching. It'll be easier to group different sets of windows and apps together and move between a desktop and a monitor thanks to Snap Layouts and Snap Groups. In Windows 10, this was harder to set up and use. Windows 11 will let you set up virtual desktops in a way that's more similar to Macs, toggling between multiple desktops at once for personal, work, school or gaming use. You'll find it easier to create and toggle between different virtual desktops in Windows 11 compared to Windows 10. (There were a couple of ways to access Android apps on Windows 10, including if you had a Samsung Galaxy phone, but this will make it native.) This is something Windows users have been waiting for for years, and marks another move toward the merging of mobile and laptop devices.
You'll be able to download Android apps to your PC in Windows 11.Īndroid apps will be coming to Windows 11 (though not right away) in Microsoft Store, via the Amazon Appstore. But you can move those back to the left, as they are in Windows 10, if you prefer. The iconic Start menu also moves to the center of the screen along with the Taskbar. It features a clean design with rounded corners and pastel shades.
Windows 11 brings a brand-new, more Mac-like interface to the OS. Windows 11 features a new design with a centered Start menu and Taskbar. Windows 11: Every big difference in the new OS Design and interface Read more: Windows 11 is here, so does that mean I should buy a new laptop?
And make sure you check out our favorite Windows 11 features and how to use them - along with everything we wanted in Windows 11 but didn't get and how to set your default search engine. Here's everything that's changed from Windows 10 to Windows 11.
(If you don't have Windows 10 yet, here's how to get it.)īefore you install the new OS, let's go over the big changes Microsoft made and dig into what's really different. If you already have Windows 10, Windows 11 will be available to you for free. You have until 2025 to make your decision, when Microsoft says it will no longer support Windows 10, but if you're ready to jump into Windows 11 now, you can download the OS to your computer as long as it meets eligibility requirements. Although only some PCs have been prompted to update, you may be wondering how the OS is different from Windows 10, and if it's worth downloading right away. Microsoft started the phased rollout of its new operating system, Windows 11, last month. Windows 11 brings a lot more than just design changes.