Windows 11 — Good, Bad and everything in middle
So, I have been using windows 11 since beta and mostly I liked it. Microsoft is making windows operating systems since the 80’s and for most of the part the critical design remained same. But with this latest iteration of windows, things may change up a bit, probably in a better way. Here is my review after using the OS for 2 months.
Interface
The Major changes to this new iteration of windows is its redesigned interface and the rounded corners throughout the OS. Even the windows icon itself is changed to rounded edges. Microsoft is opting a new design language called Mika. Which is basically the mix of Aero and Fluent design languages. I was impressed by the new interface and honestly it was refreshing to look at the design after so many boring designs from windows.
Out of box experience (OOBE)
When you start up the new windows machine, first thing you will notice is the new redesigned OOBE. You won’t get cortana’s voice now which many users criticized. I liked it though. It is clean and the refreshed icons bring so much fun to the experience.
It was pretty simple, just a few clicks and you will be in your desktop. One minor issue for windows 11 home users is that you should need a microsoft account and an internet connection to set up your PC. You cannot use a local account to set up your PC.
Taskbar & Desktop
After logging in, you can see the familiar taskbar icons are no longer aligned to left rather they are centered. Taskbar for windows 11 was redesigned from bottom up. It has Centered taskbar (though you can align it to the left from the settings) by default. Taskbar now comes with 4 new system icons along with the start menu. Search, Task view , Widgets and Teams. Every icon has it’s own subtle animation which is a nice touch. You can hover your mouse over the search and task view buttons to see the quick menus.
Searching is great for applications, recent documents and mostly web results but for internal files and folders you need to index them from the advanced search settings which for an average user is a bit complicated. Compared to windows 10, the windows 11 search is a bit faster in finding the applications. You can also access the search by windows + S or from the start menu.
Task view now only shows the apps which are open unlike windows 10 which shows all the files from the past 6 months. Task view is also redesigned with the new language, and one the best features in windows 11 are the new customizable virtual desktops. You can name them, and even put a new wallpaper to differentiate them. I personally liked it a lot. It creates a virtual space where you can organize your applications. It is productive, clean and clutter-free.
Widgets were introduced to windows in the windows vista and were discontinued in windows 8. I personally was never fond of them. Widgets are back from the dead with windows 11. This time around, they are different. Microsoft described them as interactive blocks on a translucent sheet of glass. You can quickly view information with various customizable personalized cards and also get top stories on the same screen. I like it but one drawback is that, it opens my browser every time I want to do something more with a widget, I would love to see all the things in the same screen rather than taking me to a different application. I am also looking forward for the 3rd party integration of the cards.
And the least favorite of all is the teams integration into windows. Teams is now integrated into windows and can be quickly accessed from the taskbar. From my experience I would say it is a bit buggy and feels like its unfinished. You can call anyone with or without windows 11 or even a non-teams user. This is a great feature considering the pandemic where everyone is working remotely at home.
Notifications were also redesigned, notifications now live with calendar flyout. Network, Sound & power icons are merged as a single button which upon clicking reveals the revamped action center with new animations and media controls.
Now for the cons, many basic functionalities of taskbar such as drag & drop, “add event” functionality in calendar flyout, and orientation function of taskbar are removed from this new iteration. I am very disappointed with this move, since it made doing my work very quick and easy. I am anticipating that microsoft will eventually add these features in the future builds.
Start Menu
Start Menu has also been redesigned to the point where it longer resembles the older start menus (exception : windows 8 & 8.1). It has a more centered look and feel to it. Microsoft got rid of live tiles (which were amazing!) and replaced them with fluid icons. I loved the live tiles personally, I think live tiles were removed in favor of widgets.
Start menu now follows a 6X3 grid icon layout which is scrollable. You can view all your apps in an alphabetical order from the all apps list and pin them to the start menu. Right below the icon grid, we find a recommended section which shows the recent documents, apps and most viewed files. It uses AI to personally recommend files and applications. I like the start menu but not as much as windows 7 and 10’s start menus. It just feels like a mini version of Launchpad found on macos.
Context menus, File explorer , core applications & icons
Windows 11 brings UI changes throughout the OS including context menus, file explorer and other core applications. The new context menus are beautiful and has quick set of actions at the top or bottom depending on the position of mouse. Which is very nice to see.
File explorer in windows was left unchanged since windows 8. Finally file explorer got the UI changes, It now offers a translucent ribbon with options to create new files and folders, quick options for cut-copy-paste, sort & view options. The spacing has also changed. The files are now has a bit more space between them. You can revert back to old spacing by clicking on compact view option.
In addition to the file explorer, many core applications have been redesigned including Photos, clock, calculator, paint and settings. Photos now include a faster response time and a hovering photos roll for easy access of photos. Clock app now include a new focus sessions feature which has spotify and to-do integration. I think this is a very useful feature for students and artists. Settings is completely revamped to meet the new design, and most of the control panel features have been moved to settings. Similarly, Paint and calculator apps have been redesigned with new looks.
Icons in windows were also in need for a dire upgrade since we could find some 90 era’s icons in windows 10. But with windows 11 everything has changed, they have upgraded all the icons, symbols and even emojis. It is quite refreshing to see these fresh and fluid icons. I love these icons.
Multitasking
Multitasking has always been great in windows, with windows 11 it even got better. I loved multitasking on windows 11. It just knows what I want. There are slew of new multitasking features which puts windows 11 in limelight.
Snap Assist , Snap groups & Task view
Snap assist was always a feature in windows since windows 7, you could snap a window to a corner of screen and other sides as well but with windows 11 they made it an active feature. When you hover over the maximize option, you are given a set of layouts to choose (depending on your monitor size) where to snap an application and the best part is, it remembers the app layouts and they are called snap groups. Snap groups also remember your layouts on an external monitor. As mentioned, Task view offers new options to create and customize virtual desktops.
Gaming & Performance
Windows 11 is also getting major gaming and performance upgrades. I personally felt the os was fast and fluid while launching applications (Relative to windows 10). Read/write speeds have been increased, boot time was reduced and the application which was in foreground was faster than the application in background. I played Valorant, Apex Legends , Fortnite, CSGO and Rocket league which all gave me 95–105 fps on average unlike windows 10 which gave me around 70–85 fps. I also played triple A titles like GTA 5, RDR2 and Forza Horizon 4. GTA 5 was around 55–68 fps in high settings compared to 45–55 fps in windows 10, RDR2 was around 45–50 in medium settings compared to 30–45 in windows 10, Forza Horizon 4 was around 60–70 fps in medium-high settings compared to 55–60 fps in windows 10. Windows 11 also comes with xbox app which support game pass for PC and Xbox Xcloud game streaming.
Auto-HDR
Auto HDR is coming to windows, which automatically converts SDR content to HDR. When you have a supported HDR video/game with a HDR capable display but HDR drains battery life which I am little skeptical about.
Direct Storage
Direct storage is a technology, microsoft uses in it’s Xbox Series Consoles. Direct Storage allows game data to load on to the GPU directly from the SSD without the role of CPU, this drastically reduces load times and also enables Quick resume feature found on latest gen Xbox consoles. A major drawback is that this is not yet available in windows 11 and needs at least a Terabyte SSD. Not to forget games must be optimized for it.
Check out this video to know more about performance in windows 11.
New Microsoft Store & Android Apps
Microsoft has changed it’s policies with the new app store, Microsoft now allows all apps including win32, UWP, PWA and Linux apps in the microsoft store. In addition to that microsoft is allowing other app stores like epic, steam, origin and Amazon into the app store. not only that Microsoft is taking 0% cut from the developers if they bring their own payments engine and meagre cut with their payments engine. Unlike Apple which is becoming more and more walled garden, Microsoft is opening its windows to everyone (no puns intended).
with all these features, Microsoft is also bringing Android applications to windows. Now you can natively use an android application just as you use an windows application. Here, the catch is that only apps from Amazon app store are supported in the windows store but sideloading is allowed though. I love the new Microsoft store which is open, redesigned and also supports different platforms. This is one of the best features windows has to offer.
Android apps are not coming with the worldwide consumer release yet, but I am looking forward for it in the future builds.
Security, System requirements and other features
Security & System requirements
Microsoft says that Windows 11 is most secure OS ever due to the fact that it supports virtualization based security baked right into the code, and supports only devices which has a TPM 2.0 chip and processors which are released after 2017 (8th gen and up for intel & 3rd gen and up for AMD). Which makes many devices ineligible for the upgrade. But it actually helps in secure booting, lower risk of a Ransome attack and minimizes 99.8% crashes(Microsoft Claimed). Basic requirements are 64-bit ,1GHz or faster processor , 4GB ram and 64GB storage. Check out this video to know more about Security in windows 11.
Other Features
Windows 11 also comes with many other features like Dynamic refresh rate, new customizable touch keyboard & Voice commands, Automatically adapts from Touch to keyboard input and vice versa since there is no dedicated tablet mode. Not to forget Blue Screen of death(BSOD) is now Black screen of death(BSOD).
Conclusion
Pros:
- Beautiful and consistent UI/UX
- Great Multitasking with snap assist & snap groups
- Performance Improvements
- Enhanced Security
- New open Microsoft Store with Android apps support
- Gaming Improvements — Auto HDR, Direct Storage.
- Other Features — Dynamic refresh rate, new touch keyboard.
Cons:
- Missing drag & drop feature
- No Orientation of taskbar
- Removal of “Add event” functionality from Calendar flyout
- Does not support devices older than 4 years
- Cannot use icon labels, small icons on taskbar
To round it all up, Windows 11 is a beautiful OS with performance upgrades, visual overhaul and new app support but has it’s own flaws. In my opinion, Microsoft has made best OS in modern times. I recommend everyone to wait until mid 2022 until MS rectifies the bugs and functionalities.