After the announcement of the retirement date of Windows 10, Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 11 operating system has been leaked online. The entire operating system had spread out online after the leak had initially been published at a Chinese Website Baidu. The screenshots showed us a new UI, start menu and lots of other exciting stuff that Microsoft might have implemented in Windows 11.
The start menu has seen some big changes to it as it is now centered rather than at a corner although the start menu can be moved to the left corner like it was in Windows 10. The menu consists of pinned apps where you can pin and unpin your frequently used apps for future use. There is also a recommended section where Windows shows your previously opened applications. Microsoft has also added in the ability to shut down or restart Windows 11 devices quickly from the start menu.All in all, the start menu so far looks more like a simplified version of the one seen in windows 10 minus the live tiles. The pinned apps and opened applications are now centered on the taskbar rather than aligned from the left in Windows 10. The tray area looks almost like the Windows 10 tray area but can be made much tidier by turning off the “ desktop button” in the settings application.
The app icons in the taskbar and the start menu can be moved to the left hand side of the screen if you do not like the default preset by pressing “left” in the taskbar alignment heading in the settings application.
Microsoft has brought a new search UI to the table which has a new look to it. Just like Windows 10, it shows all the applications used frequently by you. You can search for results on the web as well using the search UI. Not too different from Windows 10 except the visuals.
Microsoft is also using rounded corners throughout Windows 11. These are visible in context menus, around apps, the File Explorer and the Start Menu which bring a cleaner and fluid look to the UI.
Task View has been subject to change. Now brand new desktop screens can be opened where you can open other apps or do other work besides what you have been working on in your first desktop screen which promotes efficiency as there is less cluttering of apps or windows around.
The News and Interest feature which Microsoft enabled a few months ago is now rebranded as Widgets. Here you will find information on the weather, finances, sports and news all over the world under the top stories category. As this is clearly a very early version of Windows 11, the widgets aren’t loading fully in the OS, but they’re designed to slide out and provide quick access to news, weather, and other web content.
The newer version of Windows has brought changes to some of the sounds such as the startup sound, device connect-disconnect, critical battery alert etc. The sounds are quiet and soothing to the ear.
Windows 11 also includes new snap controls that you can access from the maximize button on all apps. They’re newer equivalents of the cascade windows function that has existed in the operating system for years. You can quickly snap windows side by side, or arrange them in sections on your desktop.
Microsoft has made overhauls to the tablet mode of Windows. They have introduced gestures such as using your fingers to minimize or bring back a window; the same gesture can be used to enable task view.If you have multiple desktops open, you can use your 4 fingers and press and hold on the screen, then swipe left or right to move between the desktop screens.Microsoft has also included an indication of whether you have grabbed onto a window or not. Simply put your finger on the top of the window and the window will shrink, confirming that you have indeed grabbed onto it. The hitboxes of the windows are bigger now so it’s much easier to resize any window if necessary using your fingers. All these features mean that the actual dedicated tablet mode is removed. You can also snap windows side by side in tablet mode as you would in desktop mode. A great feature has been added to the Windows Ink Workspace where you can now pin any application you want instead of just the whiteboard and Full Screen Snip. Now you can add other apps that make use of the Pen like Paint or the snipping tool. The animation when you rotate your tablet is much smoother now in Windows 11 compared to Windows 10.
Windows 11 also brings new out-of-box experience when you are setting up your operating system. You will have the option to restore files, settings and preferences synchronized to your OneDrive onto your new PC. Windows also allows you to choose the ways in which you will be using your machine during the windows installation process to get suggestions on tools, apps and services that you could find useful. At the end of the installation process, you will be greeted with a cool visual which might remind you of the old PS2 starting screen if you owned one or had seen the screen before.
Windows 10X,which Microsoft cancelled a year and a half after announcing it, included a number of refined and simplified aspects to Windows, and most of that work is present in this leaked version of Windows 11.However, we need to wait for their special windows event on the 24th of June to see whether these changes are what they are or is there more to it.
