Version 11 imbues the strength and security of its OS lineage with a revamped appearance, infused with fresh tools, sounds, and applications.
It’s poised to be a remarkable and auspicious operating system, despite certain areas still ripe for more profound enhancements. It’s projected to be the iteration of OS garnering universal acclaim. Version 11 unveils novel interfaces in nearly every facet of the desktop journey, the Start menu being no exception. Given Start’s longstanding history as a cornerstone of the OS interface, any substantial modification, like that seen in V11, is monumental.
The refreshed Start menu adopts the minimalism of an application launcher. The era of a fully customizable mosaic of app tiles has given way to a simpler grid of icons, subject to pinning, unpinning, and rearranging — nothing more. The dynamic live tiles are replaced by static app icons labeled beneath. This alignment with the operational style of contemporary operating systems marks Version’ entry into a new phase.
This Start menu displays three rows of six pin-able icons, with additional “pages” available for scrolling if more apps are pinned. An “All Apps” button, positioned above your pinned apps, reveals a comprehensive list of installed applications.
A search bar resides at the peak of the Start menu, essentially acting as a conduit to the dedicated search feature accessible via the taskbar’s search icon. Despite their proximity, Search and Start remain distinct in Version 11 — an acceptable setup, though not my preferred arrangement. The lack of transition animation when toggling between these interfaces creates a slightly fragmented interaction.
Version 11’s taskbar undergoes a significant transformation, reimagined from its foundations to emphasize simplicity. A notable adjustment is the central alignment of system buttons and pinned or active apps, deviating from the traditional left-oriented taskbar.
System icons now feature charming animations activated by a click. Similarly, your pinned or active apps exhibit understated pulsating animations upon interaction. These nuanced graphical elements contribute immensely to the perception of Version 11 as a seamless encounter, signifying a user experience advancement from Version 10.
Below is an exhaustive inventory of the widgets incorporated in this initial launch of Version 11:
- Weather
- Photos
- To Do
- Calendar
- Sports
- Watchlist (Stocks)
- Tips
In addition to being able to drag an app to the left or right of your display to snap it side-by-side, you can now hover your cursor over the maximize button to see a drop-down of all the different snap layouts available to you. This makes it super easy to snap two or more apps together without having to move your mouse to the very edge of your display, which is great if you’re using a large display like an ultrawide.
New Features and Capabilities:
- A new taskbar experience that works across all devices.
- A new window manager with better snap and resize capabilities.
- A new file explorer with improved search and folder management.
- More powerful multitasking features.
- Improved support for virtual reality.
- Improved support for touchscreen devices.
System Requirements for Version 11
Before you can run Version 11, your device must meet certain hardware and software requirements. For PCs, the minimum requirements for Version 11 are a 1GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of available disk space, and a minimum screen resolution of 800×600. In addition, your device must be running Windows 7 or later.
