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Microsoft has faced a breakdown of trust in Windows 11 and a backlash over AI additions to its operating system in recent months. After promising to rebuild trust in Windows earlier this year, Microsoft’s Windows chief, Pavan Davuluri, is now revealing the company’s plan to fix Windows 11 — and there are a lot of changes on the way.
“Over the past several months, the team and I have spent a great deal of time analyzing your feedback,” says Davuluri in a blog post committing to Windows quality improvements. “What came through was the voice of people who care deeply about Windows and want it to be better.”
Windows 11 will start with a first batch of improvements, followed by much broader changes throughout the rest of the year. The initial changes will start being previewed throughout this month and April, and include the ability to reposition the taskbar to the top or sides of a screen, a reduction of “unnecessary” Copilot integration in apps like Snipping Tool, Photos, and Notepad, and changes to make Windows updates less disruptive with “fewer automatic restarts and notifications” and the ability to skip updates during initial device setup.
You’ll soon be able to move the taskbar around freely. Image: Microsoft
Microsoft is also focused on improving File Explorer in its initial wave of Windows 11 fixes. “Our first round of improvements will focus on a quicker launch experience, reduced flicker, smoother navigation and more reliable performance for everyday file tasks,” promises Davuluri. The widgets section of Windows 11 is also getting more personalization features and “quieter defaults” in the coming months.
Beyond these initial fixes, Microsoft has even bigger plans to improve Windows 11 quality this year, by focusing on performance, reliability, and “well-crafted experiences.” Davuluri’s fix list, which you can read in full below, focuses on core stuff like how fast Windows 11 starts and responds, how stable it is, and how consistent it is to use.
Microsoft is focusing on improving overall system performance to make apps and built-in features feel more responsive. Part of the changes include “reducing resource usage by Windows” to make launch time of apps like File Explorer faster.
Memory efficiency is also being improved this year to lower the “baseline memory footprint for Windows and freeing up more capacity for the apps you run.” That’s a particularly important change given the RAM crisis right now, and could open the door to Windows running better on devices with 8GB of RAM. Apple has already shown how the MacBook Neo can handle daily tasks with just 8GB, and Windows OEMs will want to respond with similarly priced systems, but only if Windows can handle the lower specs.
Microsoft’s focus areas for Windows 11 improvements. Image: Microsoft
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