First visual impressions

Straight off the bat, you can tell that this new OS has had a fairly hefty re-design, and hats off to Microsoft for this one. The new design is incredible, it takes away the sharper lines from Windows 10 and softens them down. It has a frosted glass effect with plenty of different themes and colour palettes to choose from. This change creates an easy-on-the-eye UI. Although there were plenty of customisation options in Windows 10, it still felt like it had a harsher contrast and felt too utilitarian at times. Windows 11 brings a lot more colour to the interface without looking too playful. Even though most people will change these out regardless, the new wallpapers add a bit more pop to everyone’s first glance at the new OS, which is a nice touch.

There are certainly some major similarities with another huge competitor, lets just say, we are getting a lot of MacOS vibes from the new look. The biggest elephant in the room has to be the new centered dock. As a whole, this has gotten bad press due to the undeniable link to its Apple rival, but it doesn’t just stop there. Windows 11 introduces a simple change that affects all areas of the new UI and that is rounded corners. Yes, Apple doesn’t own the rights to rounded corners but they are certainly synonymous with softer shapes and a more elegant design scheme, which can now be found in Windows 11. The similarities here are uncanny, but it’s not an OS clone and still operates in the same format as the previous OS. One more noticeable thing that Microsoft has as a counterpart to a macOS feature is that Microsoft Teams is now built-in, kind of a Facetime iMessage alternative, right? If you don’t use it, you can always uninstall it, but it’s nice to see Microsoft integrating a great communication tool into its new OS. Anyway, enough with the Apple comparisons for now.

All design is subjective, so if you prefer the older design in Windows 10 you won’t be alone, as there are plenty who equally like and dislike this new step forward for Microsoft. If you are a Mac user and have always wanted to get into Windows there hasn’t been a better time than now to transition over. Due to the recent overhauls, it will feel a lot more like home to those who do that.

However, the centered dock alteration has led to a lot of people running around screaming with disgust considering this is a big change for Windows. Luckily, and without installing another piece of customisable software, you can revert the centered dock to the left. Simply head to settings, personalisation, taskbar, and then go into the taskbar behaviors tab. Here you will find taskbar alignment, where you can set the alignment to the left and end those sleepless nights. Don’t be put off by everything you see here, if anything this latest version of Windows is the most customisable yet and an exciting step, design-wise, for the software.