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 color palettes to choose from. This change creates an easy-on-the-eye UI. Although there were plenty of customization 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 color 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 customizable software, you can revert the centered dock to the left. Simply head to settings, personalization, 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 customizable yet and an exciting step, design-wise, for the software. 1. ANDROID APPS?

Yes, you did read that correctly, and no, we haven’t lost the plot just yet. You can get android apps on Windows and not through some dodgy workaround. The Microsoft app store has had a little bit of tweaking, and though it isn’t too different visually, it now features rounded corners, which makes everything a bit easier on the eye.

One of the main positives is that, regardless of the streaming service, it can now show movies, TV shows, and more. This is a pretty neat feature in itself, however the mic drop news is that Amazon’s Android app store will be integrated into the Microsoft app store. That’s right, you can now get a designated TikTok app running on your PC, if anyone wants that.

Sarcasm aside, this is great news as the ghost-town-like app store of

5. SNAP LAYOUTS

If you hover over the maximize button in any window, a pop-up will appear with a few options for laying out your open tabs. It’s an efficient way to organize your work or make the most out of that ultra-wide monitor. If you use your PC for creative work, it makes perfect sense to take advantage of

yesteryear will now be packed with plenty more applications. This is generally going to benefit tablet or touchscreen devices, as this is what most Android apps are designed for, but nevertheless, it’s nice to have the option there. this new feature. Although snapping windows together isn’t necessarily new, it’s a much easier method. You could technically create these layouts before with other software or by just dragging windows out to fit, but this gives you templates to choose from that make full use of the screen. It’s a great built-in feature of Windows 11, but you can disable it if you want.

2. WIDGET PANEL

Eagle-eyed readers may have spotted an icon towards the bottom of the screen that looks like a window, this is the new Widgets panel. Think of it as an updated version of Windows 10’s news and interests panel. It shows widgets at the top followed by personalized news and information below. This sits in a neat panellike format with a frosted glass background and is similar to when you are using a tablet or touchscreen Windows device, as you can swipe from the side to open this up.

Widgets include weather, sports, to-do list, calendar, photos, and traffic updates. Nothing breathtakingly new here, it’s just all laid out efficiently and is easy to access at the click of a button. There’s even a web search bar at the top so you can get procrastinating. 3. TASK VIEW

There is another newly designed icon in the taskbar, the task view. Compared with Windows 10, the newer OS seems to have taken a less-is-more approach. At first glance, everything is more evenly spaced and easier to follow, more intuitive, and smoother—especially the new animation that opens up the task view. It spaces out open tabs evenly, without cramming them all together so you can quickly transition between them. When the task view is open, it frosts the background, which seems to be a theme in the new OS. At the bottom of the screen, you can see your open desktops and easily open up a new one. You might already be sick of us saying this, but everything is rounded and it looks neat and tidy. 4. START MENU

Last but not least the start menu, the main hub for Windows 11, has had a big visual change but is still easy to navigate. Live tiles have gone and now we have a smaller pop-up window with, you guessed it, rounded corners, and frosted background. At the top of the window is pinned apps, which is a great place to keep all your most important applications. Next to this on the top right, there is a button for all apps and when you open this it is a familiar list format like in Windows 10.

In the bottom half of the start menu is a new recommended icon list that can display recent documents, applications, and files you have opened or frequently visit. This is handy if you close down things when you don’t mean to. The reasoning behind Microsoft’s new start menu is that the user can get to what they need to quickly. That’s really one of the main findings from the new OS, it’s less complex, cleaner, and more intuitive. Sounds good right?