All the features and changes found in the first preview of Windows 11
Microsoft recently published the first preview of Windows 11 (Build 22000.51) for devices enrolled in the Dev Channel of the Windows Insider Program, and with it, the company introduced a slew of significant interface changes, features, and updated apps coming this holiday season.
In this flight, you will find the new Start menu and a taskbar that both now have a centered alignment and a fresh take on Action Center that includes two experiences: “Notification Center” and “Quick Settings.” In addition, there’s a preview of the updated version of File Explorer that no longer includes a ribbon menu.
Windows 11 is also introducing a new Widgets feature to consume news and other content, a bunch of multitasking features like Snap layouts and groups, a new Microsoft Store and Get Started apps, a redesigned Settings app with new features and improvements, and a lot more.
In this Windows 11 guide, we will dive deep into the new interface changes, improvements, and new features that Microsoft has made available with Build 22000.51.
Windows 11 Build 22000.51 changes
These are the most important features, improvements, and changes to the user interface that Microsoft has been working on for Windows 11 so far:
Start menu
Windows 11 Build 22000.51 introduces a new Start menu design similar to the one the company was building for Windows 10X. The new menu and the updated taskbar appear centered on the screen, and it ditches the Live Tiles for traditional icons.
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
You will find the All apps button to access the list of all installed applications in the top-right corner. This part is where you will find the “most used” and “recently added” lists. Like in previous versions, you can use the dial to jump to different sections within the list.
Source: Windows Central
You can right-click the header to refresh the content, and you can click the More button to access even more recommendations. However, during the time I spent with this build, these options appear and disappeared without warnings.
If you see an item, you don’t want. You can right-click and select the option to remove it from the page.
Source: Windows Central
Then at the bottom, you will find the section that includes the profile menu and power options. The empty space in the middle is where you can place quick access to different folders, such as File Explorer, Settings, Documents, etc.
Taskbar, Notification Center, Quick Settings
The new taskbar also includes a centered alignment, but you can always configure it to the left like in previous versions.
The bar is a little taller than before and includes a lot of improvements. For example, in addition to having all the items aligned in the middle, you will notice a new Start logo, new icons for Search, Task View, and Widgets. (Cortana and My People are no longer part of the experience.)
When you hover over some of these icons, a new jump list menu will appear with some recent items or a quick view of the feature. Open apps will show thumbnails just like before.
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
The taskbar context menu has also been reworked, and it now only includes an option to open the Taskbar settings page. In the settings for the taskbar, you can add or remove items, control the icons that appear in the corner and the apps that appear in the overflow menu.
Source: Windows Central
Quick Settings
The taskbar included with Windows 11 Build 22000.51 also introduces a new notification area that now groups icons into an actionable button that brings up the new Quick Settings flyout. This menu includes the most common settings, such as volume, brightness, wireless, Bluetooth, Focus Assist, and others. However, the Tablet mode option has been removed since the company will be making the touch experience only on compatible devices.
If you are playing audio or video with Microsoft Edge, the Quick Settings will also show new media controls above the settings.
Source: Windows Central
You can also open the experience with the Windows key + A keyboard shortcut.
Notifications Center
Then there is the group of “date and time” and Focus Assist icons that you can click to open the new Notifications Center, which replaces Action Center. This experience includes all your notifications and a full-month calendar view, but it doesn’t allow you to create calendar events like it was possible in previous versions.
Source: Windows Central
Task View and Desktops
The new version of the OS comes with the Task View experience and “Virtual Desktops” feature that has been renamed to Desktops.
You can click the new Task View button or the Windows key + Tab keyboard shortcut to use both experiences. Similar to the previous version, you can view all your running applications and use all the same options as before but with the difference that Timeline is no longer part of the experience, and the controls are at the bottom of the interface.
Source: Windows Central
Widgets
Widgets in Windows 11 is an experience similar to the “news and interests” feature already available on Windows 10. It features a bunch of cards with different types of information, such as weather, news, sports, stocks, traffic, and you can even display Microsoft To-Do lists and more.
Source: Windows Central
You cannot disable the feature, but you can remove the button from the taskbar settings if you do not want to use it.
Multitasking
Another big focus of Windows 11 is improving the multitasking experience. And Build 22000.51 ships with at least four significant improvements, including Snap layouts, Snap groups, and changes for managing multiple monitors.
Snap layouts is a new feature part of the Snap assist experience that brings a menu with different grids, which you can use to snap windows on the screen by hovering over the maximize button. Once you select a snap layout and position, Snap assist will guide you to continue positioning windows in the remaining zones. Depending on the size of the screen, you may see four or six different grids.
Source: Windows Central
Furthermore, when dragging windows manually to any of the corners or sides of the screen to snap the window, you will now see a new visual with transparent elements previewing how the windows will snap in place.
While you have been able to snap windows for a long time, Snap layouts will come in handy to help users manage windows, and thanks to the new layouts, it will make it easier to manage windows in wider displays.
You can also invoke the Snap layouts using the Windows key + Z keyboard shortcut.
“Snap groups” is a feature that is part of the taskbar experience that lets you switch back to different groups of snapped windows when switching to another app, so you do not have to re-snap them again to get back to what you were doing faster.
Source: Windows Central
Windows 11 Build 22000.51 also comes with new settings to make it ease the pain using an external monitor with your laptop. For instance, when you disconnect the external monitor, all the running applications on the external display will minimize automatically. Then when you reconnect the monitor, the system will restore all the apps to their original location.
The feature comes enabled by default, but you can manage this experience from Settings > Display > Scale & layout > Multiple displays. The settings include:
- Remember window locations based on monitor connection.
- Minimize windows when a monitor is disconnected.
File Explorer
Microsoft is also working on a new version of the File Explorer app, and even though it does not come with support for tabs, it comes with the same legacy look but with a modern interface.
In this new version, the ribbon-style menu is gone, and it has been replaced with a new menu with new icons (without labels) for basic commands, including copy, paste, rename, share, and recycle. And now, the menu and the title bar are combined into a single element with semi-transparent visuals.
Source: Windows Central
Since there is no more ribbon with tabs, the new Explorer is accommodating the other tabs command in three new drop-down menus, including “Sort and group options,” “Layout and view options,” and “See more.”
Source: Windows Central
The Layout and view options menu is the place to find the options to show items in different sizes, such as extra-large, large, small, list, details, and more. The menu also includes the option to enable the compact view instead of the new view with more padding.
In addition, the Show submenu also includes the options to manage the left pane view, show or hide extensions, or hidden items.
Finally, the See more (three-dotted) menu houses the commands for selections, compressed to ZIP file, and Options to manage the app settings.
Similar to the ribbon menu experience, the options in the new modern menu will adapt to the content, meaning that depending on where you are and the files you are managing, you will see different settings. For example, the “New” menu will not show the option to create a new folder if you in the “This PC” page. However, the “See more” menu will include the options to manage network locations and map network drives.
Source: Windows Central
The File Explorer on Windows 11 also comes with a new context menu. When you right-click an item, you will see the new menu that includes a first row with commands for quick access to cut, copy, rename, share, and recycle, and the rest of the items will be different depending on the items you are selecting.
Source: Windows Central
If you like the more traditional menu, you can select the Show more options item (or Shift key + F10 keyboard shortcut), and that will open the classic menu.
The new context menu style is available in File Explorer, Desktop, and across the experience.
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
Windows Ink is now Pen menu
In this flight, Build 22000.51 is also renaming “Windows Ink Workspace” to “Pen menu,” and the experience has been redesigned to now let you pin any app you want.
Voice Typing
Although Microsoft is also touting the Voice Typing app as new to the first preview of Windows 11, the new and improved app to help you type using your voice has been available for a number of builds.
Source: Windows Central
General UI and sounds
Windows 11 is all about the rounded corners. You will find this design style across all the elements, including frames, buttons, flyout interfaces, menus like context menu, Start menu, taskbar, Notifications Center, and Quick Settings.
Microsoft is also implementing new design materials, including Mica and Acrylic. Mica is a new material that will let the desktop pass through the application frame and indicate that the window focuses on whether you are using the dark or light mode.
Source: Windows Central
Then there is the Acrylic material that creates a more translucent physical texture, and you will see this effect more when using Snap Assist, Widgets, other features.
In addition to the new material, starting with Build 22000.51, the OS is also getting a new dialog box with a more straightforward design matching the Windows 11 design style with a white background and buttons that match the system color accent.
Font
As part of the system overhaul, the new Segoe UI Variable font family that features changes to scale the font seamlessly from small to larger display sizes is fully implemented. This new font is based on the legacy Segoe with new improvements for better legibility at small sizes and better outlines at display sizes.
Source: Microsoft
Animations
Windows 11 also introduces new animations to make the system feel snappier and more comfortable using. You will notice these animations as you slide features in and out, snap or resize windows, open apps from the taskbar, and click or remove buttons from the taskbar.
There is even a new loading animation for installing apps or updates.
Sounds
This is a big deal for many users. The startup sound is back, and it has a new melody. In addition, almost all the sounds for common actions have been replaced with new sounds designed to be a little more atmospheric and lighter. You will also find that the sounds will be slightly different depending on whether you are using the dark or light mode.
Lock screen and Sign-In screen
You are also getting a preview of the new Lock screen. The experience looks similar to the previous version, but it now centers the time and date information on the screen like on your mobile phone.
Source: Windows Central
Settings app
Windows 11 Build 22000.51 also comes with a brand-new Settings app. The app features a new interface using the new Mica material for the frame, rounded corners, and new colorful icons. And all the settings follow the same organization as it was on Windows 10, but now they grouped differently.
As you open the app for the first time, you still have the left pane for navigation, but it no longer features a main page like the legacy version. Instead, you are taken to the “System” page.
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
Inside each of the sections, you will find a list of pages with related settings. The settings organization has a similar structure as the experience available on Microsoft Edge, where you click the page name to access the settings. Inside the pages, you may find more pages or different sections to customize the experience.
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
System
In the System section that’s where you find the options to configure the Display, Sound, Notifications, Focus assist, Power, Storage, Nearby sharing, Multitasking, Activation, Troubleshoot, Recovery, Projecting to this PC, Remote Desktop, Clipboard, and About.
Source: Windows Central
On System > Display, the Scale & layout section has been updated with new Multiple displays settings, including:
- Remember window locations based on monitor connection.
- Minimize windows when a monitor is disconnected.
Source: Windows Central
On System > Display, in the Advanced display page, there is an option (Dynamic) to configure the new Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) feature that allows Windows 11 to automatically lower or increase the display refresh rate to reduce the power consumption.
Source: Windows Central
On System > Sound, in the Properties page for input or output devices, the experience has been redesigned with high-quality icons for the peripheral, driver information, and settings previously only available using Control Panel.
For example, the properties page for the speakers includes permission options, the ability to choose the audio format, and other audio-specific settings.
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
In this flight, the “App volume and devices preferences” page has been renamed to “Volume mixer.” It includes all the same settings, and it replaces the legacy mixer menu available in the taskbar.
Source: Windows Central
- Show snap layouts when I hover over a window’s maximize button.
- Show snap layouts that the app is part of when I hover over the taskbar buttons.
And then there’s a new option:
- When I drag a window, let me snap it without dragging all the way to the screen edge.
The “Show suggestions in your timeline” is no longer available since Timeline is no longer a feature on Windows 11.
Source: Windows Central
Bluetooth & devices
The Bluetooth & devices section only includes a giant button to bring up the setup to add new devices for hero controls, and it houses the pages to customize Bluetooth, Devices, Printers & scanners, Your Phone, Cameras, Mouse, Touch, Pen & Windows Ink, AutoPlay, and USB.
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
Also, as part of the gesture improvements, this preview includes new touch gestures to make it easier to switch between apps and desktops. These gestures are similar to the ones you would use on a touchpad, including:
Three-finger gestures on Windows 11:
- Swiping left or right to switch to the last used app.
- Swiping down go back to the desktop.
- Swiping up to open Task View.
Four-finger gestures:
- Swiping left or right to switch to the previous or next desktop.
- Swiping up or down go back to the desktop.
Network & internet
In the Network & internet section, you will find the active network connection, access to the properties for the active network connection, and data usage information as hero controls. This section includes the settings for Ethernet, Wi-Fi, VPN, Mobile hotspot, Airplane mode, Proxy, Dial-up, and Advanced network settings.
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
Personalization
In the Personalization section, you will find a preview of the current theme and the options to choose between the six new default themes as hero controls. This section includes the settings for Background, Colors, Themes, Lock screen, Touch keyboard, Start, Taskbar, Fonts, and Device usage.
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
On Personalization > Start, the page has been updated to reflect the settings for the new Start menu. As a result, a lot of the legacy settings have been removed, and you can only show or hide recently added apps, most used apps, and jump list items.
Source: Windows Central
On Personalization > Taskbar, the page has been updated to house all the settings corresponding to the new taskbar. Similar to the Start settings, many legacy options have been removed, including the ability to change the taskbar location, show small icons, and other options.
Source: Windows Central
The Taskbar corner icons section includes options to add or remove the Pen menu and Touch keyboard buttons in the taskbar’s notification area.
The Taskbar corner overflow section lets you show or hide icons that appear in the taskbar corner overflow menu.
The Taskbar behaviors section includes the settings to change the taskbar and Start menu alignment to the left or center. Also, you get the options to hide the taskbar automatically, show badges for apps, show the taskbar across all the displays, and there is a new option to enable or disable the show desktop button in the far corner.
Apps
The Apps section doesn’t have hero controls, and it is the place to find the Apps & features, Default, Offline maps, Optional features, Apps for websites, Video playback, and Startup pages.
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
The feature isn’t entirely new. It was previously available in Insider builds, but the company is now bringing it back with Build 22000.51.
On Apps > Optional features, this page was previously under Apps & features but now is part of the “Apps” section. Other than moving the page forward, everything is still the same.
Source: Windows Central
Accounts
In the Accounts section, the information about your account, rewards from Microsoft, and OneDrive backup information are the hero controls. This section houses the Your info, Email & accounts, Sign-in options, Family & other users, Windows backup, and Access work or school pages.
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
Time & language
In the Time & language section, you will find that Windows once again brings together the “Language & region” settings into a single page with all the same settings as before. This section includes the Date & time, Language & region, Typing, and Speech pages.
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
Accessibility
The Accessibility section includes the settings for Text size, Visual effects, Mouse pointer and touch, Text cursor, Magnifier, Color filter, Contrast themes, Narrator, Audio, Captions, Speech, Keyboard, Mouse, and Eye control.
Source: Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
Privacy & Security
The Privacy & security section replaces the “Privacy” section available in the older version of the Settings app. It includes all the same pages as before like General, Speech, Inking & typing personalization, Diagnostic & feedback, and Activity History, but it now also has the Searching Windows page.
Source: Windows Central
On Privacy & security > Device encryption, the page is new and includes the links to configure BitLocker on supported editions of Windows 11.
Source: Windows Central
Windows Update
The last section is Windows Update, and while this setting isn’t new, it now appears as its own category. The page features a visual element indicating the update status and a more prominent button to check for updates for hero controls.
Source: Windows Central
Inside the “Advanced options” page, under the “Additional options” section, a new Configured update policies page will list any policy that your organization may have configured on the device.
Source: Windows Central
Windows 11 apps
In addition to the new features and changes, Windows 11 Build 22000.51 also introduces a couple of new applications, including a new Get Started and Microsoft Store apps.
Get Started
The Get Started app still a work in progress, and it appears that Windows 11 will ship with an app to help users get started. However, the app promotes only OneDrive, Microsoft Edge, and the Your Phone apps at the time of this writing.
Source: Windows Central
Microsoft Store
Starting with Build 22000.51, Microsoft is making available the first preview of the new Microsoft Store.
The new experience does not come built into the OS, but it’s available through an app update. Once you received the new version, you notice a redesigned experience using rounded corners, a search box front and center, and a left navigation pane to the browser between the different categories, including home, apps, gaming, entertainment, and library.
Source: Windows Central
Furthermore, Microsoft is bringing more big names in apps, including Adobe Creative Cloud, Disney+, TikTok, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Visual Studio, and even Notepad and Paint.
According to the company, the new Microsoft Store has been redesigned to make more space for content, keeping the experience responsive and straightforward.
There’s a new layout to view apps with bigger screenshots, descriptions, and ratings. Also, when clicking the “Install” button, the downloading and installing visuals are similar to the Apple App Store.
Source: Windows Central
Windows 11 will also support Android apps through the Microsoft Store in partnership with the Amazon Appstore, but the feature will be available in future updates.
Setup change
This flight introduces various other changes around the setup and startup process.
Windows 11 Build 22000.51 also comes with a new out-of-box experience, which is the experience after the installation that guides you through the steps to complete the setup, including creating a new account, choose your privacy settings, and customize your preferences after an installation or on a new device.
The updated version of the OOBE features a modern and user-friendly interface with light colors, rounded corners, inviting animations, and new iconography.
Although most of the steps are the same as in the previous version of Windows, you will now be able to choose a name for your computer instead of generating one randomly. Windows 11 will show an option to restore your settings from previous setups.
Source: Windows Central
After completing the setup, during the “Getting things ready for you,” you will see a new animation with new glowing colors.
Source: Windows Central
Other improvements
In addition, Windows 11 now comes with support for Wi-Fi 6E. This is a newer version of the wireless technology 802.11 standard that has been designed to take advantage of the 6GHz band and other enhancements to increase higher transfer speeds.
Starting with Windows 11 Build 22000.51, Microsoft is no longer supporting the 32-bit version of the OS, which means that moving forward, only the 64-bit version will be supported.
More Windows resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, visit the following resources:
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