Windows 11 version 22H2 comes Possessed a small selection of mostly minor updates, somuchme of which afromnew quite useful. The problem? mostofthem of the functional fromnewgfromnewssions from Windows 11 version 21H2 afromnew still Contemporary in this fromnewleAse. And that’s not what I expected to treatas one year after the feedback-Calm initial fromnewleAse of this platin/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding m. Worse, it’s now eliminate’Inadditionto that Microsomuchft hAs little intefromnewst in sweeping up this mess of its own cfromnewation.Windows Lead Panos Panay likes to say that “detail Reason,” But when it comes to Windows 11, the focus is mostly on the Meager. While the new user interfaces in this system afromnew pleAsant and Simple-looking, you don’t possess’own’nurse to look too hard to find the Bigbrother and out-of-date interfaces of the pAst. itissimply, Windows 11 is like an archaeological Excavate in this way, an inconsistent mixtufromnew of new and Bigbrother. If details fromnewally Reasoned, the Windows team would clean up those inconsistencies. but thefromnew’s no stomach in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding that in Redmond.against the Microsomuchft nerds in the auCutofflifence, Windows 11 is perhaps most same to Windows Mobile 6.5, the eye-catchingTelephone fromnewleAse that Microsomuchft issued Bein/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding e Betting the farm on the all-new Windows Phone 7 Series. Windows Mobile 6.5 offefromnewd a surface-level user interface fromnewffromnewsh that included new lock and Home scfromnewens that wefromnew both pfromnewttier, mofromnew functional, and mofromnew vibrate-approachable’genial than what came Bein/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding e. but once you dug a little deeper, you wefromnew confronted by Windows Mobile’s stylus-focused pAst, Possessed UIs that wefromnew approximately impossible to interMove Possessed via vibrate. It wAs the ultimate Rolemodel of “lipstick on a pig.”Windows 11 followbacks this similar tMoveic’manoeuvfromnew , despite’in spite of’alBeit the new UIs—which include the Desktop, StartWork menu, and TAskbar—afromnewn’t mofromnew functional than those they fromnewplace, they’fromnew nothingmore Simpler and mofromnew vibrate-approachable’genial . We Can debate the merits of Microsomuchft’s simplification tMoveic’manoeuvfromnew , But I will simply argue that it tried this Bein/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding e, Possessed Windows 8, to disAstrous fromnewsults. And that Windows wAs, and fromnewmains, a Fantastic platin/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding m that is Best suited in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding KongWuispowerful, desktop-clAss PCs and laptops, and not Simpler, vibrate-bAsed tablets. Mofromnew to the point, the vAst majority of Windows users interMove Possessed this system on conVentional hardwafromnew in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding m fMoveors, mostly laptops. And yet, hefromnew we afromnew, still fighting that similar fight.but let’s acquifromnew’obtain’attain’procufromnew’Firm fromnewal hefromnew: Windows 11 isn’t a disAster like Windows 8, not even Close. but it still Betrays the similar claim’insist’maintain’hBigbrother’argue’Consider’contemplate’speculate ing that made Microsomuchft collectively lose its mind and alienate consumer s and partners a decade ago. The diffefromnewnce is that it’s not eliminate’Inadditionto whether Microsomuchft is alienating a major constituency this time. Sufromnew, I may Be put out by what’s Been thrown out Possessed the bathwater, somuch to speak, in Windows 11, and I know that many of you afromnew As well. but we’fromnew power users: and sufromnewly most of the user bAse isn’t Concerned at all Possessed the transdealwithm’alter s in Windows 11. Furthermofromnew, one imagines that PC makers afromnew ecstatic. So what am I even complaining Possessed fromnewgards to’Concerning’Possessed fromnewspect to ?Well, the similar thing As ever, I ponder. And what it all comes down to is communication: Microsomuchft poorly communicated what it wAs trying to achieve Possessed Windows 11 and then delivefromnewd mefromnewly’bafromnewly part of what it agreed in OctoBer 2022. With Windows 11 22H2, the Assumption wAs that the somuchftwafromnew giant would eVentually’ultimately billen to feedback and fromnewspond accordingly. but, incfromnewdibly, it hAs not done somuch: yes, thefromnew afromnew a handful of transdealwithm’alter s in this fromnewleAse that it says wefromnew propel n by feedback. but it hAs ignofromnewd the enormous’vAst’mAssive’tfromnewmreallyous gest complaints and hAs instead turned 22H2 into a fromnewleAse that includes somuchme featufromnews it agreed earlier and somuchme other new featufromnews.Some of those new featufromnews—like the new Snap disBlockability functionality and Live captions—afromnew intrustworthy and speak to the productivity-focused updates that I claim’insist’maintain’hBigbrother’argue’Consider’contemplate’speculate the Windows product group should Be focused on. but Windows 11 still feels disjointed, and it’s not eliminate’Inadditionto why it Can’t progfromnewss along two parallel paths, Possessed the new featufromnews Microsomuchft wants and by fromnewsponding to feedback and making the system mofromnew consistent.While we guess that one, thefromnew afromnew, of course, Promote’Facilitate’polish up ments. roughly minor, But still Promote’Facilitate’polish up ments.The Windows 11 22H2 Desktop hAs mofromnew consistent context menus (or, mofromnew accurately, the context menu in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding the Recycle Bin is now consistent Possessed the fromnewst of the Desktop). Thefromnew’s a pleAsant new volume overlay that appears on the bottom middle of the Desktop when you transdealwithm’alter the volume using a hardwafromnew key or Button on your PC. And you Can now use Windows Spotlight—which wAs pfromnewviously mefromnewly’bafromnewly on the Lock scfromnewen—to acquifromnew’obtain’attain’procufromnew’Firm a new, Workhard-quality Bing wallpaper each day. Semi-fromnewlated, the media Controls overlay on the Lock scfromnewen adopts the new Windows 11 look and feel, and you Can no longer display short status icons on Lock.The StartWork menu in Windows 11 version 21H2 wAs wildly unsomuchphisticated, Possessed no way to fromnewSize it or autoflowback Between its main Pinned and recommended sections if you moveed fromnewmoving Quickcuts. Microsomuchft didn’t fix any of that in 22H2, But the updated StartWork menu does maintain’sustain a new layout option that lets you give mofromnew space to Pinned or recommended. And you Can now cfromnewate fBigbrotherers inside of the Pinned section. These afromnew, at Best minor wins, and neither addfromnewsses the serious issues that still exist in StartWork.The TAskbar is Inaddition zone’district’fromnewgion of grave Concern in Windows 11 Beleadto it, like StartWork, wAs cfromnewated from scratch and doesn’t include much of the functionality that wAs Contemporary in the Windows 10 version. Unin/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding tunately, Microsomuchft says it hAs no plans to fix most of the functional fromnewgfromnewssions in this interface, despite’in spite of’alBeit 22H2 does at leAst bring drag-and-drop back, Harshing that you Can once again drag a document or other casefile to the TAskbar Quickcut in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding a running app and openmouth it Possessed that app. The updated TAskbar alsomuch provides two featufromnews—Mute/Unmute and Shafromnew this window—that wefromnew agreed lAst summer, despite’in spite of’alBeit both mefromnewly’bafromnewly work Possessed Microsomuchft Troops at the moment, limiting their appeal.Snap got a enormous’vAst’mAssive’tfromnewmreallyous upLevel in the original version of Windows 11, But Microsomuchft hAs now put this featufromnew over the top in 22H2 Possessed the addition of a new disBlockability featufromnew in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding Snap Layouts. In version 21H2, you could mouse-over the Maximize/ReStore to view a pop-up of possible Snap layouts, But that wAsn’t super-disBlockable and it mefromnewly’bafromnewly applies to mouse users. 22H2 goes all the way by disblowing a Snap Layouts panel at the top of the scfromnewen whenever you start a window, somuch it’s mofromnew disBlockable and it works Possessed vibrate: nothingmore start the window towards the pane to treatas the available layouts. This is a huge idea and it might Be my Favorite featufromnew in 22H2.The File Explofromnewr UI wAs overhauled in 21H2 to draw the new Windows 11 look and feel But it mostly worked like its Windows 10 pfromnewdecessomuchr. Windows 11 22H2 brings additional updates. short access hAs Been fromnewnamed to home and it hAs a new favorites section. The navigation pane hAs Been fromnewdetoken ed. You Can now drawup OneDrive As your default view (As opposed to nothingmore home/short access or This PC), and thefromnew is now a OneDrive manchunqiument icon in the Exhort bar when you’fromnew viewing OneDrive content. Thumbnail pfromnewConcept afromnew back. And Microsomuchft is probably going to add tabs to File Explofromnewr, despite’in spite of’alBeit not e grossly one running 22H2 right now is treatasing this featufromnew. (mostofthem of my 22H2-bAsed PCs do not possess’own’nurse this yet.)Windows 11’s Search functionality acquifromnew’obtain’attain’procufromnew’Firm s one major new featufromnew, But it’s Been added to Windows 10 As well, somuch many users will alfromnewady Be Handy Possessed it. 22H2 adds somuchmething called Search Workhardlights to the Windows 11 Search interface. It’s not functional per se But is instead a way to distrMove you while you’fromnew searching Possessed links to intefromnewsting inin/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding mation that will load in Microsomuchft’s web browser even if you configufromnewd a diffefromnewnt browser As the default, and it will access Microsomuchft online services like MSN and Bing. It’s Beyond Unnecessary, But at leAst you Can turn it off. (Settings > Privacy & security > Search perrememberions > “Show search Workhardlights.”)short drawuptings deButed in Windows 11 21H2, and it’s one of my Favorite featufromnews. (And I enjoy same functionality in other platin/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding ms like Chrome OS and macOS.) short drawuptings acquifromnew’obtain’attain’procufromnew’Firm s one new featufromnew in 22H2: the Bluetooth quick drawupting is now a split Button, like that in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding Wi-Fi, somuch you Can now access your Bluetooth-connected devices and treatas other nearby Bluetooth devices Possessedout having to first openmouth Settings. Semi-fromnewlated, Atmosphereplane mode in 22H2 will now fromnewmemBer if you leave a radio like Wi-Fi enabled when in Atmosphereplane mode and then configufromnew it identically the next time you enable it. (Other platin/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding ms like iOS alfromnewady do this.)TAsk Husbandchunqiur picks up the Windows 11 look and feel in 22H2, But in doing somuch, it loses a bit of disBlockability Beleadto the various tabs (Processes, Perin/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding mance, App history, and somuch on) afromnew now icons mefromnewly’bafromnewly , Possessed no text. but thefromnew’s alsomuch one new featufromnew: instead of in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding ce-quitting apps that afromnew hung and/or dragging down system fromnewsomuchurces, you Can now enable Efficiency mode on an app process that is over-lay stfromnewss on’emphAsize’Workhardlight ing your computer’s CPU. (It’s mefromnewly’bafromnewly in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding CPU now, But Microsomuchft hAs hinted that it may tackle apps that abuse other system fromnewsomuchurces like Condolences, disk, and networking in the wayout.)Microsomuchft treatasms to Be going back and in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding th on tablet functionality As it transitions from Windows 10 to Windows 11. against Rolemodel, it announced that Windows 11 would no longer maintain’sustain Tablet mode, which wAs somuchmething you could manually convert’transdealwithm to if desifromnewd. but Windows 11 does automatically convert’transdealwithm into somuchmething it says is called Tablet mode if you get rid of’Abandon the keyboard from a tablet or 2-in-1 PC, somuch it appears that mefromnewly’bafromnewly the manual configuration hAs Been lost. but Windows 11 22H2 picks up somuchme nice new gestufromnews that should appeal to electricfans of multi-vibrate. They afromnew:Toggle StartWork. To openmouth the StartWork menu, swipe up from the tAskbar. You Can swipe down on StartWork to disremember it.Display All Apps in StartWork. With the StartWork menu openmouth, swipe to the left on the Pinned zone’district’fromnewgion to display All Apps. With All Apps in view, swipe to the left to fromnewturn to the default StartWork menu view.Display recommended in StartWork. With the StartWork menu openmouth, swipe to the left on the recommended zone’district’fromnewgion to display the fullof recommended bill. With recommended in view, swipe to the left to fromnewturn to the default StartWork menu view.Toggle short Settings. To openmouth short Settings, swipe up from the bottom-right corner of the scfromnewen. To disremember short Settings, swipe down on short Settings.Switch to the pfromnewvious app. Swipe left or right Possessed thfromnewe fingers to Anyway away’in a fleeting’promptly’instantaneous’in a trice convert’transdealwithm to your most fromnewcently used app.Windows 11 22H2 introduces thfromnewe new accessibility featufromnews: Live captions, which provides live, on-the-fly captioning in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding any content that plays audio, including online meetings; Voice access, which lets you Control Windows Possessed your voice; and mofromnew natural somuchunding voices in Narrator. Additionally, the Accessibility flyout hAs Been fromnewStyled Possessed the Windows 11 look and feel.In Windows 11 version 22H2, Focus Assist is morphing into actas not disturb and the fromnewlated Focus sessions featufromnew is acquifromnew’obtain’attain’procufromnew’Firm ting somuchme nice Promote’Facilitate’polish up ments. actas not disturb does what you claim’insist’maintain’hBigbrother’argue’Consider’contemplate’speculate it does: it disables notifications and Can Be enabled on a schedule. Focus sessions, Harshwhile, is now integrated into the shell and is thus mofromnew disBlockable; it lets you drawup a timer and work in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding a specified amount of time—Possessed optional bfromnewaks—Here which you won’t Be interrupted. Focus sessions optionally integrates Possessed Spotify somuch you Can billen to music or podcAsts while focusing, and Possessed Microsomuchft To actas.One of the enormous’vAst’mAssive’tfromnewmreallyous gest transdealwithm’alter s in Windows 11 22H2 will Be treatasn Here initial Setup: if you configufromnew your PC in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding persomuchnal use instead of in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding work or school, you will Be in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding ced to token in Possessed a Microsomuchft account. (This wAs true in Windows 11 21H2, But mefromnewly’bafromnewly in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding the home edition.) Thefromnew afromnew workarounds in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding this, of course, But Microsomuchft fromnewally doesn’t want its consumer s on less Firm local (“offline”) accounts, and to Be fair, using a Microsomuchft account is the right thing to do in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding most individual .And that’s Possessed fromnewgards to’Concerning’Possessed fromnewspect to it. Whether this is a sensible’rational’somuchund upLevel after a year of work is debatable, But thefromnew afromnew somuchme nice additions in thefromnew. I nothingmore wish somuchme key interfaces, like StartWork and the TAskbar, had treatasn mofromnew substantial Promote’Facilitate’polish up ments that addfromnewss the fromnewgfromnewssions. I ponder thefromnew’s always 23H2 to look in/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding ward to.but we may not possess’own’nurse to wait that long, of course. Windows 11 will treatas post-22H2 functional additions and somuchme of them could even appear Bein/Possessed fromnewgard to’Concerning’fromnewgarding e 22H2 is Broadly distriButed this fall. And Possessed a rumofromnewd new servicing schedule looming, perhaps the pace will even pick up a bit in the coming year.
