A closer look at Windows 11’s recent changes

Windows 11 was officially announced last month with a redesigned Start, taskbar and Action Center experience. At the moment, Windows 11 is available to testers in the Dev Channel of the Insider program.

Microsoft is still on Windows 11 and the company has introduced new features and improvements with the latest cumulative updates. In addition to big improvements, we're also expecting nifty improvements for the context menu, taskbar, and other areas of Windows 11.

Windows Update assistance

Microsoft is testing a new feature that would calculate and display the estimated installation time of an update. This feature is now available for everyone and it will appear when a new cumulative or feature update is ready to be installed in Windows Update.

However, this feature doesn't seem to be working properly as Windows Update always displays a five-minute estimate.

Search box

The Start menu is getting a new search box to make it easier to find your apps, documents, pictures and more. At the moment, the search bar is merely a shortcut and it will simply open the Windows Search panel

Taskbar

In the latest builds, Microsoft is working on a new modern design for the hidden icons flyout which is available on the lower right of the Taskbar  

Similarly, the taskbar can now be enabled across multiple displays.

Microsoft is testing a new taskbar design that will tell you when an app requires attention. The app icons will automatically flash on the Taskbar, but the flash effect would be subtle. Microsoft says these changes will match the look and feel of Windows 11, and the focus is on reducing the impact of unwarranted distractions.

Context menu

Microsoft is refreshing the right-click menu within the operating system to reduce clutter and enable Fluent Design acrylic effect. With Windows 11, Microsoft is bringing refinements to contextual file operations in the right-click context menu.

Windows 11 context menu comes with these improvements:

Common commands are placed right next to where the menu is invoked. “Open” and “Open with” are grouped together. Apps extend the menu with IExplorerCommand + app identity. Unpackaged Win32 apps can use Sparse Manifests. IExplorerCommand support extends back to Windows 7. App extensions are grouped together below Shell verbs. Cloud Files provider apps are placed next to the Shell commands to hydrate or dehydrate the file. Apps with more than 1 verb are grouped into a flyout with app attribution. “Show more options” loads the Windows 10 context menu as-is for access to low-use Shell verbs and apps still working on porting over. No commands have been removed entirely. Shift-F10 or the keyboard menu key will also load the Windows 10 context menu.

Microsoft Teams integration

Microsoft has now enabled the Microsoft Teams chatting feature in the Windows Taskbar. This feature is based on Microsoft Teams WebView and it will simply allow users to launch Teams chat or meetings directly from the taskbar.

Teams chat app

As shown in the above screenshot, you’ll see your most recent individual and group conversations. At the moment, you can tap on the Chat icon in the Taskbar to reach out to your contacts and friends.

It can automatically sync existing contacts via Skype or Outlook and you can also add contacts via an email address or phone number. You can generate an invite link to easily invite others to a group chat or video call.

Microsoft is still working on Windows 11 and we'll see more improvements in the coming builds.