Windows 11’s first big update arrives: 6 new features to try

Microsoft’s spring replace to Windows 11 is now formally dwell. New options embrace the primary Amazon apps, a revamped taskbar, and extra.

Microsoft will push the brand new options to your PC by way of Windows Update, the Microsoft Store, and new “experience packs” that can obtain quietly within the background and facilitate modifications to the Windows 11 working system. Updates to the Store will push new variations of Notepad and Windows Media Player, which can exchange the older Groove Music app. Several years in the past, Microsoft pulled the plug on the Groove music service. In reality, clicking on “Groove Music” inside your app drawer ought to redirect you to the brand new Media Player app.

Here’s what’s new throughout the new Windows experiences for February 2022:

• The addition of Android apps, by way of a subset of the apps out there by way of the Amazon Appstore
• The addition of a Weather app on the Taskbar
• The capability to mute your mic in Teams, once more from the Taskbar
• Easier display sharing in Teams, out of your Taskbar
• The (re)addition of the clock to a number of screens on the Taskbar
• Updates to Media Player and Notepad

The “update” could also be delivered in chunks, in order that sure parts of it could arrive sooner than others. For instance, the up to date Media Player and Notepad arrived virtually instantly by way of the Microsoft Store on my PC, however the brand new updates to Windows 11 by way of Windows Update weren’t out there when clicking “check for updates” throughout the Settings menu.

Technically, it’s not even truthful to name the brand new launch a Windows 11 February 2022 Update, though which may be what will probably be generally known as. In a blog post, Microsoft chief product officer Panos Panay referred to as the updates “new experiences in Windows 11” and never a proper replace. The plan of report is to difficulty Windows 11 22H2 or no matter it finally ends up being referred to as this fall.

Here’s what you have to know concerning the new options.

Android app help

As with nearly all of Microsoft’s new options, the brand new experiences arrived early throughout the Windows Insider preview program. We have a detailed story describing how you can set up Android apps in your PC by way of the Amazon Appstore and would anticipate that will probably be the identical underneath the brand new experiences as nicely.

Essentially, it’s a one-step course of. All you must do is obtain the Amazon Appstore Preview app throughout the Microsoft Store and observe the directions. Windows establishes a digital machine of kinds in your PC and downloads the mandatory recordsdata within the background. Interestingly, formal VMs usually require Windows 11 Pro. In this case, Android apps will run on high of Windows 11 Home, supplied you may have the mandatory {hardware} to run the working system.

Is it value it? Sort of. The restricted variety of apps (underneath 60) implies that there’s lots of clunkers throughout the present choices — the kind of apps you’d unset up from a brand new PC. But apps for United Airlines and The Wall Street Journal additionally imply that there’s sufficient there to take a look at. Google’s personal app retailer isn’t out there, both, with out some modifications.

A redesigned Taskbar

If you’re conversant in our original Windows 11 review, you realize that we took difficulty with the redesigned Taskbar and Start menu. You’ll be comfortable to know that sure issues have been fastened…and others haven’t.

As the bulleted listing above notes, head-scratching omissions just like the elimination of the clock from the taskbar on something however the principle show have now been restored. What’s barely disappointing is that two of the brand new options — muting the mic and sharing your display — appear to be unique to Microsoft Teams, not any app that makes use of your mic. In different phrases, whereas utilizing Teams, you’ll see a little bit mic icon seem in your Taskbar. (A mic icon already seems when utilizing an app like Zoom, however clicking it merely takes you to the Windows 11 Settings web page and mic permissions). Now, whereas utilizing Teams, clicking that mic icon will merely mute your mic.

Likewise, the brand new replace additionally facilitates display sharing — once more inside Teams. While in a Teams name, should you hover your mouse over your taskbar, it’s best to see a small thumbnail of the lively window in addition to a button to share the display. Clicking it would merely mission it for others to see.

Finally, the Weather icon has arrived on the Taskbar. On Windows 10, this is called “News and Interests.” On Windows 11, the Weather icon is a shortcut to the Widgets menu within the left-hand nook by default. While you’re utilizing one other window, the climate icon will merely present a small abstract of the climate (sunny, partly cloudy, and so forth) and temperature. Hovering over it would open the Widgets drawer, which can be a shock.

As famous above, Windows Media Player replaces Groove Music, whose utility grew to become questionable when Microsoft killed off the Groove Music Pass 5 years in the past (!) in 2017. Now, Media Player works such as you’d anticipate. Pick a music file, play it, and go on from there. There’s no integration with Spotify and no visualizer, however there’s fundamental performance for each audio and video playlists.

Mark Hachman / IDG

While the app itself doesn’t listing the audio/video codecs it helps, it’s a minimum of properly built-in together with your Music, Videos, and Downloads folders, discovering my collected audio and video recordsdata and presenting them throughout the app’s context. Supposedly, the apps additionally pulls content material from OneDrive even with a selected music folder added to the music library.

The new Notepad

If you’re not a frequent Notepad person, you’ll marvel what’s modified. If you’re, you might discover the brand new Dark Mode and the way Notepad adapts to your Light Mode/Dark Mode system settings. Otherwise, essentially the most noteworthy additions are multi-level undo (hurray!) and emojis (okay?).

Microsoft didn’t say whether or not or not it could be including to those new “experiences” over time. In any occasion, it’s a little bit of contemporary paint for Windows 11.