Windows Users Are Angry, And Microsoft Is Finally Doing Something About It

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Microsoft yet acknowledged complaints astir Windows 11
• The institution is promising sweeping changes to a slew of features
• Windows Insiders will person a greater sound successful upcoming releases

Microsoft's customers person been grumbling astir Windows 11 since nan time it shipped, and lately, those complaints person gotten louder and angrier.

They've complained astir nan "glitchy mess" of Windows Update, astir nan push to cram Copilot-branded AI features into each nook and cranny of Windows, astir upsells and ads, and astir inconsistent strategy performance.

Also: Windows 11 has 1 cardinal users - and they're furious

And yet -- finally! -- personification successful Redmond noticed.

In a agelong station titled "Our committedness to Windows quality," published connected Microsoft's website and sent via email to millions of members of nan Windows Insider Program, Windows leader Pavan Davaluri laid retired a laundry database of changes Microsoft plans to make successful Windows 11, starting this month.

What's astir singular astir this station is what it doesn't contain. Here's really Davaluri kicked things off.

Every day, we perceive from nan organization astir really you acquisition Windows. And complete nan past respective months, nan squad and I person spent a awesome woody of clip analyzing your feedback. What came done was nan sound of group who attraction profoundly astir Windows and want it to beryllium better.

That paragraph belongs successful nan non-apology Hall of Fame, pinch a cross-reference to "Friday news dump" -- a classical PR method that intends to minimize media sum of nan awkward news being released.

Here's what's connected nan database of changes coming to Windows, on pinch my ain translator of what immoderate of those changes really mean. Note that these changes will beryllium rolling retired successful preview builds starting this period and continuing for nan remainder of nan year. There's nary announcement connected erstwhile they will scope nationalist releases.

More taskbar customization

You couldn't inquire for a much cleanable illustration of really Microsoft yet caught up to what Insiders person been griping astir for years.

When Microsoft released nan first preview of Windows 11, astir 5 years ago, nan caller taskbar was missing a characteristic that had been a favourite of powerfulness users for decades: nan expertise to move nan taskbar from its default location connected nan bottommost of nan show and threat it to nan broadside aliases top.

Also: The MacBook Neo conscionable upended nan fund laptop market

On nan Feedback Hub app, wherever Microsoft collects bug reports and comments from Windows users, 1 characteristic petition has been astatine aliases adjacent nan apical of nan database since time 1: "Bring backmost nan expertise to move nan taskbar to nan apical and sides of nan surface connected Windows 11."

As of this morning, that proposal had been upvoted much than 24,000 times and had received much than 2100 comments, pinch their reside increasing progressively angry arsenic nan years passed pinch nary motion that this characteristic was connected nan roadmap.

This introduction has been astatine aliases adjacent nan apical of nan most-requested feedback itms for 5 years.

Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET

So it's fitting that this point is astatine nan very apical of today's list: "More taskbar customization, including vertical and apical positions ... We are introducing nan expertise to reposition it to nan apical aliases sides of your screen, making it easier to personalize your workspace."

About time.

Less AI slop

As I noted earlier this year, Microsoft has been relentlessly shoehorning AI features into places wherever they perfectly don't belong. I travel feedback successful forums carefully, and I would estimate that astir 99% of nan comments astir AI features boil down to a elemental request: Please stop.

In a blog station welcoming 2026, CEO Satya Nadella based on that "we request to get beyond nan arguments of slop vs sophistication." In response, nan net made "Microslop" the most celebrated meme of nan caller year.

Also: My apical six Windows 12 predictions - including its astir apt merchandise date

In response, Microsoft now says it is backing off. "You will spot america beryllium much intentional astir really and wherever Copilot integrates crossed Windows, focusing connected experiences that are genuinely useful and well‑crafted," Davuluri says. Specifically: "We are reducing unnecessary Copilot introduction points, starting pinch apps for illustration Snipping Tool, Photos, Widgets, and Notepad."

More power complete updates

The Patch Tuesday schedule was expected to make Windows updates predictable, but that hasn't worked retired successful practice, judging by nan measurement of complaints I perceive each period astir an unwanted Windows update abruptly interrupting an important online gathering aliases wiping retired hours' worthy of work.

The response? "We're giving you much control" complete updates, Microsoft says, "while reducing update sound pinch less automatic restarts and notifications." When those changes rotation out, it should beryllium easier to skip updates during instrumentality setup, restart aliases unopen down without installing updates, and region updates for longer erstwhile needed.

Those are each invited changes, and agelong overdue.

Better performance

I regularly perceive complaints astir File Explorer being painfully slow to load and besides slow successful performing mundane tasks. Today's announcement promises "launch clip reductions" successful File Explorer, pinch "substantially little latency for search, navigation and discourse menus," on pinch an extremity to nan annoying flickering that immoderate users person reported.

Also connected nan roadmap is "improved representation efficiency, lowering nan baseline representation footprint for Windows ... and much accordant performance, moreover nether load."

Also: I've been studying Windows telemetry for a decade - here's nan only mounting I move off

Key to nan wide capacity betterment scheme is simply a push to move halfway parts of nan Windows UX to WinUI3. Given that WinUI3 has been astir longer than Windows 11 has, it seems astonishing that this alteration is only happening now.

Greater attraction to reliability

Today's station contains a agelong chat of reliability, starting pinch this promise: "Across nan operating system, we will attraction connected improving ... baseline reliability [and] strengthening nan Windows instauration by reducing OS level crashes, improving driver value and app stableness crossed our ecosystem truthful PCs tally smoothly and reliably each day."

That sounds great, but isn't that what they were already expected to beryllium focusing connected each time already?

I'm particularly willing to spot a renewed accent connected nan Windows Insider Program. As I wrote almost a twelvemonth ago, that once-groundbreaking programme has go a "confusing mess."

Pavuluri says nan institution plans to "[raise] nan value barroom for builds and [offer] clearer visibility into what features are included successful each Insider build."

The full Insider activity squad near nan programme past year, and I haven't seen a nationalist announcement of immoderate caller unit changes.

And more

The database goes connected and on, pinch improvements promised successful Bluetooth and USB connections, printer support, Windows Hello, and search. There's moreover a committedness to make widgets little annoying. (Good luck.)

The station closes pinch a beautiful sweeping promise:

As portion of this effort, we are evolving really Windows is built down nan scenes to raise nan value barroom and present invention wherever it matters most, shaped by nan feedback we are proceeding from you.

This includes deeper validation and broader testing crossed real-world hardware and usage scenarios earlier caller experiences scope Windows Insiders, and a much intentional attack to wherever and really caller capabilities are introduced. The consequence will beryllium higher value builds, much meaningful invention and greater elasticity successful choosing what you want to try. This is really we will proceed to build and vessel Windows 11, truthful we tin present amended experiences pinch greater confidence, period aft month.

That sounds to maine for illustration an admittance that nan full process for building Windows has been surgery for immoderate time. If you request to raise nan value bar, doesn't that connote that you've been shipping products that don't meet your customers' value standards? If you're readying broader testing crossed real-world hardware, doesn't that connote that nan testing authorities for nan past fewer years has been insufficient?

Meanwhile, a elemental "We're sorry" wouldn't hurt.