12 Best Windows 11 Features You Must Know

 Best New Windows 11 Features

1. New Start Menu

Of all the new Windows 11 features, the new launcher-style floating Start Menu is the most distinctive part of Microsoft’s next-gen desktop OS. Unlike the traditional Start Menu, the new Start — as Microsoft is calling it — sits right at the center of the taskbar. It has a flyout design with pinned and recommended apps accompanying each other. So far in my usage, the recommendations are pretty good. It quickly offers me access to documents, photos, and apps I have recently installed.

Apart from that, you can hover your mouse over the Search menu, and it will offer you a few suggested apps based on your past searches. Overall, I think the new Start is the best thing about Windows 11. It’s fast, resolves your queries smartly, and offers the best results within seconds.

2. New Action Center

My second favorite feature of Windows 11 is the revamped Action Center. It follows a design language that we have seen on mobile OSes, and I quite like this mobile-first approach to important system toggles. You can now simply click on the unified “WiFi, volume and battery” button to open the new Action Center. It packs all the necessary controls, including brightness and volume sliders. You can also add more toggles like before

3. Modern File Explorer

The File Explorer on Windows has been a major point of contention among Windows users. Diehard fans have disapproved of any change to the File Explorer, stating why to change something if it works perfectly well. That said, it indeed needed a modern makeover, and I am happy to report that the new File Explorer is functional and has all the features you need. You now have colorful new icons, a new Context menu, and a Command bar up top, which replaces the existing Ribbon menu bar.

4. Advanced Gesture Controls

Gestures have long been part of Windows 10, but frankly speaking, they were not very smooth, and the transitions between apps and virtual desktops were awful. With the new Advanced Gesture Controls and mandatory precision touchpad requirement for Windows 11 PCs, things look better. Now, you can customize three-finger and four-finger swipes according to your preference.

5. Touch Keyboard Improvements

We know that Microsoft has removed the tablet mode from Windows 11, and for a good reason. It has now developed a unified interface that works for both desktop and tablet form factors. To enhance the tablet experience, the touch keyboard has got some major improvements in Windows 11. This includes support for themes, background image, the ability to customize text size, typing behavior, and more. So if you have a Windows tablet, Windows 11 is going to bring a whole new experience to your device.

6. Android Apps Support in Windows 11

Android apps now run natively on Windows 11 through the new Microsoft Store. You’ll first need to download and install the Amazon Appstore and sign in to your Amazon account (or create an account if you don’t have one). After that, you’ll be able to search for apps as you would on mobile devices and other platforms. 

7. Snap Layout & Other New Multitasking Features

Snapping was already great on Windows 10, but Microsoft has taken it a notch further with easier Snap Assist. This new feature is called Snap Layouts. Now, when you hover your mouse pointer over a window’s maximize button, you will find various layouts for how you want to position the window. You can also invoke the snap layout option with the “Win + Z”  Windows Keyboard Shortcut. If you use a large monitor, this will help maximize your productivity.

8. Windows 11 Widgets

It’s interesting to see how much Microsoft is indulged in mobile-driven design for its next-gen desktop OS. With Windows 11, Microsoft has brought Widgets, where you can find all kinds of information with just a click. 

9. New Context Menu & Rounded Corners

Windows 11 has finally brought a modern context menu sans the sharp corners. It gels well with the overall Windows 11 aesthetics. But let me tell you something, there was no “Refresh” button in the context menu in the initial builds. Don’t worry, though. Microsoft listened to user feedback and brought back the “Refresh” button in recent Windows Insider preview builds. And well, the “F5” shortcut still works in Windows 11.

10. Focus Sessions

Focus Sessions is one of the best new features of Windows 11 as it brings something new to Microsoft’s desktop OS, similar to what we have seen on smartphones. To be productive on Windows 11, Microsoft wants users to utilize the dedicated Focus Sessions feature in the Alarms and Clock app. You can link your Microsoft To-Do list to manage your tasks and integrate Spotify to listen to your favorite music during work.

11. New MS Paint, Photos, MS Office, Media Player

One of the best things about Windows 11 is that Microsoft is not just reskinning the OS to the new Fluent UI, along with rounded corners and Mica material, but the company is also showing similar effort to redesign its first-party apps. Microsoft has overhauled one of its oldest apps, Paint, to the new design language, and it looks beautiful. The recent Windows 11 Dev Build brought the new Paint app and it syncs with the rest of the UI elements.

12. Voice Typing

Voice Typing is among my favorite Windows 11 features as it makes typing much easier and acts as a great accessibility tool. You just need to press the “Win + H“, and you can dictate whatever you want to Write.