Microsoft launches Windows 11; All-new start menu, redesigned layout and much more

As per details, the new version brought several improvements to its performance as the new build contains a variety of changes.

The launch came after months of speculation of what the new Windows will bring to users. Among the highlights, the new Windows comes with a completely new Start menu, with an updated Start button that is now positioned at the center of the taskbar.

Change in design

The build incorporates a new Windows icon with four equally sized squares, unlike the icon used for Windows 8 and Windows 10 with window panes that widen from left to right. Individual application windows retain rounded corners, not unlike those in Apple’s MacOS, instead of the sharp corners in Windows 10.

The animations people see while opening and closing windows have changed, and the Start menu displays apps and files in a way that’s similar to the Windows 10X approach. Sounds for notifications and other events have also been revamped.

Latest version has following features:

Wake on Touch

Computers with touchscreens exposed a new setting called Wake on Touch -- presumably a Windows equivalent of the feature on some mobile devices that allows users to quickly turn on the display by tapping the screen a couple of times.

Performance boost

Some of the people who installed the leaked Windows 11 build ran tests and found that the operating system delivered faster performance than the latest version of Windows 10, which itself was advertised as being “fast and familiar” when it was released in 2015.

The new version delivered better results than Windows 10 in a variety of comparisons on a Samsung PC running an Intel “Lakefield” chip, according to a report from Hot Hardware.

Revamped store

Nadella said last month that the Windows update would benefit developers. One place developers can expose their applications to end users in Windows is Microsoft’s app store. The company already said in April that it will lower the percentage of revenue that it keeps for itself from app store purchases, and Windows 11 could build on that.

Microsoft has been taking steps to permit developers to use third-party commerce systems for apps they’d like to list in the Store, and the company wants to make room for classic Win32 applications in the Store without requiring software changes, Windows Central reported in April.