PC users no longer need to hang their heads when friends show them their slick macOS and ChromeOS user interfaces. Windows 11 is every bit as slick, aside from the occasional old-school Control Panel dialog box. The rounded window corners, compact Taskbar, and touch-friendly (sorry, Apple) design is easy on the eyes. It just looks nicer. Let’s not forget the understated and pleasing new system sounds, too.
A More Consistent Interface
Windows 11 brings a more consistent interface that rivals the aesthetics of macOS and ChromeOS. The rounded window corners, compact Taskbar, and touch-friendly design make it visually appealing. The new system sounds add a touch of sophistication, making the overall experience more pleasant.
Built-In Generative AI
Microsoft's Copilot generative AI tool combines the smarts of ChatGPT with Bing web-scraping for up-to-the-minute data. While you can get an optional basic version of it in Windows 10 as an installable app, Copilot in Windows 11 can do more, such as change settings and organize windows using Snap Assist. The Windows 11 version of Paint also includes AI image generation from text prompts in styles like oil paint, photorealistic, ink sketch, and anime. That’s more than the art styles that you get with Apple Intelligence, which is limited to cartoons and sketches.
Improved Included Apps
The included apps in Windows 11 are better than those in Windows 10. An all-new Media Player app makes watching videos and listening to music and podcasts a better experience. Windows 11 users also get Clipchamp, a simple template-based PWA video editor suited to small businesses making videos for marketing and advertising. The Windows 11 Clock app deserves special mention because of its useful Focus Sessions that help you concentrate on projects. The Photos app also includes generative erase for removing objects or backgrounds. The Notepad, Paint, and Calculator apps have all been updated as well.
A Better Screenshot Tool
Taking screenshots in Windows 11 continues to improve, with many good options in the updated Snipping Tool, including the ability to record screen video and copy or redact text from images. The Snipping Tool lets you select rectangular or freehand areas, program windows, or the whole desktop. It then opens a mini editor for cropping and markup. The screenshot tool also has a delay timer and built-in options for saving and sharing. You can still use the tried-and-true PrtSc key to save a screen image file to the clipboard or to OneDrive.
Snap Layouts for an Organized Desktop
In Windows, you have always been able to arrange windows on the desktop just the way you want them. Just when I thought it wasn’t possible to improve the already great capabilities in Windows 10—which lets you snap a window to the side to fill exactly half the screen or to a corner for an exact quarter of screen real estate—Microsoft comes up with another window layout trick called Snap Layouts. When you hover the cursor over the maximize icon at the top right of any window, you get multiple layout choices in a thumbnail view. You can even save a layout for a group of apps you want to reuse later in a single taskbar icon.
Widgets for Quick Access to News, Weather, and More
Windows 10 has a nifty News and Interests panel that pops up on hover over its Taskbar icon, but Windows 11’s Widgets are more customizable. And coming soon, Windows 11 will support third-party information widgets. Many of the first-party widgets are extremely useful: News, Weather, Sports, Traffic, Family Safety, Stock Prices, Outlook calendar, To Do, and OneDrive photos. Your news feed is customizable by topics and sources. Microsoft has also previewed a new feature for the Widget panel that lets you view it in full-screen mode.
Twice as Resistant to Malware
According to PCMag’s lead security analyst, Neil J. Rubenking, Windows 11 is ultra secure. Much of that is thanks to its requirement of a secure processor called a Trusted Platform Module (TPM). Despite the increased security, this new requirement nevertheless raised the hackles of many a Windows commentator, since it meant some older PCs would not be compatible with the new OS.
