Microsoft has promised to unveil the “next generation” of Windows 10 at an event next week. The only problem is that it has already been leaked online. An early version of what’s called Windows 11 has popped up on social media … and Microsoft fans really aren’t happy with the new design changes. In fact, they’re pretty angry.
Based on what we’ve seen from leaks around the internet, the new desktop operating system is making some fundamental changes. For starters, the sharp edges and straight lines in Windows 10 have been abandoned in favor of softer curves and rounded corners everywhere. Every icon has been redesigned to make everything look like one piece – which is definitely not the case if you dive deep enough into Windows 10’s File Explorer or Control Panel.
There is also a panel of interactive widgets that can be swiped over anything you do on the screen. These little widgets can track stock prices, display headlines from news websites, present the forecast for the next few days, and much more. It is unclear whether you can interact with these widgets or whether clicking on them will launch the corresponding app. These widgets seem to replace the live tiles that were on the Windows 10 Start menu and show some information from the app on the icon itself – saving you a click if you wanted to quickly check the weather.
But it’s the Start menu that’s the biggest change in Windows 11. And it’s also the one that caused the greatest outrage among fans.
With Windows 11, Microsoft seems to be set so that the Start menu is centered on the taskbar that runs along the bottom of the screen. The rounded corners found throughout the operating system also made the cut in the new Start menu, which pops up when you click in the center of your screen. A grid of 18 pinned apps forms the upper half of the new start menu design, while the lower half is taken with recommendations from Microsoft.
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In the top right corner of the new menu, there’s a little shortcut to go to the full All Apps menu … if you’re looking for something you rarely open. In the lower right corner there is a small power icon that contains the various options for restarting, logging out, and powering off. And that was it.
Search has its own icon in the system tray and loads a start menu-like interface in the middle of the display to find the application, folder, files or contact you are looking for. It can also be triggered using the same keyboard shortcut that Windows 10 users are used to. The Verge’s Tom Warren was one of the first to get his hands on the leaked version of Windows 11, posting clips of the new operating system that revealed the new Start menu design, icons, and version number listed as “Windows 11” is “.
After the leak, which occurred more than a week before Microsoft officially launched the operating system on the Internet, fans complained about the new look on social media. One angry Windows 10 user wrote, “I really hope this is some kind of fake or super early prototype and doesn’t really suggest the direction they’re going.”
Another summed up his thoughts by tweeting: “That ….. is just garbage design”. Another added, “Windows reaches a new level of inconsistency in design.”
“Can I keep Windows 10 instead …” tweeted a Microsoft fan as the screenshots and video of the new user interface flooded social media. Funnily enough, Microsoft anticipated some of that backlash. After all, the Redmond-based company has had a few dubious receptions to major Windows overhauls over the years.
In clear anticipation of the main Windows 10 complaint – the new Start menu – the company has already baked something as possible to bring the new centered design back to its proper place in the lower left corner of the screen, where it could be found on Windows 10 (ironically itself an admission that fans were right after Windows 8’s new Start menu).
When you’re running the next version of Windows, it’s pretty easy to turn the Start menu back on to its traditional location. To do this, follow the instructions below …
- Open regedit
- Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoft WindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvanced
- Create a new DWord called Start_ShowClassicMode
- Set its value to 1
If that sounds like too much work, there is also an option in the Settings> Personalization> Taskbar menu.
