While widgets have been around for a while on Windows PCs, the new version of the OS promises to have some enhanced ones. Firstly, they will now be available directly from the taskbar. More importantly, Microsoft is calling the new widgets “News and Interests" and their main goal would be to deliver news, weather updates, traffic information, stock information, and more.
The new personalized Widgets Section is powered by AI and will give you a customizable feed of information. For example, apart from news and weather updates, you will also be notified about your to-do lists and your calendar entries. Furthermore, the more you use this new section, the better it will be able to show you relevant content and you can personalize them with whatever you want.
With what it offers, the new Widgets section is likely to be a big hit among users.
2. Introducing Snap Layouts and Snap Groups
Windows 11 introduces two new features for a better multitasking experience: Snap Layouts and Snap Groups. With Snap Layouts, you will have the option to organize your opened windows and apps into different layouts. For instance, you are searching something and have several websites open related to that search. That can get quite messy. But with Snap Layouts, you will just have to hover your mouse over a window's maximize button, choose the layout that you prefer (maybe you want to group four open windows in a square pattern, for example), and simply click on an area in that layout to instantly bring that window into place. This will let you keep all of that information neatly organized on your screen.
Now, once you have found the perfect layout, you can group windows with Snap Groups. This feature will take a layout and group the windows. Once this is done, you can conveniently minimize them and snap them back up with only a click.
3. Android Apps on Your PC
Windows is bringing Android apps to its OS for the first time! With Windows 11, people will be able to discover Android apps in the Microsoft Store and download them through the Amazon Appstore. So that means you will have to log in to your Amazon account to download Android apps on the new Windows. More updates on this feature will be released in the coming months but the takeaway is that Microsoft is allowing you to run Android apps on Windows 11! Isn't that great?!
4. Integrated Microsoft Teams
Windows 11 will come with Microsoft Teams built into the OS and will be integrated into the taskbar. This means that you won’t have to download any app and can launch the Teams app from the taskbar to connect with people across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android without needing to adjust anything else. Moreover, Microsoft has also said that “If the person you’re connecting to on the other end hasn’t downloaded the Teams app, you can still connect with them via two-way SMS”.
Microsoft Teams is an app that allows people to work together using chat instead of email and channels instead of just file folders. It has been a vital part of many people’s workflows over the last couple of years. Now that the application will come built into Windows 11, it will make things a lot easier for people who depend on it for their daily work.
5. An All-New Microsoft Store
The Microsoft Store on Windows 10 didn’t really impress many users and hasn’t been as widely used as the company had hoped. But the store will be re-launched in an all-new avatar on Windows 11. Microsoft says that the new store has been “rebuilt for speed and with an all-new design that is beautiful and simple to use”. It also boasts of a cool new design and a much-improved search function. They have also promised to offer more apps than ever before in the store.
It will be exciting to see how good this fresh take on the Microsoft Store will be.
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