The Hot Take: So does this mean Microsoft Edge won't be consuming ALL of my RAM? I mean this is probably in response to the RAM usage I would think.
Microsoft has confirmed it will build 100% native apps for Windows 11 and form a new team to spearhead the project. Itâs unclear whether all new apps will be built on a native UI framework like WinUI, but Microsoft has assured that at least some wonât rely on web-based components.
Back in 2020, Microsoftâs Windows boss, Panos Panay, said the company wants you to love Windows, not just need it. However, nothing really happened, and Panos eventually left the company.
Fast forward to 2026, Windows leadership is promising another revival, but this time, Microsoft appears serious, and weâre seeing internal efforts.
Microsoft has announced a major Windows 11 update to address underlying performance issues, make the context menu load faster, reduce File Explorer launch time, move the Start menu to WinUI, and add the ability to move the taskbar. In fact, youâll be able to resize the taskbar and switch to a compact layout, similar to the Windows 10 experience.
But it turns out Windows improvements wonât be limited to OS-level components, as Microsoft has also pledged to improve apps.
Rudy Huyn, a Partner Architect at Microsoft working on the Store and File Explorer, says he is forming a team focused on building better apps for Windows 11.
âIâm building a new team to work on Windows apps! You donât need prior experience with the platform.. what matters most is strong product thinking and a deep focus on the customer,â Huyn wrote in a post on X. âIf youâve built great apps on any platform and care about crafting meaningful user experiences, Iâd love to hear from you.â
Many developers are already applying, but some are questioning Microsoftâs approach. One user asked whether these apps would be PWAs (Progressive Web Apps).
To our surprise, Huyn dismissed that idea and said the new Windows 11 apps will be 100% native.
That said, â100%â is a strong claim.
Some so-called native apps today are only partially built with WinUI, with certain features still relying on WebView. A truly native app would be fully built on the WinUI framework, without loading components through WebView.
At the moment, we donât know what the new ânativeâ Windows 11 apps are coming our way, and itâs also not clear if Microsoft plans to update existing web-based apps with a native UI.
Right now, Microsoft rarely builds native apps for Windows 11. In fact, Windows 11âs built-in video editor, Clipchamp, is also a Progressive Web App.
Microsoft Clipchamp is a WebView2 powered video editor
Moreover, Microsoftâs two flagship products, Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot, are now web apps.
Over the past few years, Microsoft has shown little to no interest in building native apps for Windows 11, and third-party developers have followed the companyâs lead.
WhatsApp is one of the popular apps that dropped the native WinUI framework in favor of a Chromium-based web app.
It remains to be seen whether Microsoft can convince Meta and other companies to build native apps for Windows 11, or if it will make Microsoft Store rules stricter.
We also donât know if Microsoft plans to update existing web-based apps with a native UI.
The post Microsoft plans to build 100% native apps for Windows 11, as web apps ruin the OS experience appeared first on Windows Latest
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The Hot Take: Something they've been screaming about for a long time. What about options to disable all the Ai in the OS? /crickets
Movable and resizable Taskbar is confirmed to be making its way to Windows 11 this year. Here's everything you need to know about how it will work!
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The Hot Take: Yeah Microsoft and all companies could have done this long ago but now that RAM is priced through the roof is the only reason they're now looking at this. I wouldn't doubt all the browser folks are going to suddenly start looking at their usage here soon.
A former Windows leader recently discussed a project that promised a 20% reduction in Windows 11âs memory and storage usage.
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The Hot Take: Finally listening to the customers? Nah, this is to quiet them just enough to continue moving to their goals.
'Doze boss admits quality is down, promises smaller memory footprint and fixes for many well-known issues Microsoft has acknowledged that it needs to improve the quality of Windows 11 and outlined its plan to get the job done.âŚ
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The Hot Take: I wonder why given that Windows has gotten bashed for the lack of performance vs Linux.
Microsoft has blocked the registry trick that allowed Windows 11 users to enable a native NVMe driver on their PCs. However, third-party tools can still help with a workaround.
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The Hot Take: Windows getting beat up on Ai, bugs and privacy. I've been playing with the idea on Linux myself, when they keep ratcheting up the intrusiveness gets more enticing by the day.
Yes, Microsoft announced it's fixing common Windows 11 complaints. But what about getting rid of that requirement to have a Microsoft account before installing Windows 11? While Microsoft didn't mention that at all, the senior editor at the blog Windows Central reports there's "a number of people" internally pushing at Microsoft to relax that requirement:
Microsoft Vice President and overall developer legend Scott Hanselman has posted on X in response to someone asking him about possibly relaxing the Microsoft account requirements, saying "Ya I hate that. Working on it...." [Hanselman made that remark Friday, to his 328,200 followers.]
The blog notes "It would be very easy for Microsoft to remove this requirement from a technical perspective, it's just whether or not the company can agree to make the change that needs to be decided."
Elsewhere on X someone told Hanselman they wanted to see Windows "cut out the borderline malware tactics we've seen in recent years to push things like Edge, Bing, ads into the start menu, etc." Hanselman's reply? "Yes a calmer and more chill OS with fewer upsells is a goal."
Q: When will we see first changes? for now it's just words...
Hanselman: This month and every month this year.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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The Hot Take: Only after weeks of articles about Linux gaming coming for your piece of the pie?
Microsoft has now confirmed itâs scaling back âupsellsâ (or ads/recommendations) in Windows 11 as part of its efforts to make the operating system a bit âcalmer.â
On March 20, Microsoft announced a major update for Windows 11 that focuses on performance and quality-of-life improvements. Microsoft said itâs making File Explorer faster, moving the Start menu to WinUI 3 from React, adding an option to pause Windows updates for as long as you want, and even cutting back Copilot in apps like Notepad.
The big release with the movable taskbar is being tested because Windows 11âs reputation has been at an all-time low for various reasons. For example, this yearâs first Windows update triggered BitLocker recovery, affected the performance of games, caused boot issues, and even crashed some PCs with a Black Screen of Death.
However, these bugs arenât the only problem hurting Windows 11âs reputation.
The primary reason is that the company has been adding Copilot to all areas of the OS, including the Start menu and even Notepad.
The Copilotification of Windows has pushed back Microsoftâs loyal audience, including enterprises, and some upset users have coined the term âMicroslop.â
Microsoft plans to reduce ads in Windows 11
The company is in damage-control mode, and itâs taking steps to win back Windows 11 usersâ trust, including plans to roll back the requirement for a Microsoft account during OOBE.
That broader reset also appears to include Windows 11âs built-in promotions.
As first spotted by Windows Latest, in a post on X, Scott Hanselman, one of the engineering leaders spearheading Windows fixes, said a âcalmer and more chill OS with fewer upsells is a goal,â which is one of the clearest signs yet that Microsoft is at least aware users are tired of being nudged toward its own services across the OS.
Scottâs statement was in response to a userâs complaint that Microsoft employs âborderline malware tacticsâ to push things like Edge, Bing, and ads into the Start menu. And itâs actually true.
For those unaware, Microsoft previously tried to show Bing Chat (now Copilot) pop-ups when it detected the default browser was Chrome.
Bing pop-up ad in Google Chrome showing after some server-side update | Image Courtesy: WindowsLatest.com
Microsoft also tried to automatically reset default browser settings and installed the Bing extension when you clicked on the Bing Chat pop-up.
The pop-up was rolled back after outrage, but itâs just one of the many examples of how ads have ruined Windows. Thankfully, Microsoft is considering reducing these upsells, but it doesnât look like the ads will disappear entirely.
âYes, a calmer and more chill OS with fewer upsells is a goal,â says Scott Hanselman, VP, Member of Technical Staff at MSFT.
Itâs not a formal product announcement, but it does suggest the company wants Windows 11 to feel less noisy and less pushy.
Windows 11 has an upsell problem
Microsoft has a history of promoting its own products as âsuggestedâ apps in Windows 11, and those efforts have multiplied with Windows 11, where there are ads for Microsoft 365, OneDrive, and even Copilot during the first setup screen (OOBE).
Likewise, if you use Chrome as your default browser, Microsoft often uses full-screen alerts to nudge you to use Edge instead.
Itâs true that you can turn off some of these ads, including the âsuggestedâ apps in the Start menu from Settings > Personalization > Start, but I wouldnât call that a real solution.
The real solution is simple: Windows shouldnât have ads because youâve paid for it when you bought the operating system or the device that came pre-installed with it. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.
The post Microsoft says itâll make Windows 11 a calmer OS with fewer upsells or ads, as it tries to win back users appeared first on Windows Latest
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The Hot Take: I would love this, brings back more privacy if you ask me.
Microsoft's big sweeping set of improvements coming soon to Windows 11 don't address its controversial Microsoft account requirements, but that might soon change.
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