taskbar customization

Microsoft released Windows 11 Build 26300.8493 to the Experimental channel on May 15, 2026, restoring official taskbar placement options, adding a smaller taskbar mode, expanding Fluid Dictation to Spanish and French, and polishing several Windows shell behaviors. The build is not a...

Microsoft began testing new Windows 11 personalization controls on May 15, 2026, giving Windows Insiders in the Experimental channel options to resize the Start menu, hide major Start sections, adjust file recommendations, obscure account identity in Start, and move the taskbar to any screen...

Microsoft began rolling out Windows 11 Experimental Preview Build 26300.8493 on May 15, 2026, giving Windows Insiders an official way to move the taskbar to the top, left, right, or bottom of the screen. The change sounds almost comically small until you remember that Windows 11 launched in 2021...

Microsoft began rolling out Windows 11 Experimental Preview Build 26300.8493 on May 15, 2026, giving Windows Insiders the ability to place the taskbar at the bottom, top, left, or right edge of the screen and to enable a genuinely smaller taskbar. That sounds like a small settings change until...

Microsoft began testing a Windows 11 taskbar and Start menu overhaul on May 15, 2026, in the Windows Insider Experimental channel, adding options to move the taskbar to the top, left, or right of the screen and to use a smaller taskbar layout. That is the factual fix; the larger story is...

Microsoft began rolling out Windows 11 Experimental build 26300.8493 on May 15, 2026, giving Windows Insiders the ability to place the taskbar on the top, left, right, or bottom edge of the screen and to enable a smaller taskbar button mode. The change is not just a nostalgic checkbox for...

Microsoft is testing quieter default settings for the Windows 11 Widgets board in Insider Experimental builds released May 1, 2026, disabling hover activation, taskbar badging, and first-launch feed exposure while saying broader taskbar customization is still “coming soon” for users who miss...

Neowin’s look at Raditya Aryaputra’s latest Windows 11 redesign concept lands at a moment when Microsoft’s desktop is carrying more ambition, more AI, and more promotional surface area than many longtime users would like. The concept imagines a cleaner, more customizable Windows 11 that strips...

Microsoft is quietly recalibrating one of Windows 11’s most visible AI experiments: the Copilot push inside everyday apps. Instead of spreading the assistant across every corner of the desktop, the company now appears to be trimming back some of those entry points, especially in Notepad, Photos...

Microsoft is preparing one of the most consequential Windows 11 course corrections since launch: a broader redesign that pushes the OS toward a more consistent, more flexible, and less intrusive desktop experience. The Control Panel is not vanishing overnight, but the direction is now...

Microsoft is beginning to walk back one of the most visible complaints about Windows 11: that the operating system has been steadily turning simple desktop workflows into AI showcases. In a new round of Insider-facing changes, Microsoft says it will reduce unnecessary Copilot entry points in...

It took almost five years, but Microsoft is finally moving to undo one of Windows 11’s most unpopular design choices: the locked taskbar. Reports indicate that the company is preparing support for moving the taskbar to the top, left, or right of the screen, while also exploring a smaller, more...

Windows 11 is entering a rare and welcome phase: Microsoft appears to be reversing course on several decisions that frustrated power users, IT admins, and longtime Windows fans. In March 2026, the company said it is reducing unnecessary Copilot entry points, restoring more taskbar customization...

Microsoft is trying to do something it has struggled with for years: make Windows 11 feel like a platform that listens before it ships. The return of Windows Insider meetups is more than a feel-good community gesture; it is a visible sign that Microsoft knows it has to rebuild trust with...

Windows 11 remains a study in tension: it is the only broadly supported Microsoft desktop platform now that Windows 10’s regular security updates have ended, yet it still frustrates a large slice of power users with defaults that feel more opinionated than optional. The good news is that many of...

Windows 11’s taskbar has long been one of the most visible reminders that Microsoft sometimes values consistency over control, but power users never really accepted that trade-off. Windhawk has become a practical answer to that frustration, letting enthusiasts restore missing behaviors, reshape...

Windows 11 is starting to look less like a locked-down redesign and more like a correction in progress. Microsoft has confirmed it is working on broader taskbar customization, including the ability to move the bar to the top or sides of the screen, while also expanding widgets, refining the...

Microsoft is quietly reversing one of the most controversial design choices of the Windows 11 era: the taskbar is getting its old mobility back. After years of complaints, Microsoft’s own Windows Insider blog now says the company is introducing “more taskbar customization, including vertical and...

Microsoft is quietly preparing one of the most welcome reversals in Windows 11’s shell story: the return of a movable taskbar that can sit at the top or sides of the display, not just the bottom. That sounds small on paper, but it addresses one of the most persistent complaints about Windows...

Microsoft’s renewed interest in a movable Windows 11 taskbar marks one of the clearest signs yet that the company is finally willing to revisit a long-standing design decision that has frustrated power users since launch. After years of hearing complaints about the taskbar being fixed to the...