Microsoft’s recent nudge to users — asking “what do you miss most in Windows?” — is more than a PR moment; it’s a revealing sign that the company is wrestling with conflicting priorities for Windows 11: glossy AI capabilities and the long list of everyday quality‑of‑life features that power users, creatives, and nostalgic Windows veterans still crave. The exchange, spotlighted by a Microsoft engineer’s outreach during the company’s global hackathon conversation, has pushed long‑standing asks — better Virtual Desktop performance, native folder‑size visibility in File Explorer, customizable context menus, and more thoughtful battery and background‑app controls — back into the spotlight. What follows is a practical, evidence‑based look at what Microsoft is hearing from users, why some requests are technically thorny, which fixes are low‑hanging fruit, and how Microsoft could rebalance its roadmap to win back goodwill while protecting privacy and device performance.
Microsoft has threaded artificial intelligence into Windows 11 aggressively over the past 18 months: Copilot integrations, on‑device AI experiences on Copilot+ machines, and a raft of Insider builds that surface experimental UI and productivity features. These changes are visible and headline‑friendly, but they have also amplified the gap between what Microsoft markets as “AI‑first” and the smaller, but cumulatively important, usability fixes that make daily work faster and less frustrating. The company’s Global Hackathon and internal channels have become venues to solicit direct user feedback on missing features — an unusual public‑facing signal from inside the Windows organization that the product team wants to hear what users actually need.
That signal landed at a time when community threads, independent reporting, and third‑party developer efforts continue to catalog the feature requests Windows users make most often. These include everything from Start menu rearrangements and richer File Explorer behavior to system‑level improvements like better power management and more responsive windowing (snap/virtual desktop) animations. Observers note that many of these desires already have partial solutions through PowerToys, third‑party apps, or experimental features in Insider builds — but the underlying complaint remains the same: the core OS should ship these conveniences out of the box rather than leave them to enthusiasts. (blogs.windows.com)
However, AI is not a silver bullet for habitual mechanical friction. There’s a risk that prioritizing flashy AI integrations (which can be resource‑intensive, require Copilot+ hardware, or raise privacy questions) will overshadow the steady stream of small UX fixes that users ask for repeatedly. Many in the community explicitly call for Microsoft to ship “small features, large returns” — things like named clipboards, a better taskbar audio switcher, integrated FancyZones‑style tiling, and improved default keyboard shortcuts. These are low‑risk, high‑reward wins that compound daily. Microsoft’s insiders and commentators have argued for precisely this approach: fold popular PowerToys features into the OS rather than relying on separate utilities.
Privacy also matters. Any AI feature that inspects user files, recordings, or screen content must default to local processing or opt‑in cloud processing, with transparent controls and enterprise governance. Recall‑style recording features are powerful but have shown failure modes in testing; conservative defaults and easy audit logs are non‑negotiable.
Practical fixes — folder‑size visibility in File Explorer, tunable Virtual Desktop animations, customizable context menus, and clearer power controls — will produce outsized gains in daily satisfaction and productivity. These wins are technically feasible and socially welcome; they also preserve the conditions under which Microsoft’s AI investments will matter most because an OS that runs reliably and respectfully is the best stage for smarter features.
If Microsoft follows through, users will notice in small ways at first — fewer clicks, faster switches, less battery anxiety — and in aggregate they will feel the OS grow more helpful and less like a showroom for experimental AI. The hackathon prompt was a useful reminder that, for many users, useful beats novel every time.
Source: windowslatest.com Microsoft wants to add features in Windows 11 you miss the most, make the OS more useful
Background
Microsoft has threaded artificial intelligence into Windows 11 aggressively over the past 18 months: Copilot integrations, on‑device AI experiences on Copilot+ machines, and a raft of Insider builds that surface experimental UI and productivity features. These changes are visible and headline‑friendly, but they have also amplified the gap between what Microsoft markets as “AI‑first” and the smaller, but cumulatively important, usability fixes that make daily work faster and less frustrating. The company’s Global Hackathon and internal channels have become venues to solicit direct user feedback on missing features — an unusual public‑facing signal from inside the Windows organization that the product team wants to hear what users actually need.That signal landed at a time when community threads, independent reporting, and third‑party developer efforts continue to catalog the feature requests Windows users make most often. These include everything from Start menu rearrangements and richer File Explorer behavior to system‑level improvements like better power management and more responsive windowing (snap/virtual desktop) animations. Observers note that many of these desires already have partial solutions through PowerToys, third‑party apps, or experimental features in Insider builds — but the underlying complaint remains the same: the core OS should ship these conveniences out of the box rather than leave them to enthusiasts. (blogs.windows.com)
What Microsoft Asked — and Why It Matters
When a prominent Store/Windows engineer publicly asked users what they missed most in Windows, the answers were emphatic and practical. The most repeated requests:- Display folder sizes directly in File Explorer’s details view (instead of only in Properties).
- Restore or smooth Virtual Desktop switching with snappy animations and predictable behavior.
- Allow native automatic theme switching (time, location, focus mode).
- Make context menus customizable (fewer “Show more options” clicks).
- Improve battery and background‑app controls to reduce “battery anxiety.”
- Surface crash/recovery and device information in clearer, more discoverable ways.
The Top Requests, Technical Reality, and Feasibility
File Explorer: show folder sizes in the Size column
- Why users want it: instant visibility into which folders consume space without right‑clicking → Properties or running a separate disk scanner.
- Technical reality: File Explorer historically avoids live folder‑size calculations in the primary list view because computing sizes requires recursive scans and can dramatically increase IO and CPU load — especially on large drives, network shares, or slower spinning disks. Microsoft’s design tradeoff favors snappy folder listing over expensive background calculations.
- Feasibility: Reasonable, but with caveats. Implementations can be opt‑in and asynchronous: calculate sizes on demand, show “calculating…” placeholders, or offer a toggle that only computes sizes for visible folders. Shell extensions and third‑party tools already offer these capabilities, but they come with compatibility and maintenance burdens when system updates arrive. Expect Microsoft to consider an opt‑in, performance‑aware approach rather than always‑on calculation. (howtogeek.com)
Virtual Desktops: smooth, immediate switching
- Why users want it: Virtual Desktops were among Windows 10’s favorite multitasking features; users lost the perceived fluidity in Windows 11 where desktop switches can feel delayed or stutter on some hardware.
- Technical reality: Desktop switching animation involves compositor work, window snapshotting, and, in some cases, per‑desktop wallpapers or UWP shell state that can make transitions heavier. Different GPUs, drivers, and wallpaper configurations create inconsistent experiences.
- Feasibility: High. There are pragmatic fixes: reduce animation timing, allow users to disable or tune animations, offload more work to the GPU, or cache desktop snapshots. Community reporting shows several users already workaround this with settings changes or third‑party tweaks. Microsoft can push a setting into Accessibility or Power options to disable or accelerate Virtual Desktop animations. That would be a clear win. (reddit.com)
Context menus: fewer clicks, clearer defaults
- Why users want it: The “Show more options” step is an ergonomic regression for many power users. Customizable and persistent context menus speed common workflows.
- Technical reality: The modern Explorer context menu is a hybrid of classic shell verb handlers and newer WinUI elements. Unifying this experience requires careful UX work to avoid breaking legacy extensions.
- Feasibility: Medium. Microsoft can provide a settings page to pin commonly used verbs to the top level and offer a developer guidance path for extensions to register modern verbs. The risk is breaking compatibility with third‑party shells or installer hooks; careful rollout and an opt‑in toggle would mitigate that.
Battery life and background app controls
- Why users want it: Modern laptop buyers expect day‑long battery life (marketed heavily by macOS machines), and inconsistent Windows power profiles and background app policies contribute to anxiety.
- Technical reality: Battery life is mostly hardware + driver + firmware dependent. OS power management helps, but it can’t fully compensate for inefficient silicon or poorly optimized apps.
- Feasibility: Mixed. Microsoft can tighten conservative power modes, surface per‑app power diagnostics more prominently, and encourage OEM firmware updates and drivers that prioritize efficiency in common usage patterns. Copilot+ hardware marketing emphasizes long battery life — but for the broader installed base, the immediate wins are better power‑profile tooling and clearer defaults. (microsoft.com)
Where AI Fits — Promise and Peril
Microsoft’s AI investments have produced tangible improvements — on‑device models for offline dictation, AI search, Recall‑style features, and Copilot augmentations that can help with file retrieval and settings discovery. These are useful when they solve real friction points: natural language searches for hidden settings, or context‑aware suggestions inside File Explorer.However, AI is not a silver bullet for habitual mechanical friction. There’s a risk that prioritizing flashy AI integrations (which can be resource‑intensive, require Copilot+ hardware, or raise privacy questions) will overshadow the steady stream of small UX fixes that users ask for repeatedly. Many in the community explicitly call for Microsoft to ship “small features, large returns” — things like named clipboards, a better taskbar audio switcher, integrated FancyZones‑style tiling, and improved default keyboard shortcuts. These are low‑risk, high‑reward wins that compound daily. Microsoft’s insiders and commentators have argued for precisely this approach: fold popular PowerToys features into the OS rather than relying on separate utilities.
Privacy also matters. Any AI feature that inspects user files, recordings, or screen content must default to local processing or opt‑in cloud processing, with transparent controls and enterprise governance. Recall‑style recording features are powerful but have shown failure modes in testing; conservative defaults and easy audit logs are non‑negotiable.
The Competitive Context: MacBooks, Chromebooks, and the Pressure on Windows
While Microsoft refines Windows, Apple’s rumored low‑cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip (A‑series silicon) — targeted at the $599–$699 price band in some reports — threatens to reshape the low‑end laptop market. If Apple can deliver long battery life, polished UX, and a compelling device/OS experience at that price, Windows OEMs will feel pressure to match not only spec sheets but perceived quality and ease of use. Microsoft’s Copilot+ device initiative tries to set a premium standard for Windows AI experiences and battery claims, but it doesn’t solve the mass‑market problem for users on older hardware or midrange Windows laptops. The competitive threat is real — and it reinforces the argument that Microsoft should prioritize tangible usability improvements across the entire Windows 11 footprint rather than gating key features behind new hardware. (macrumors.com)A Practical Roadmap: What Microsoft Should Ship First
The following roadmap balances engineering complexity, privacy risk, and user impact. It prioritizes friction reduction that returns the most value per engineering day.- Ship an opt‑in File Explorer folder‑size column:
- Default: off for general drives; on for SSDs or user‑enabled folders.
- UI: show “calculating…” with incremental progress.
- Benefit: immediate user value with controlled performance tradeoffs.
- Add a Virtual Desktop animation control:
- Options: Full animation / Fast / Off.
- Expose in Accessibility and Power settings.
- Surface Power Diagnostics and Per‑App Power Limits in Settings:
- One‑click “Reduce background energy use” profile.
- Notify apps that frequently consume background CPU and provide one‑tap throttling.
- Promote PowerToys features into Settings (opt‑in toggles):
- FancyZones window layouts, Keyboard Manager remappings, Named clipboards.
- Benefit: mainstream usability without fragmenting the ecosystem.
- Context menu customization:
- Provide “pin” or “favorite” verbs for top‑level context menu.
- Keep legacy “Show more options” as fallback.
- Privacy‑first AI rollout:
- Default to local processing where feasible.
- Provide per‑feature audit logs and clear enterprise controls for cloud processing features.
- Limit any automatic recording/recall features by default.
Risks Microsoft Must Manage
- Performance regressions: Enabling always‑on folder size calculations or aggressive background AI could harm responsiveness on older hardware.
- Privacy and trust erosion: Any feature that analyzes user content will provoke scrutiny; conservative defaults and enterprise governance are mandatory.
- Fragmentation of experience: If features are gated to Copilot+ devices, the majority of Windows users may feel excluded, worsening perception even if technically justified.
- Compatibility problems: Changing default context menus or integrating PowerToys functionality could break legacy workflows or third‑party shell extensions if not implemented carefully.
How the Community and Microsoft Can Close the Loop
Microsoft’s outreach during the global hackathon is the right tactical move, but listening must lead to fast follow‑through. The company should commit to a transparent cadence for shipping quality‑of‑life updates, including:- A published “small wins” roadmap for Windows 11 that lists planned usability features and expected timelines.
- A formal process for elevating popular PowerToys features into Settings with compatibility testing and OEM coordination.
- Public pre‑release notes explaining performance tradeoffs and privacy defaults for any folder‑scanning or content‑analysis features.
- A developer compatibility guide and a “compatibility mode” switch for enterprises when shell changes are introduced.
Conclusion
Microsoft stands at a crossroads for Windows 11: continue leaning into an AI‑first vision that elevates novel scenarios on premium hardware, or rebalance toward the humble, high‑value productivity improvements that users have asked for repeatedly. The two strategies are not mutually exclusive, but the company must prioritize the low‑friction, high‑impact features that make devices genuinely more useful for millions of people every day.Practical fixes — folder‑size visibility in File Explorer, tunable Virtual Desktop animations, customizable context menus, and clearer power controls — will produce outsized gains in daily satisfaction and productivity. These wins are technically feasible and socially welcome; they also preserve the conditions under which Microsoft’s AI investments will matter most because an OS that runs reliably and respectfully is the best stage for smarter features.
If Microsoft follows through, users will notice in small ways at first — fewer clicks, faster switches, less battery anxiety — and in aggregate they will feel the OS grow more helpful and less like a showroom for experimental AI. The hackathon prompt was a useful reminder that, for many users, useful beats novel every time.
Source: windowslatest.com Microsoft wants to add features in Windows 11 you miss the most, make the OS more useful
