Microsoft’s next big Windows release is still shrouded in rumor, but one clear takeaway from the conversation is that many users want Windows 12 to be less of a single, monolithic OS and more of a flexible, fast,
user-first platform. The five upgrades Tom’s Guide suggested — a modular OS, tighter Copilot integration, genuinely useful widgets, a faster and smarter Windows Search, and proper Android app support — hit many of the same pain points Windows users have been talking about for years. This feature unpacks each request, verifies what’s already changed or confirmed, weighs the technical trade‑offs, and offers pragmatic suggestions for how Microsoft could deliver on the promise without introducing new headaches.
Background / Overview
Windows 11 launched in 2021 and has seen steady evolution, but the ecosystem’s expectations have shifted dramatically: AI is now core to OS roadmaps, handheld gaming PCs force new design tradeoffs, and users expect search and personalization to be fast and anticipatory. Community-driven wishlists and forum archives show recurring themes — modularity, less bloat, better privacy controls, and stronger AI helpers — that mirror Tom’s Guide’s five requests for Windows 12. These ideas aren’t out of thin air: community threads and wishlists demonstrate persistent demand for a modular, lean Windows and improved AI-first features.
At the same time, Microsoft’s recent moves show both opportunity and friction. The Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) is being deprecated, and Microsoft has iterated Copilot’s role and form in Windows multiple times in quick succession. Those shifts matter to any conversation about what should or can appear in a future Windows release. Below I take each of the five upgrades, verify the facts around current behavior, cross-check them with multiple sources, and analyze the technical and user-experience trade-offs Microsoft must manage.
1. Modular OS: Why the “core” idea matters — and what it would look like
The ask
Make Windows modular: a lean “Windows Core” that adapts to the device it’s running on, so touch-first tablets, handheld gaming PCs, and ultralight devices get minimal, tailored builds while desktops get the full feature set.
Where the idea stands today
The concept of a modular Windows — long discussed as Windows Core OS or componentized Windows — is not new. Community wishlists and discussions repeatedly call for an install-time or runtime option to remove unnecessary services and UI elements so the OS can match a device’s purpose. Forum archives point directly at this desire for modularity: users want the OS that ships on a handheld to behave like a handheld OS, not a desktop that’s been retrofitted.
At the product level, Microsoft has taken steps that point toward more modularity: Windows variants for cloud‑centric devices, and the increasing use of separate “experience packs” and store‑delivered components show Microsoft can decouple features from the monolithic OS image. But out-of-the-box modular installs — where users choose a minimal, gaming-focused, or tablet-focused edition during setup — have not been mainstreamed.
Strengths of a modular approach
- Performance and battery life: A lean build can reduce background services and telemetry, improving responsiveness on battery-constrained devices.
- Form-factor semantics: A tablet or handheld could expose touch-first gestures, bigger UI targets, and a simplified taskbar without forcing desktop users to suffer the same layout.
- Reduced attack surface: Fewer pre‑installed components can translate to fewer vulnerable services and less maintenance for enterprises.
Risks and trade-offs
- Fragmentation: Too many SKUs or ad-hoc device-specific variants could fracture app compatibility, increase testing burdens for OEMs and developers, and complicate update pipelines.
- Support complexity: Separate update streams and component dependencies would make servicing and security patching more complex for Microsoft and IT organizations.
- Ecosystem confusion: Customers and OEMs may struggle to understand the diffs between “modular” builds vs. full Windows installs when buying devices or seeking repairs.
How Microsoft could deliver it (pragmatic steps)
- Introduce an official “minimal install” option during setup that’s still fully supported for security updates.
- Offer feature packs that toggle functionality (e.g., “Gaming Mode,” “Tablet Mode,” “Developer Mode”) and which can be installed or removed cleanly via Settings or a new Microsoft Package Manager UI.
- Maintain a single app compatibility guarantee: apps that meet Windows packaging rules should work on any modular configuration, with Microsoft certifying core APIs remain consistent.
A modular Windows would be transformative for handheld and tablet use cases — but success depends on strict API guarantees and an intelligent update model.
2. Better Copilot integration: evolving from chatbot to true OS assistant
The ask
Make Copilot in Windows capable of reliably answering technical Windows questions and performing system-level tasks (change power settings, launch apps, adjust hardware-oriented settings) as a seamless, trusted assistant.
What’s already changed — facts and verification
Microsoft has iterated Copilot quickly. In recent Windows 11 updates Microsoft converted Copilot into a stand‑alone app and moved some flows out of the system shell; as a result, certain direct setting changes via Copilot were removed or altered. Multiple reports and tests confirm that the Copilot app (24H2 era) no longer changes system settings directly like the earlier built‑in side panel variant could. At the same time, Microsoft has added AI agents and “Copilot suggestions” to specific apps (Settings, File Explorer) and previewed an “AI Settings Agent” on Copilot+ PCs that can change settings with explicit user permission. Insider docs and Microsoft blog posts describe semantic indexing and agent features for Copilot+ machines and preview builds. That demonstrates movement toward deeper, contextual integration — especially on systems with NPUs.
Strengths of tighter integration
- Faster task completion: Natural-language commands to do things like “turn on battery saver” or “open Sound settings” can remove friction for non‑technical users.
- Discoverability: Embedded suggestions in Settings and File Explorer can make features easier to find and reduce support calls.
- Accessibility: Voice and conversational control benefits users with motor or vision limitations.
Risks and caution points
- Security & privilege escalation: Allowing an assistant to change system-level settings requires robust consent flows, auditing, and per-action policies to prevent abuse or accidental misconfiguration.
- Privacy: Copilot suggestions and local semantic indexing may collect richer local metadata. Microsoft insists semantic indexing data used for local search is stored locally, but user trust requires transparency and granular opt-out controls. Microsoft’s documentation emphasizes local storage for semantic indexes, but offering explicit, easy-to-find privacy toggles is essential.
- Reliability: An assistant that fails or gives unsafe recommendations is worse than none — strong QA and fallbacks are required.
Recommendations for Microsoft
- Expose a clear, granular permission model for Copilot actions (one‑time allow, allow always for a trusted device, deny).
- Deliver local‑first capabilities (on‑device NPUs) for sensitive actions to minimize cloud exposure.
- Add transparent logs and an “undo” feature for any automated changes Copilot applies.
Copilot can evolve into a genuinely useful OS assistant — but Microsoft must treat settings control as a high-trust capability that requires clear consent, audit trails, and local-first execution models.
3. Useful Widgets: make them actually worth opening
The ask
Make Widgets useful by default: allow widgets on the desktop, let users place and resize them freely, give precise control over content, and stop the “noise” from clickbait headlines.
Fact-checking and context
Windows 11’s widget system has historically been a right‑side panel separate from the desktop; it’s not the same as macOS’s desktop widgets. Apple’s recent macOS builds (the 2025 cadence introduced macOS “Tahoe” / macOS 26) explicitly support placing widgets on the desktop and treating them as first-class, placeable items. Apple’s documentation shows widgets can be added and positioned on the desktop. Windows native widgets still live in the panel and cannot be placed on the desktop natively — community guides and coverage note that Windows 11 keeps widgets confined to the Widgets board/panel. Recent Windows 11 feature rollouts improved widget personalization and lock‑screen widgets, but desktop placement remains absent.
Strengths of the requested change
- At-a-glance utility: Desktop widgets let users maintain important info visible without opening apps.
- Personalization: Users who rely on small tidbits (timers, weather, system monitors) get fast, persistent access.
- Creative workflows: Designers and content creators can pin reference palettes or media controls.
Risks and trade-offs
- Visual clutter: Desktop widgets can create noise and distract users; a clean default and easy grouping approach is vital.
- Performance: Many live widgets running on the desktop could raise CPU/GPU and battery use on laptops unless the UI is energy-aware.
- Security & privacy: Any widget that pulls web content must follow strict content‑security rules to avoid leaking data or acting as an attack vector.
How Microsoft could implement this cleanly
- Offer a single “Widgets Desktop Mode” toggle with profile settings (Minimal / Informational / Full) so users can opt into a denser widget experience.
- Use a window manager layer that treats widgets as “desktop surfaces” with resource budgets — idle widgets get suspended when hidden or when battery saver engages.
- Allow widget containers or “dashboards” so users can have a clean workspace with a dedicated widget overlay that’s only visible on a hotkey.
Making Widgets useful means giving users
control — not just more content shoved into a sidebar.
4. Improved Windows Search: make it fast, local, and precise
The ask
Make Windows Search as quick, zippy, and contextually smart as macOS Spotlight: instant results, local-first intelligence, and fewer accidental bing/Edge detours.
Current reality — verified improvements and gaps
Windows Search historically had UX and performance complaints; it often surfaces web results and can load slowly. Microsoft has been working on AI‑powered improvements — notably
semantic indexing and
improved Windows Search for Copilot+ PCs that use local NPUs to do on-device, semantic queries and natural‑language searches. Microsoft’s documentation and Insider blog posts describe semantic indexing and AI search features being previewed and rolled out to Copilot+ devices. These updates let Search find relevant documents and images based on natural language and local content without sending data off‑device. However, semantic indexing and improved search are currently tied to specific hardware profiles (Copilot+ PCs) and require initial indexing passes and NPU hardware — so the experience is not uniformly available across the installed base. Independent coverage and Microsoft’s blog both note this hardware dependency and preview limitations.
Why the Spotlight comparison matters
Spotlight’s strength is immediate, lightweight indexing plus a tight UX that prioritizes local app launching and quick file results. Windows can match that but must:
- Improve the speed of initial indexing,
- Avoid an automatic default path of routing many queries to the web (a common complaint), and
- Make results context-aware without being invasive.
Strengths and potential downside
- Pros: AI-boosted indexing can help users find files even if they don’t remember filenames or exact phrases; it also enables conversational queries (e.g., “find my Europe trip budget”).
- Cons: Tying powerful search to only high-end hardware risks fragmenting user experience; users on older machines will continue to see the old search unless Microsoft backports lighter versions.
Practical roadmap suggestions
- Offer an “Enhanced Search” mode with semantic indexing as an optional setting on non‑Copilot machines — using a cloud-assisted, privacy-respecting hybrid when on-device NPUs aren’t available.
- Make indexing transparent and fast: show indexing status, let users choose index scope easily, and provide a one-click “speed up indexing” mode that runs optimized initial passes when the system is plugged in.
- Reduce accidental redirection to web results for queries that are clearly local in intent. When a user types a filename or an exact phrase likely to be local, prioritize local results.
Improvements are already underway; the key will be making the best features accessible to more users while protecting privacy.
5. Proper Android app support: reality check and implications
The ask
Bring reliable Android app support back to Windows in a meaningful way — broader app availability, better performance for touch devices, and deep system integration.
The facts: WSA is being deprecated
This is a major verification point: Microsoft announced it will end support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) and the Amazon Appstore on Windows, with deprecation beginning March 5, 2025. Multiple outlets and developer notices confirmed the retirement; the outcome is that new Android app installs via the Amazon Appstore are no longer supported as of that deprecation timeline. Reasoning in public coverage centers on low adoption and engineering tradeoffs. Microsoft’s decision to retire WSA is a pragmatic pivot: rather than maintain a full Android-on-Windows bridge, Microsoft is likely to refocus efforts elsewhere (Phone Link improvements, cloud-first app approaches, or tighter partnerships).
Implications for users and the Windows 12 wishlist
- For users who rely on Android apps on touch-first devices or handhelds, deprecation removes a convenience layer that Apple provides with iOS app availability on Macs.
- On handheld PCs (the ROG Xbox Ally and similar devices), vendors have worked around Windows’ deficiencies by bundling custom consoles, overlays, and game‑focused shells — but this is a patch, not a native app runtime rewrite. Reviews of the ROG Xbox Ally emphasize that it runs Windows 11 but adds vendor-specific overlays and optimizations to feel handheld‑native.
Possible paths forward (realistic)
- Microsoft could negotiate a better, standards-compliant integration with Google (unlikely given competitive dynamics), or
- Embrace a containerized Android runtime that’s easier to maintain or
- Expand web‑app and progressive web app (PWA) support with richer OS hooks (file access, inking, multitouch) to give many mobile apps a desktop‑like experience without full Android emulation.
Given the WSA sunset, Windows 12’s realistic ask would be: Don’t promise full Android parity; instead, make it trivial to run well-packaged mobile apps as PWAs with deep OS integration and a curated ecosystem for touch & handhelds.
Cross-cutting risks and business trade-offs
- Hardware gating vs. inclusivity: Many of the most compelling AI features require NPUs and higher spec machines. Locking features behind hardware (Copilot+ PC model) creates a two‑tier Windows experience; Microsoft must avoid making basic improvements exclusive when they could be implemented in lighter, cloud-optional ways for lower-end devices.
- Privacy and telemetry optics: Any AI-first feature must come with clear, discoverable privacy controls and onboarding that explains where data is stored (local vs cloud), how it’s used, and how to opt-out. Microsoft’s docs say semantic indexing is local on Copilot+ PCs, but users need simple toggles and audit tools to trust that claim.
- Developer burden and app compatibility: Modularity and multiple OS modes are valuable to users but costly for developers. Microsoft should promise API stability and provide a compatibility shim or compatibility testing suite to ensure apps behave predictably across modular variants.
- Support and fragmentation: More SKUs and per-device modes complicate support for help desks and enterprise deployment. Large organizations will ask for clear upgrade paths, imaging tools, and ways to lock a configuration.
Verdict: What Microsoft should prioritize for Windows 12
- Make modular installs official and supported: minimal install + experience packs that can be removed/added without risky side effects.
- Move Copilot from novelty to trusted assistant cautiously: robust permissions, local-first options, clearly logged actions, and a one‑click undo for automated tasks.
- Rework Widgets into an opt-in Desktop Widgets mode that’s energy-conscious and easy to hide or group.
- Ship a faster, smarter Windows Search more universally: optimize indexing, offer a low-resource semantic mode for older PCs, and keep user control front and center.
- Replace the promise of full Android parity with a sustainable plan: better PWAs, richer web app hooks, and curated app containers where necessary — while acknowledging WSA’s deprecation is real and affects roadmaps today.
Conclusion
Tom’s Guide’s five upgrade requests for Windows 12 — modularity, a more capable Copilot, genuinely useful widgets, faster search, and meaningful Android app support — are not mere wishful thinking. They reflect a shared frustration with legacy rigidity and a reasonable desire for an OS that adapts to hardware, respects privacy, and gives intelligent assistance without taking control.
Some of these ideas are now within reach: Microsoft already prototypes AI‑first search and agent features for Copilot+ PCs, and its platform architecture can decouple features from the OS image. But delivering these features responsibly requires Microsoft to balance hardware-driven capabilities with inclusive options for the broad installed base, to design privacy-first defaults and granular controls, and to avoid fragmenting the developer ecosystem.
The litmus test for Windows 12 should be simple: deliver a system that is noticeably faster and smarter on the same hardware users already own, gives sensible defaults without hiding power, and treats control, transparency, and performance as first-class citizens. If Microsoft gets those fundamentals right — and backs AI features with strong on-device privacy and clear user controls — the next Windows release could finally feel like a true step forward rather than a re-skin.
(Community discussion and wishlist archives reflect these exact priorities — the move toward modularity and AI integration is strong across user forums and commentary.
Source: Tom's Guide
https://www.tomsguide.com/computing...-these-are-5-upgrades-i-want-from-windows-12/