Windows 11: its first major update is a major disappointment

Microsoft offers surprisingly little in the way of new features, future updates might be even less interesting

It’s been almost a year since the latest Windows were made available to the public, but it still feels like an incomplete product. The Windows 11 2022 Update does little to change that. (Image: Microsoft)

Without much fanfare — understandably so, all things considered — Microsoft just started rolling out the Windows 11 2022 Update, the first major one for its latest operating system since its release in October 2021. This update will not be offered to every Windows 11 PC immediately, as the company is following the same “phased approach” it did during the operating system’s original launch: newer and fully updated systems will get it first, others will follow in due time while others that may have e.g. an incompatible app or hardware driver installed will have to wait longer. It may not be a popular practice, but it’s a safe one so no complaints there.

There’s definitely cause for complaint, though, when taking a look at the embarrassingly short list of new features or even improvements that the Windows 11 2022 Update is offering to the operating system’s user base. Some tweaks here, some small additions there, but nothing that really stands out as noteworthy in the context of everyday Windows use for most people. The fact that the only two new features worth mentioning — Live Captions, which automatically generates captions for any audio content, and Voice Access, which allows people to navigate Windows on a basic level using their voice — are all about accessibility, is rather telling: Microsoft has its own priorities about what it means to add to its operating system, regardless of what the majority of its users may be asking for.

Microsoft insists on not offering enough customization options for the Windows 11 taskbar and Start menu. The company might be working on it, but there’s no official word or timeframe yet. (Image: Microsoft)

In a sense, what Microsoft insists on not offering to the Windows 11 user base is even more telling. The company, for instance, seems adamant about not letting people customize the taskbar, its context menu or the Start menu size and content in the same way or to the same degree that past versions of Windows allowed for, causing a lot of frustration in the process. Even a casual glance at Windows 11 forum threads and comments sections makes this immediately clear, yet Microsoft prefers to risk…