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— Windows (@Windows) June 2, 2021

A version of Windows 11 has been leaked online and we got to try it out and following are some of the new features we noticed in Windows 11.

Installation

The installation process is pretty similar to that of Windows 10 sans the annoying Cortana which has been booted out. A new fluid animation will be playing in the background while 11 is setting up. Creating a local account is still hard, as Microsoft wants to you login using the Outlook online account.

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

The main difference we notice on 11 is the new design of the OS. There are new icon designs with fresh colours, rounded corners on windows and new set of wallpapers.

• Taskbar – There are no major changes to the desktop but there are several updates to the Taskbar. Microsoft has implemented one of the most required feature that is centering of the icons on the task bar. This was initially on now cancelled Windows 10X. There is an option to shift the icons to left as in previous versions of Windows.
• Taskbar Icons – There seems be some addition and some deletion in the taskbar icons. First is Start Menu button followed by Search, Desktop, Widgets, Explorer, Edge and Store. The size of Taskbar is bigger as the Day is displayed along with time and date on the right side.

• Start Menu – The Start Button on the taskbar is a rectangle window in this version, rather than the slightly tilted window of 10. The Menu also has a new floating design and gone are the live tiles & replaced with new pinning shortcuts. The user account and power button are placed laterally at the bottom.

• Explorer – The explorer has new and updated icons, which are very fluent and colourful. Still, we don’t have the most required option of tabs in explorer. Rest of the explorer is pretty much the same.

• Widgets – This is a new option and seems very similar to the News & Interest option which was recently introduced in Windows 10.

• Sounds – One of the delightful changes to the 11 version is the re-introduction of the Windows sound. We have a new Windows Start-up sound which was entirely skipped in Windows 10. It is on by default and complements the updated look of the OS. All the other sounds are also updated.

Other than this most of the features such as Login Screen, Control Centre and Settings are same as Windows 10. Even though this is not a fully blooded Windows 11 and the differences to 10 are only in design suggests that the leaked version is an early build, and the upcoming release will have even much more upgrades not only in the design but also in the kernel as well. Microsoft has already set the expiry date for Windows 10 for October 2025. There are rumours that valid Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 users will get a free upgrade to 11, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Windows 11 may be released into the market in about 2-3 months and OEM’s will be provided the version much sooner.