The year 2025 was a difficult one for Microsoft. Between performance problems, questionable design decisions, and pushing Copilot into almost every corner of the operating system, many Windows users were left frustrated. Instead of delivering meaningful feature upgrades and long-overdue fixes, Microsoft spent much of the year adding popups, advertisements, and AI buttons that felt more intrusive than helpful.
After significant online outcry, including what became known as the "microslop" meme, Microsoft announced a public commitment to fixing Windows at its core. Windows 11 users had been complaining for years about the bloated nature of the OS, sluggish performance, and reliability issues. Slowly but surely, Microsoft is finally turning things around in 2026. Bootup speeds are improving, menus are becoming more responsive, Copilot buttons are being removed, and users are being given options to disable web search results and Start menu ads. Here are just a few ways the Windows 11 experience has improved this year.
1. Pause updates forever
Windows updates used to feel inevitable. Users could pause an update for a week or two, but eventually the countdown would expire and the PC would reboot at the most inconvenient time, installing updates whether the user was ready or not. With the latest 2026 updates, that pain point has finally been addressed.
Microsoft now lets users pause Windows updates for as long as they want, in 35-day increments. The pause is real: as long as you remember to renew the timeframe, Microsoft will not force an update on your machine. This is especially useful for travelers, remote workers, and anyone who needs their computer to remain available during an important project. Instead of being held hostage by an update timer, you can select a specific date when updates may resume. If you prefer to wait a couple of weeks before installing updates to ensure they do not break something, you can now delay them for more than a month without any workaround.
The new pause feature is accessible from Settings > Windows Update > Pause updates. There, users will see a date picker offering up to 35 days of grace period. Select a date, and the update will remain paused until that time. It is a simple change, but it gives users back control over their own machines.
2. Move and resize the taskbar
Windows 10 had a flexible taskbar that could be docked to the top, left, or right side of the screen. Windows 11 removed that ability when it launched, forcing users into a fixed bottom taskbar. For years, people who wanted the taskbar in a different location were forced to rely on registry hacks or third-party tools, and those methods never felt polished or stable. In 2026, Microsoft is finally fixing this oversight.
Windows 11 now allows the taskbar to be docked on the left, right, or top of the display. Microsoft has also adapted the design so that the Start menu drops down correctly when the taskbar is placed at the top. There are additional customization options. For example, if the taskbar is docked on the left side, users can align the taskbar icons to the top or keep them in the center. Even in left-aligned view, there is an option to always show both the icons and the window labels, which makes navigation much easier for users who prefer detailed views.
To customize the taskbar features, go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors. This is a welcome restoration of a feature that should have been in Windows 11 from the beginning.
3. Windows Search is faster and cleaner
Over the past few years, Windows Search gradually shifted away from local search and started focusing on web results, ads, recommended posts, and Bing content. Users would type the name of a local file or application, only to see promoted web links appear before relevant results. The experience felt cluttered and slow. Microsoft is now setting things straight with a redesigned Search experience.
The new Windows Search screen has a calmer, cleaner look. Local apps and files are prioritized, and search results appear quickly after typing just a couple of letters. Search results are also clearly labeled so you know whether they come from local storage, the Microsoft Store, Settings, or the web. This allows users to understand exactly where each result is coming from, which is a huge improvement over the confusing mixed feed that existed before.
Perhaps the biggest update is the ability to turn off web results and Microsoft Store results entirely. Users can go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Search and disable those sources completely. Even if users choose to keep web results enabled, because web search can still be useful, Windows Search now displays results directly instead of showing promoted content at the top. The result is a faster, cleaner, and far more reliable search experience.
4. A customizable Start menu
The Start menu has been one of Windows 11's most debated elements since its launch. For a long time, recommended apps and shortcuts dominated the front and center, while user-pinned apps were pushed to the side. Users wanted control over the layout, and Microsoft has finally delivered with a new Start menu update.
Now, users have access to section-level customization. You can completely disable the Recommended section in the Start menu. If desired, the Start menu can be made smaller or bigger. For those who prefer a super minimal setup, there is an option to disable every element except your own selection of pinned apps. This includes disabling the Recent panel, which shows recently added apps, tips, and suggestions. It is also possible to disable the All section that displays the full list of installed applications.
Most users are likely to prefer a setup somewhere in the middle. For example, you might turn off suggestions but keep the recently added apps section. Or you might disable recent apps entirely but keep the smartphone management panel. The point is that Windows 11 now offers much more flexibility than before. All of these controls can be found under Settings > Personalization > Start.
5. Reduced Copilot buttons
Microsoft's aggressive push to integrate Copilot into every corner of Windows 11 was too much for many users. Buttons that did nothing meaningful appeared in apps where they felt out of place. Microsoft listened to feedback and is now removing Copilot buttons from several applications where AI integration does not make sense.
Copilot remains available in the taskbar by default, but users can remove it by going to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Copilot. More importantly, Copilot buttons are disappearing from Notepad, Snipping Tool, Photos, and Widgets. Notepad now features a Writing Tools menu that includes AI options, but that menu can be disabled as well from Settings > Writing Tools. The Photos app, commonly used for quick viewing and editing, is also losing its Copilot button. This is a meaningful shift away from the overly aggressive AI integration that defined the 2025 era of Windows 11. It shows that Microsoft is finally willing to let its AI tools exist where they are useful while removing them where they are not.
6. Faster, less ad-filled setup experience
Setting up a new Windows PC or reinstalling Windows on an older machine used to be an ordeal. The process could take close to an hour, requiring users to click through dozens of buttons, skip menus, decide whether to install Microsoft services, and then wait for pending updates to complete before they could even get to the desktop. Microsoft has recognized that its setup process became too bloated and has worked to streamline it in 2026.
One of the key quality-of-life changes is the ability to skip updates altogether during setup. Users can now choose to install updates after the setup is complete, which dramatically reduces the time it takes to get a new PC ready for use. The setup flow itself is also faster, with fewer clicks, fewer ads, and fewer Microsoft account prompts. The entire onboarding experience feels more streamlined and less pushy. This is a welcome change because complexity is the last thing anyone wants during a fresh setup.
7. Point-in-time restore as a failsafe
Point-in-time restore is a new feature that users hope they never need, but the reassurance of having it is invaluable. Windows PCs are constantly updated with new drivers, software, and operating system updates. If one of those updates malfunctions, it can prevent the computer from booting properly. In the past, recovering a PC to a usable state while preserving data could take hours. Microsoft now aims to solve that problem with a new recovery mechanism.
The point-in-time restore feature can be enabled from Settings > System > Recovery > Point-in-time restore. Once enabled, it creates a comprehensive backup of the computer at regular intervals. This is not limited to settings; it includes the entire Windows operating system, applications, system files, app files, and more. If something goes wrong, users can access the feature from the Windows Recovery Environment and roll the PC back to the state it was in before the issue occurred. This is a powerful failsafe that gives users confidence when installing updates or trying new software. Knowing that a bad driver or a broken update cannot permanently lock you out of your computer is a major improvement to the reliability and trustworthiness of Windows 11.
Source: SlashGear News