Microsoft shares how upcoming Windows 11 updates greatly improve Start, Settings, Explorer

Microsoft wants to go for "100% native" apps, but the company is also looking to make Control Panel, a useful native app, redundant.

Recently Microsoft promised some big performance improvements that are in store for Windows 11 as part of its ongoing rework effort. This week, March Rogers, Partner Director of Design at the company, shared progress on how far Microsoft has come in this journey of redesigning Windows 11, starting with the Settings app. On his official X handle he gave a list of such things that the company is currently testing on its Insider channels and teased the upcoming April update that will land them for all users.

Rogers wrote: "We're really focusing on design craft in Windows at the moment. There is still lots to do but this is the kind of work I love seeing ship: Settings pages redesigned for clarity, account dialogs updated for dark mode, Narrator working with Copilot on all devices... pen settings cleaned up, voice typing in File Explorer rename. Nothing fancy just lots of little details that help Windows feel more polished and coherent. Coming in the April update."

As expected, Director Rogers also confirmed that Control Panel, which has been a very useful native Windows component for a long, long time, will become redundant soon as Microsoft will eventually be "migrating all the old control panel controls into the modern Settings apps." However it is being done "carefully because there are a lot of different network and printer devices & drivers" that must not break.

This is part of Microsoft's effort to go for a "100% native" design for Windows applications as recently Rudy Huyn had confirmed that there will be no Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) going forward. He has been busy assembling a team of developers who will make Windows apps "great" again.

On the same thread, March Rogers further added that File Explorer is going to see big improvements too in "performance, reliability, UX glitches and search, in the next few months," and the Start menu is also getting the same treatment which will bring "performance and reliability improvements incrementally over the next few months to improve Start, Search and quick settings load times."

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Posted Wednesday 8 April 2026 at 5:29 am AEST (my time).

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