Microsoft is giving users control over Windows 11 again, but it’s not enough

2026 seems to be a year of rethinking for Microsoft. At first the company planned to improve Windows 11 and make it faster, and now the company wants to give its users control over Windows 11’s look and feel again.

To this end, Microsoft outlined its first intended steps at IFA 2026. The return of the repositionable taskbar—which is already rolling out to early adopters—and the ability to personalize the Start menu are just the beginning. There’s more in store coming up.

According to Windows Latest, Microsoft’s presentation emphasized a desire to prioritize community feedback once again, as well as scale back the integration of AI features throughout Windows 11 (especially after this particular strategy was met with lots of pushback).

While Microsoft won’t be abandoning AI altogether, they’re definitely taking a more cautious approach to Copilot. The company also intends to focus on making Windows 11 more efficient, both with and without the help of AI models and features.

As for specific details and features to come, we’re still in the dark. Mark Linton, head of Windows & Devices at Microsoft, simply said: “We’re listening to our customers’ feedback, continuously improving Windows, and you’ll see that Windows gets better with every update.”

Windows 11 still in Windows 10’s shadow

Despite all efforts, Windows 11 still lags behind Windows 10 as far as public perception and approval. While market share has now stabilized, many users are still sticking with Windows 10 for various reasons.

This is likely due to the fact that personalization and customization options were a given in Windows 10, until Windows 11 arrived and did away with many of them. The taskbar that couldn’t be repositioned was just one example of many. Now Microsoft is finally listening to its community and wanting to bring Windows 11 back to what Windows 10 had set as the standard for years.

However, there are still too many restrictions to truly consider this goal achieved. For example, while you’ll soon be able to personalize the Windows 11 Start menu again, only three fixed presets will be available. In Windows 10, it was possible to move the mouse cursor to the edge of the menu and drag it to your desired size. Simple, yet effective.

Of course, it’s encouraging that Microsoft now wants to focus on the wishes of Windows users once again. But this realization may simply have come too late, after years of pursuing a completely different approach.