Fans are confused: Microsoft removed these two features from Windows 11 and now they're coming back

When Microsoft introduced Windows 11 in 2021, some features that its predecessor took for granted simply disappeared. Among the most noticeable losses were the ability to move the taskbar to other sides of the screen, full-fledged window labels, or a more compact taskbar variant. After four years of complaints, petitions, and bypassing restrictions via the registry, the answer finally arrives — Microsoft is bringing these features back. For now, however, only to Insider builds.

The cycle is essentially classic and typical for the company: discard established features → ignore complaints for many months → after years, bring them back under the banner of “new personalization options.” Either way, the result is positive for users. After this update, Windows 11 will finally be able to do what Windows 10 has had for five years.

The taskbar finally anywhere you want

The most significant change is the ability to place the taskbar on any side of the screen. In addition to the classic bottom position, the bar can finally be moved up, left, or right. For users of widescreen monitors who prefer a vertical bar to save vertical space, this is a crucial comeback for a feature Microsoft forcefully tried to eliminate.

Icon alignment adapts according to the taskbar’s position. For horizontal arrangements, you can center icons or align them to the left (like in Windows 10); for vertical variants, center or align them to the top.

The second logical change, which took several years to arrive, is the behavior of system windows. If you have the taskbar at the top, the Start menu and search finally open from top to bottom. Until now, Windows 11 insisted that the Start menu would slide up from the bottom regardless of where the taskbar was placed. A cute engineering laziness that Microsoft has finally corrected.

Smaller taskbar for smaller displays, better overview of windows

The second important new feature targets users of compact notebooks and tablets. Microsoft is adding a smaller taskbar variant with reduced height and smaller icons. Since its launch, Windows 11 has suffered from having a significantly taller taskbar than previous versions. The reason was better touch control zones and space for new status indicators, but on a 13″ or 14″ display, that unnecessary height was eating up needed pixels.

You can find the new setting in Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors, where you just need to toggle the switch for compact view. As with changing the position, everything takes effect immediately.

The third improvement is working with open windows when using a vertical taskbar. If you enable the option “Never combine” along with displaying text labels, each open application window will get its own line with its title. For people who commonly have five Word tabs or ten Chrome windows open, this is an indispensable tool. Until now, windows were grouped into a single icon, where you had to search blindly.

All these changes are currently available only in the Experimental channel of the Windows Insider program. Therefore, it will take a while for regular users to get access to these new features. Microsoft has recently been rolling out Insider features to public distribution within two to six months, so we can expect to wait until around autumn, or possibly until a major Windows 11 update as part of the 25H2 cycle.

Do you move your taskbar, or is the classic bottom position enough for you?

Source: Notebookcheck