When Microsoft launched Windows 11 past year, it was wide the PC was back. PC usage had skyrocketed during the pandemic, and hybrid enactment had go the caller mean for galore astir the world. But the caller OS wasn’t wholly acceptable to capitalize connected those changes — Windows 11 felt similar a enactment successful progress, a acquainted location successful the mediate of a large renovation. Now, with the Windows 11 2022 Update, Microsoft is backmost to marque those renovations consciousness much complete.

Microsoft has greatly improved Windows 11 implicit the past twelvemonth to the constituent wherever updates consciousness similar they’re arriving monthly now. The Windows 11 2022 Update addresses a batch of the aboriginal complaints I had astir Microsoft’s archetypal OS release, and it has improved capable parts that I’ve gone up and upgraded my main instrumentality to Windows 11 aft initially holding off. If you were besides wary of upgrading, the Windows 11 2022 Update mightiness conscionable beryllium the clip to deed the large instal fastener — that’s if your PC even supports it successful the archetypal place.

The Windows 11 2022 Update is disposable contiguous and includes features similar Start paper folders, improvements to Snap Layouts, Live Captions crossed the full OS, amended interaction gestures, and adjacent a caller Xbox controller bar. It besides includes a fig of meaningful accessibility improvements and marks a displacement successful the mode Microsoft is reasoning astir caller features. There’s thing caller present for astir each Windows user.

Start paper folders are the archetypal evident betterment erstwhile you upgrade to the Windows 11 2022 Update. You tin resistance apps connected apical of each different connected the Start paper to make folders and pin them freely. Microsoft has besides added the quality to resize the pinned country truthful you tin spot little of the recommended provender of files that appears beneath apps connected the Start menu.

I’m definite determination volition beryllium galore Windows users who privation they had much customization and power implicit the Start menu, but I similar the changes Microsoft has made successful wide to Windows 11 here. The summation of folders present makes the Start paper consciousness much complete.

One of my favourite features successful Windows 11, Snap Layouts, is getting adjacent amended successful this Windows 11 2022 Update. As soon arsenic you commencement moving an app oregon folder around, a caller drawback barroom appears astatine the apical that lets you rapidly signifier apps into Snap Layouts, with plentifulness of grids and layout options connected larger monitors.

It’s a tiny and subtle change, but it’s 1 that means I’m present utilizing Snap Layouts regular crossed my laptop and PC moving Windows 11. I’ve switched backmost to Windows 10 connected definite devices I own, and I miss not having Snap Layouts and these speedy ways to negociate apps and windows.

If, like me, you weren’t a instrumentality of the taskbar successful Windows 11, it has greatly improved implicit the past year. The taskbar clip and day returned to aggregate monitors earlier this year, and the Windows 11 2022 Update brings backmost resistance and drop. Just these elemental additions marque Windows 11 a batch much usable for maine personally, and I’m gladsome Microsoft hasn’t waited excessively agelong to bring them back.

The taskbar inactive isn’t perfect, though. I tin unrecorded without being capable to acceptable the taskbar size oregon position, ungroup icons, oregon adjacent not beryllium capable to acceptable tiny taskbar icons, but determination are immoderate Windows users that truly miss this customization. Microsoft is inactive moving connected this rebuilt taskbar, truthful it’s not finished conscionable yet.

“We did wholly overhaul the taskbar for Windows 11 and determination were a batch of reasons for doing that,” Christina Koehn, main originative manager for Windows 11, says successful an interrogation with The Verge. “We cognize radical privation to beryllium capable to dock it to the left, oregon the right, oregon determination it around, and it truly comes down to prioritizing features based connected the needs of our customers.”

Windows 11 is besides starting to look much accordant now. Microsoft has made immoderate subtle plan changes successful the Windows 11 2022 Update, improving animations, icons, and more. Even acheronian mode has improved, with the Task Manager present sporting a caller interface and a acheronian theme. There are inactive galore parts of Windows 11 that aren’t afloat dark, and it’s wide Microsoft is taking its clip to get these close and not conscionable slapping a wide achromatic taxable everywhere.

“In the past we’ve looked astatine acheronian themes oregon acheronian mode arsenic being coagulated back, and what we’ve learned done pursuing our principles is that a acheronian grey oregon a softer grey works arsenic it has got to beryllium truly tuned successful truthful it’s not conscionable black,” explains Koehn. You tin spot this successful the Task Manager, wherever it’s inactive casual to work the achromatic substance connected a achromatic background, and galore parts are acheronian oregon softer grays. There is inactive a batch of enactment to bash here, and Microsoft inactive hasn’t shipped the dark mode for Microsoft Paint that it announced much than a twelvemonth ago.

If you’re a tablet oregon 2-in-1 owner, the Windows 11 2022 Update is simply a must-install. Microsoft has greatly improved the gestures successful this update, allowing you to swipe up to entree the Start paper oregon easy power betwixt apps with gestures. Likewise, if you play games connected Windows, determination are immoderate coagulated improvements with this update. A caller Xbox controller barroom allows you to easy navigate PC launchers and games with conscionable your controller, and if you play games successful windowed mode, past determination are latency and show improvements now.

Windows 11 shipped with the Auto HDR feature from the Xbox Series X / S consoles, and Microsoft present allows windowed games to enactment Auto HDR and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR). The optimizations besides importantly amended latency for older DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 games moving successful windowed mode. That’s large quality for PC gamers who person typically had to tally games successful afloat surface successful the past to get each the latency and show benefits.

The Windows 11 2022 Update besides has immoderate awesome improvements to accessibly features. One of the champion caller features is Live Captions. I find myself utilizing Live Captions astir regular to automatically make captions connected immoderate contented that has audio. Live Captions is accessible utilizing the Winkey + CTRL + L shortcut, and it volition greatly payment radical who are deaf oregon hard of hearing. All captions are automatically generated on-device from immoderate contented that includes audio, and captions tin interval successful a model oregon beryllium displayed astatine the apical oregon bottommost of a screen.

The Windows 11 2022 Update besides includes Voice Access to fto anyone power a PC with conscionable their dependable and caller voices for Microsoft’s Narrator feature. If you’ve ever heard the Microsoft Sam dependable of the past, you cognize however robotic and unnatural it sounds. Microsoft’s caller voices are astonishing successful comparison.

“We are bringing authorities of the creation text-to-speech into Windows,” Carolina Hernandez, a main PM manager astatine Microsoft, says successful an interrogation with The Verge. “These voices much intimately reflector earthy speech, truthful it makes it much delightful to perceive these voices.”

Hernandez, who leads a squad making Windows much inclusively designed, says Microsoft hired radical with disabilities to assistance thrust these types of investments. It’s intelligibly paying disconnected with aggregate accessibility-focused features this year.

Voice Access is different caller diagnostic successful this update that’s focused connected accessibility. Voice Access places a narration barroom astatine the apical of your surface wherever you tin usage your dependable to navigate Windows. You tin determination the cursor, transcript and paste, interact with apps, and fundamentally bash thing that you’d beryllium capable to usually bash with a keyboard and mouse. This volition beryllium beneficial for radical with constricted mobility oregon anyone who wants oregon needs to power their PC with conscionable a microphone.

“One of the things that we’ve adopted is this inclusive plan doctrine for our products,” Hernandez says. We’ve seen this for years extracurricular of exertion with curb cuts that were primitively designed for wheelchairs but that besides assistance radical connected bikes oregon parents with babies successful strollers. Microsoft is taking a akin attack to accessibility improvements here.

Beyond the awesome accessibility improvements, Windows 11 2022 Update besides includes immoderate improvements to the absorption and “do not disturb” modes. There’s a caller bash not disturb fastener successful the notification sheet that tin soundlessness notifications if you privation to absorption connected work, and you tin adjacent spell 1 measurement further by creating a 30-minute absorption league present that volition region the badge icons you spot connected the taskbar. It’s expected to beryllium distraction-free, and I recovered it ace utile for penning each astir this update.

The Windows 11 2022 Update wouldn’t beryllium a existent Windows update if determination weren’t immoderate information improvements. Microsoft is introducing Smart App Control successful this latest update, which is simply a caller diagnostic that’s designed to artifact scripting attacks oregon untrusted apps from launching. You volition request to cleanable instal Windows 11 to get this peculiar feature, though, arsenic Microsoft wants to guarantee determination aren’t already untrusted apps moving connected the instrumentality earlier the diagnostic is enabled.

Microsoft is besides improving Windows Update to beryllium much environmentally friendly. “We’re capable to docket your Windows Update for a clip erstwhile much greenish vigor is available, which helps you perchance trim your c impact,” Nicci Trovinger, elder manager of Windows merchandise marketing, says successful an interrogation with The Verge.

The Windows 11 2022 Update naming implies it’s the definitive 1 for 2022, but much features are besides connected the mode earlier the extremity of the year. File Explorer volition get tabs successful October, a highly requested diagnostic that volition see a caller homepage successful File Explorer with speedy entree to favourite and caller files.

An update to the Photos app is besides coming adjacent month, with a caller photograph absorption UI that includes a gallery, amended browsing, and the quality to easy backmost up photos to OneDrive unreality storage. The taskbar is besides getting an overflow paper successful October, alongside a caller suggested actions diagnostic that provides suggested actions erstwhile you spell to transcript telephone numbers, dates, and more.

Not each of the Windows 11 2022 Update changes are welcome, though. Microsoft present requires net connectivity during the archetypal instrumentality setup for the Pro edition, and if you’re utilizing a instrumentality for idiosyncratic use, a Microsoft relationship volition besides beryllium required for setup. We saw this with Windows 11 Home editions initially, and it’s disappointing to spot Microsoft present necessitate this for Pro versions.

As for the future, Microsoft is present committing to delivering caller Windows 11 features erstwhile they’re ready. That could mean we spot caller features monthly, but it doesn’t mean the large yearly merchandise is going away. Rumors had suggested Microsoft wouldn’t merchandise a large 2023 update for Windows 11, but Microsoft says otherwise. “We volition inactive person an yearly merchandise that volition beryllium disposable 1 clip per year, and it volition beryllium disposable successful the 2nd fractional of the year,” Trovinger says.

Microsoft is present investigating and experimenting with much Windows 11 features done its Windows Insider programme arsenic the institution works to incubate caller concepts and ideas. “We’ve started reasoning astir however we tin thin successful and spot the Windows Insider programme a batch more,” says Windows Insider main Amanda Langowski. That means sharing aboriginal codification oregon ideas earlier they’re afloat developed. “Before radical mightiness person been a small much tense astir that and privation it to beryllium cleanable and polished earlier we enactment it retired there, but we’re becoming a batch much comfy sharing immoderate of these ideas, listening to lawsuit feedback, and conscionable however radical are really interacting with it.”

These experiments volition present signifier the aboriginal of Windows 11 and the updates we each get to acquisition successful the twelvemonth up and beyond. Until then, the Windows 11 2022 Update arrives to truly marque the OS worthy the upgrade. I couldn’t constituent to a azygous Windows 11 diagnostic that was worthy the instant upgrade past year, but now, I tin constituent to Live Captions, Snap Layouts, and immoderate of the gaming improvements that I trust connected each azygous day.

Windows 11 inactive feels similar the acquainted Windows we’ve had for decades, but the 2022 Update gives it adjacent much modern features that I deliberation astir Windows users are going to truly enjoy.