Microsoft Rebuilds Windows 11 with Dropped Features Returning

Microsoft's Windows 11 has been rebuilt to include features that were dropped from its predecessor. The vertical taskbar and smaller Start menu, which were present in Windows 10, have now returned. Tali Roth, Microsoft's product manager for Windows core user experience at the time, explained why these features took years to return.

Roth stated that when building Windows 11, the team rebuilt the taskbar from scratch and had to 'pick and choose' which features to include first. Moving the taskbar was a huge engineering job due to the need for apps to recalculate layouts and DPI scaling across screen sizes and multi-monitor setups.

The taskbar's fixed position in Windows 11 was also due to telemetry data, which showed that while some users preferred alternate taskbar positions, they were a small minority compared to those asking for other features. Microsoft finally changed its mind on repositioning the taskbar after hearing feedback from users.