Microsoft continues to improve Windows 11. Just this past week, the company began testing new context menus with Windows Insiders and revamped the ancient AutoPlay dialog box.
The Windows K2 initiative to improve the operating system is going so well that I’ve asked if the next big update should be Windows 12. But fixing the Windows experience is about more than context menus and a unified user interface. Even if Windows is fixed, Microsoft needs to make better apps.
If a person logs onto a PC running a beautiful and zippy version of Windows 11, they won’t care about the OS if Microsoft Teams takes too long to load. Microsoft needs to lead by example by making the best Windows apps.
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To give Microsoft credit, work is being done to improve some apps. Rudy Huyn, a well-known Windows developer who worked on the Microsoft Store, is putting a team together to improve Windows apps. That team is still in its infancy, so we will have to wait to see the results.
But Microsoft’s app issue isn’t just about having a team dedicated to in-box apps or hiring good developers. It’s about the direction Microsoft pushes those developers. Microsoft Teams and other Microsoft apps have been “rebuilt from the ground up” or “refreshed with performance in mind” several times over the years. But the underlying problem still exists. Microsoft made the wrong choice by going all-in on web apps, and it needs to course correct.
Huyn’s team is all about native apps, but it’s not clear right now how many apps will fall under its umbrella. Will we see a new native version of Outlook? What about Microsoft Teams? If Huyn’s team is just focused on in-box apps, some of the most-used apps on Windows 11 will remain laggy web apps.
Plus, several of Microsoft’s biggest apps aren’t even in the same part of the company as Huyn’s team. If Microsoft fixes the Photos app, OneDrive, and other in-box apps, but Teams is still laggy, Microsoft is still delivering a poor user experience.
Shopping with Sean
Speaking of apps, this week’s top deal is on the ever-popular Microsoft 365. That software suite is massively discounted right now if you bundle it with NordVPN. You’ll get the best value if you use both Microsoft 365 and NordVPN, but the bundle is more affordable than Microsoft 365 on its own.
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