Removed and deprecated features in Windows 11

Windows 11 is bringing lots of new features to Microsoft's OS. Users will get better performance, significantly improved UI (at least at a glance,) better productivity tools, Android app support, an all-new Store, and many more. As it is usual with every major feature update, new Windows versions take some capabilities away. While lists of removed and deprecated features for Windows 10 updates have been mostly small and insignificant, Windows 11 changes quite a chunk of existing features.

Microsoft has already published minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11, and now you can check the official list of removed and deprecated features in the latest operating system. Say goodbye to the following capabilities before updating Windows 10 to Windows 11 or installing the latter from scratch.

General changes

• Cortana will no longer be included in the first boot experience or pinned to the Taskbar.
• Desktop wallpaper cannot be roamed to or from device when signed in with a Microsoft account.
• Internet Explorer is disabled. Microsoft Edge is the recommended replacement and includes IE Mode which may be useful in certain scenarios.
• Math Input Panel is removed. Math Recognizer will install on demand and includes the math input control and recognizer. Math inking in apps like OneNote are not impacted by this change.
• News & Interests has evolved. New functionality has been added which can be found by clicking the Widgets icon on the Taskbar.
• Quick Status from the Lock screen and associated settings are removed.
• S Mode is only available now for Windows 11 Home edition.
• Snipping Tool continues to be available but the old design and functionality in the Windows 10 version has been replaced with those of the app previously known as Snip & Sketch.
• Tablet Mode is removed, and new functionality and capability is included for keyboard attach and detach postures.
• Timeline is removed. Some similar functionality is available in Microsoft Edge.
• Touch Keyboard will no longer dock and undock keyboard layouts on screen sizes 18 inches and larger.
• Wallet is removed.

Changes to the Start menu and the taskbar

Start is significantly changed in Windows 11 including the following key deprecations and removals:

• Named groups and folders of apps are no longer supported and the layout is not currently resizable.
• Pinned apps and sites will not migrate when upgrading from Windows 10.
• Live Tiles are no longer available. For glanceable, dynamic content, see the new Widgets feature.
• People is no longer present on the Taskbar.
• Some icons may no longer appear in the System Tray (systray) for upgraded devices including previous customizations.
• Alignment to the bottom of the screen is the only location allowed.
• Apps can no longer customize areas of the Taskbar.

Finally, the following apps will not be removed on upgrade but will no longer be installed on new devices or when clean-installing Windows 11. They will remain available for download from the Store:

• 3D Viewer
• OneNote for Windows 10
• Paint 3D
• Skype

Microsoft plans to roll out the first public preview build of Windows 11 next week. If you want to be the first to test the new upcoming Windows, be sure to check whether your PC meets minimum hardware requirements.

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