Microsoft: Removing some Copilots will improve Windows 11
- Reference: 1774233270
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/03/23/windows_quality_commitment/
- Source link:
A Friday [1]post from executive veep for Windows and devices Pavan Davuluri, and addressed to Windows Insiders, says he’s taken soundings among users and “What came through was the voice of people who care deeply about Windows and want it to be better.”
Davuluri said Microsoft has already started work to improve the OS and offered a list of changes that starts with “More taskbar customization, including vertical and top positions.”
[2]
That’s a feature Microsoft offered 30 years ago, in Windows 95.
We are reducing unnecessary Copilot entry points
His next item is “Integrating AI where it’s most meaningful, with craft and focus,” and reads a lot like an admission that Microsoft has got it wrong with AI in Windows.
“You will see us be more intentional about how and where Copilot integrates across Windows, focusing on experiences that are genuinely useful and well crafted,” Davuluri wrote. “As part of this, we are reducing unnecessary Copilot entry points, starting with apps like Snipping Tool, Photos, Widgets and Notepad.”
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Davuluri also promised a File Explorer will become “faster and more dependable,” by offering “a quicker launch experience, reduced flicker, smoother navigation and more reliable performance for everyday file tasks.” He also promised “Copying and moving large files will be faster and more reliable” and “substantially lower latency for search, navigation and context menus.”
[5]Microsoft breaks Microsoft account sign-ins in Windows 11 with latest update
[6]Out-of-band getting out of hand as Microsoft pushes hotpatch for Bluetooth
[7]Windows 11 tops market share as 10 faces extended farewell
[8]Windows 11 finally hits right note: MIDI 2.0 support arrives
Un-dam the RAM cram jam
Another plan calls for “lowering the baseline memory footprint for Windows, freeing up more capacity for the apps you run.” The OS will emerge capable of “More consistent performance, even under load, so apps stay responsive throughout the day.”
This is arguably not responding to user feedback but a commercial necessity, because surging memory prices mean RAM alone accounts for [9]over a third of a PC’s price, leading to [10]higher costs for buyers .
If PC sales slow, so will Microsoft’s revenue. Making Windows 11 fit for a time in which machines packing a mere 8GB of RAM become the norm is therefore a business imperative, not just a technical challenge for the software giant’s OS engineers.
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Other items on Microsoft’s to-do list address very old gripes about Windows, such as its flaky performance when connecting to Bluetooth devices, waking up grumpy or slowly after PCs emerge from sleep, and making widgets less intrusive. Davuluri also said Microsoft will work to speed Windows installations, and will offer a one-reboot-a-month option for Windows Update.
The exec also pledged to improve the Windows Insider program with a new and easier-to-use feedback hub. Again, this will please users and benefit Microsoft.
“Elevating the Windows Subsystem for Linux experience” is another promise. Davuluri said it will manifest in a few ways:
Faster file performance between Linux and Windows
Improved network compatibility and throughput
More streamlined first-time setup and onboarding experience
Better enterprise management with stronger policy control, security and governance
The Windows boss described the content of his post as items Microsoft will deliver in preview OS builds during March and April, and that members of the Insider program “can expect to see tangible progress that you’ll be able to feel as you preview builds from us throughout the rest of the year.”
But it is unclear when this work will reach the rest of us who run regular Windows releases. ®
Get our [12]Tech Resources
[1] https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2026/03/20/our-commitment-to-windows-quality/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2acDI88wiQL3FqeAT9nB2uQAAAg0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44acDI88wiQL3FqeAT9nB2uQAAAg0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33acDI88wiQL3FqeAT9nB2uQAAAg0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/20/microsoft_account_not_working_have/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/17/microsoft_bluetooth_hotpatch/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/02/windows_11_market_share/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/18/microsoft_makes_sweet_music_with/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/25/hp_inc_q1_2026/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/05/pc_prices_rising/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44acDI88wiQL3FqeAT9nB2uQAAAg0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: I have an idea
Make that Windows 7
Re: I have an idea
I genuinely do not know why people prefer Windows 10. It was a horrible mismatched Frankenstein's monster of a UX. No two modals were alike, everything felt flaky and half-baked. 7? Yes, 7 was the best OS ever made. And I liked 10 when it came out. But 11 is better in almost every way to 10, save for the forced cloud crap and built-in ads, which are easy enough to bypass anyway. But 10 felt like a failed prototype, I really don't know what people see in it. Nothing about it felt intentional or pre-planned. At least 11's UX feels somewhat consistent. 10 just felt like "Windows 8.2", still Windows 8 but horrifically morphed into the facsimile of a desktop OS that feels like it was made out of the stitched-together remains of what was once a coherent desktop OS. I do not miss it at all, and again, I was excited for it when it came out.
No mention of forced cloud logins
> “What came through was the voice of people who care deeply about Windows and want it to be better.”
Users spoke loud and clear against forcing everyone to create a Microsoft account to sign into their local computer.
Microsoft isn't listening.
The internal polling numbers must be brutal
Whenever a new version of Windows is released, it usually gets criticized, fairly or unfairly, as being inferior to the current version. The early releases (1.0. 2.0. 3.0, 3.1, WfW) didn't, because it was still a new and evolving tech. Likewise, Windows 95 and Windows 2000 were revolutionary changes. But for most mature versions, the initial response is usually " it was fine the way it was, the new version is garbage ". Windows 98 was initially dismissed, as was XP. People initially preferred Windows 95 and Windows 2000. But eventually 98 and XP both become wildly popular.
Some versions get a thumbs up because the predecessor was disliked. Windows 2000 replaced the wildly unpopular ME. Windows 7 replaced Vista, and Windows 10 replaced Windows 8.x. So initial dislike of Windows 11 is nothing new, and nothing for MS to be alarmed about.
At least initially.
Normally, the new version matures, and either the complaints die down (98, XP, Windows 10), or the users stick with what they have. Most personal users skipped ME, Vista, and Windows 8. But with modern security issues, users can't safely stick with Windows 10, they have to go to Windows 11. If they can.
So there were always going to be more complaints, because unlike the past, it's a forced upgrade. But even then, MS figured the complaints would die down over time.
Not only have they not died down, they've increased. There were TPM 2.0 requirement complaints. And telemetry and invasion of privacy complaints. And forced Outlook account complaints. And Recall complaints. And CoPilot complaints. And what appeared like a never ending stream of forced upgrades that broke something new every week or two. Upgrades broke SSDs. They broke MS Paint. They broke Notepad. They broke the taskbar. They broke the logins. And most recently, they crashed the C: drive on Samsung laptops.
The churn has gotten so bad that Linux numbers have risen as much in the past two years as in the past twenty. Vendors like Asus, Dell, and Lenovo are making Windows an option on their laptops, rather than mandatory. And Apple just released a notebook that puts it in the same price range as many Windows laptops.
It's not news the people are fed up with MS' nonsense. The fact that VPs are tacitly admitting it, and are publicly saying they're going to start acting on the complaints means that the financials must have reached a point where it's been brought to the attention of the board.
Anyone expecting MS to change course will be disappointed, though. Oh, they'll slow the AI adoption, and make it less visible, but their focus isn't going to change. They won't be shoving it in everyone's face and telling them to just deal with it any more; they'll quietly slip it in and make it optional, at least initially, but the long term strategy isn't going to change. Just as Recall didn't disappear and was just "retooled", the transition to an AI-centric OS will continue, as well. They'll just be less confrontational about it, that's all.
Re: The internal polling numbers must be brutal
> The internal polling numbers must be brutal
Perhaps not. I wonder about statistical effects.
When switching has never been easier, and intentional anti-features never more obnoxious, how many customers who would have complained in a past survey have removed themselves from the Windows ecosystem (and thus the polling sample) entirely? Is it possible Microsoft might be seeing and misinterpreting a paradoxical decline in reported dissatisfaction?
They finally, finally learned their lesson about Copilot.
I don't care about the updates because I already disabled forced updated in Group Policy.
I'm still moving back to Linux regardless.
I have an idea
Can we just have Windows 10 back*? We didn't need Windows 11 or 99% of what's in it, and the few things that are useful can be backported anyway.
* 7 would be preferable but asking for 10 back is delusional enough as it is...