Windows 11 is Finally Getting More Customizable: Movable Taskbar, Minimal Start Menu, and More!
If you’ve been using Windows 11, you already know it’s a sleek, modern operating system—but for many users, it has felt a bit too rigid. For years, one of the biggest complaints from the Windows community has been the lack of basic customization options that we used to take for granted in older versions of Windows.
Well, Microsoft has been listening!
In a major new Insider update and a dedicated blog post titled "Improving Windows quality: Making Taskbar and Start more personal," Microsoft has announced that they are giving power back to the users.
From a movable taskbar to a highly streamlined Start menu and deep performance optimizations, let’s dive into the exciting changes coming to your PC.
1. The Taskbar is Back (And It’s Movable!)
Yes, you read that right. After five years of being locked to the bottom of your screen, the taskbar is finally breaking free.
Starting now for Windows Insiders in the Experimental channel, you can place the taskbar on any of the four edges of your screen:
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Top
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Bottom (Default)
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Left
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Right
Smarter Adaptations
This isn't just a simple layout shift. Windows handles the change dynamically:
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Flying Out Nicely: When you move your taskbar to the top, your Start menu and search flyouts will pop out from the top as well.
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Flexible Alignments: You can choose to keep your icons centered or top/left-aligned depending on which edge of the screen you choose.
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Never Combine & Show Labels: If you prefer the vertical taskbar (left or right side), you can enable "Never combine" so that each app window gets its own labeled button. This is a massive win for programmers and multitasking enthusiasts who want to reclaim vertical screen space.
Note: Because this is still in testing, features like auto-hide, search boxes (which show up as search icons for now), and tablet touch gestures are still being polished for alternative edges.
2. Say Hello to the Tiny Taskbar
For those working on smaller laptop screens or tablets, every single pixel of vertical space counts. The default Windows 11 taskbar can sometimes feel a bit chunky.
Microsoft is adding a simple new toggle under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors: "Show smaller taskbar buttons."
Setting this to "Always" will instantly shrink both the overall taskbar height and the icons inside it. The best part? It happens instantly—no computer restart or sign-out required!
3. Total Control Over Your Start Menu
The current Windows 11 Start menu is quite large and comes packed with sections like "Recommended" apps and files that not everyone wants to see. Under the hood, Microsoft is simplifying the customization interface to let you craft the exact Start menu you want.
Here is what you will soon be able to do:
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Section-Level Toggles: You'll get simple, clear on/off switches to independently show or hide your Pinned apps, Recent items, and All apps list. Want a super-minimal, "pins-only" Start menu? Just toggle off the others!
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Separate File Recommendation Controls: Previously, turning off recommended files in the Start menu also turned off recent files in File Explorer. Microsoft is decoupling these, meaning you can clean up your Start menu without breaking your File Explorer history.
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Static Size Options: You can force the Start menu to be "Small" or "Large" so that it stays consistent even if you move between different monitors and displays.
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Privacy Toggle: You can now hide your user account name and profile picture from the Start menu—perfect for content creators, stream presenters, or anyone sharing their screen on a public call.
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A Rebrand to "Recent": The "Recommended" section is being renamed to "Recent" to better reflect its actual purpose (recently installed apps and recently used files), with improved algorithms to make sure the files shown are actually relevant to your current workflow.
4. Under the Hood: The "K2" Initiative & Performance Boosts
It's not all just visual updates! Windows is notorious for being resource-hungry, often idling with significant memory usage.
To combat this, Microsoft is working on a major ongoing internal optimization initiative known internally as Windows K2. The main priorities of this effort are:
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Resource Optimization: Streamlining core OS processes to significantly reduce CPU and RAM bloat. This is designed to help Windows 11 run much faster and smoother on lower-end hardware.
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Low-Latency Profile: This feature makes the operating system feel incredibly snappy by automatically maxing out your CPU’s frequency the exact millisecond you open an app or interact with the system interface, ensuring zero delay.
How and When Can You Get It?
If you are adventurous and want to test these features today, you can sign up for the Windows Insider Program.
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Go to your Windows Update settings and join the Insider Program.
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Select the simplified Experimental channel.
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Make sure you are on Windows 11 version 25H2 (or higher).
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Head over to your Insider feature flags, enable alternate taskbar positions, and restart your PC.
For Everyone Else:
If you prefer to wait for a stable, polished experience, these quality-of-life improvements are highly expected to roll out to the general public later this year as part of the next major annual update (likely Windows 11 version 26H2).
Read the Official Announcement
For the complete, detailed breakdown, design concept mockups, and up-to-date tracking of known testing issues, check out official post on the Microsoft Windows Insider Blog.
I’ve also made a video on this topic — you can watch it below.
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