Windows 11 is the latest major release of the Windows NT operating system and the successor of Windows 10. Some features of the operating system were removed in comparison to Windows 10, and further changes in older features have occurred within subsequent feature updates to Windows 11. Following is a list of these.
Features removed in version 21H2: (RTM)
Bundled software
No longer available
The following applications are no longer bundled with Windows 11 and no longer available.[1]
- Internet Explorer (It is hidden, however it can be opened via the Addons menu in Internet Options. Some third-party applications are able to open IE just fine.)[2]
- Wallet
Not bundled, but available
The following applications are no longer bundled with Windows 11, but can still be installed from the Microsoft Store.[1]
Windows shell
The following parts of the Windows shell are no longer available in Windows 11.
- Lock Screen's quick status
- Toggleable tablet mode (now is automatically enabled on touch devices)[3][1][4]
- The Timeline feature in Task View[1]
- The Save Search option in File Explorer
In addition:
- The touch keyboard no longer docks in screens larger than 18 inches.[1]
- Windows no longer synchronizes desktop wallpapers across devices with a Microsoft account.[1]
- Windows no longer shows a small preview of images or videos on folder thumbnails. Instead, it shows the generic folder icon for any folder containing images or videos.[5] (This change has been reverted in February 2022 insider builds.)[6]
Some functionality from the Start menu was removed and replaced with other features.
- Folders and groups[1] (reinstated in February 2022 insider builds)[6]
- Live tiles (the Widgets panel provides portions of what the live tiles of Windows 10's bundled apps once provided)[1]
- Recent and pinned files on pinned apps
Taskbar
The following taskbar features are no longer available as of Windows 11:
- Support for moving the taskbar to the top, left, or right of the screen[7]
- Support for changing the size of the taskbar or its icons
- "Time" is not displayed in the calendar when clicking on the "Date/Time" on taskbar
- Scheduled events are not displayed in the calendar when opened
- The option to show or hide Windows shell's tray icons (Only third-party icons can be hidden or shown)
- All settings and shortcuts in the taskbar's context menu (Only a shortcut to the taskbar settings area of the Settings app is available.)[7]
- The network and audio flyouts have been consolidated into a new settings flyout
- "Some icons in the System Tray", although Microsoft doesn't specify which[1]
- Support for third-party taskbar components (deskbands)[1]
- The upward swipe gesture for jumplists
- Ability to move the system tray from the primary monitor[8]
- The People button (The "Chat" button powered by Microsoft Teams takes its place.)
- The News and Interests panel (The "Widgets" panel serves the same purpose.)
- Action Center (Two separate flyouts take its place: "Notification Center" and "Quick Settings")
- Support for showing one icon per app window the taskbar (Reinstated in May 2023; option merged with showing labels[9])
- Support for showing windows labels on taskbar (Reinstated in May 2023; option merged with separating window icons[9])
- Support for bringing an app into focus by dragging a file to its button[7] (Reinstated in February 2022 insider builds)[6]
- Task Manager can no longer be opened by right-clicking taskbar (Reinstated in September 2022 insider builds)
- Ability to peek at the desktop by hovering the mouse cursor over the Show Desktop button[10]
- Ability to display the seconds on the current time removed[11] (Reinstated in November 2022[12])
- Support for adding toolbars
Settings
File History can only be configured using the legacy Control Panel application, which does not support adding custom folders to the set of protected folders as the Settings app in Windows 10 did.[13]
Architecture and other features
Windows 11 is only available for the x86-64 and ARM64 CPU architectures, as Microsoft is no longer offering a Windows build for IA-32 x86 and ARMv7 systems.[1] Additionally, NTVDM and the 16-bit Windows on Windows subsystems, which allowed 32-bit versions of Windows to directly run 16-bit DOS and Windows programs, are no longer included with Windows 11.
User-mode scheduling (UMS), available on x64 versions Windows 7 and later, was a lightweight mechanism allowing applications to schedule their own threads, without involvement from the system scheduler. This feature is not included with Windows 11.[14]
Themes
The Windows 10 and Flowers theme has been removed in Windows 11. Also upgrading to Windows 11 of Theme1 and Theme2 Wallpaper Folder is empty.
