Windows 11 is over a year and a half old, but if you look at some of the Microsoft Build 2023, you may have noticed some familiar announcements. For example, the company is adding the ability to see individual app windows on the taskbar, along with the ability to see labels for each window, so you can easily identify and switch to the window you want with a single click.
Well, previous versions of Windows always had this option, and prior to Windows 7, it was actually the default behavior for the taskbar. And if you take a closer look at Windows 11, there are actually a few features already that Microsoft has added since the initial launch, which it actually brought back from previous versions of Windows. They were either missing or less visible in Windows 11. Let’s take a look at some other examples.
1 Taskbar drag and drop
You’re probably used to dragging items between apps on the taskbar if you ever used Windows prior to Windows 11. It’s a classic and seemingly obvious feature to include at this point, but when Windows 11 debuted with its brand-new taskbar, it was missing. You couldn’t drag and drop files from one app to another unless both apps were visible on screen, which became very cumbersome.
Thankfully, Microsoft listened to feedback and ended up re-adding this with Windows 11 version 22H2.
2 Quick access to the Task Manager
The simplification of the taskbar in Windows 11 came with more sacrifices, and this is one that really bothered me personally. The context menu that shows up when right-clicking the taskbar was rebuilt, and it removed most of the options of previous versions, including the Task Manager button. This made it a lot more cumbersome to quickly open the Task Manager, but this too was thankfully fixed with the first Moment update. Most of the previous options are still gone, but this was easily one of the most requested features.
3 Seconds in the taskbar clock
This one is cheating a little bit, but we’ll count it as a different kind of bringing back removed functionality. Previously, in Windows 10, you could click the clock on the taskbar to see your calendar, along with a clock that showed the current time up to the second. Personally, I didn’t think it would be missed, but it was one of the earliest complaints I heard from others.
It’s taken quite some time, but Microsoft is also bringing it back with the Moment 3 update for Windows 11.
It wasn’t just the taskbar that suffered when Microsoft streamlined the overall design for Windows 11. The Start menu got a big revamp and while it looks nice, it too lost some functionality. In Windows 10, you were able to create folders on the Start menu to house multiple Live Tiles for apps, but there was no way to create app folders in Windows 11.
This is another feature that I was upset to lose with this new version, but it’s something else Microsoft addressed with Windows 11 version 22H2. Folders are back, complete with the ability to rename them, and we even have a guide on how to use them.
5 File Explorer features
Windows 11 also brought with it a new and refreshed File Explorer, including new context menus that were more visually appealing and cleaner. But to do so, Microsoft removed a lot of options from this menu, and many of them have been coming back with newer updates. For example, Windows 11 version 22H2 brought back the ability to install fonts, certificates, and .inf files using the modern context menu instead of the old one.
Another capability that went missing in this new version was folder content previews. Windows 11 debuted new icons for folders, but it only had generic icons, as if the folders were empty, while previous versions of Windows would show you a sneak peek of what’s inside them. This was brought back with version 22H2.
Most recently, with the Moment 3 update, Microsoft brought back access keys in the modern context menu. These allow you to access the options in the context menu using a key on your keyboard that’s associated with that option. This was still possible if you used the Show more options button to see the old menu, but it’s good to have it brought back to the modern experience.
6 Voice access
This is another feature that isn’t exactly being brought back because it was never removed, but Microsoft does act like it’s brand new. Voice access is a new accessibility feature that lets you control your Windows 11 PC using your voice, and it sounds like a great step forward.
However, previous versions of Windows, and even Windows 11 itself, already came with something called Speech Recognition, which does a lot of the same things. It can open apps, switch between them, and click on parts of the screen with the mouse if you give it the right instructions. A lot of the features in voice access are the same as in Windows Speech Recognition — it just has a new UI that looks more modern, and it comes with a new guide that helps you get used to it. Windows Speech Recognition is even still available in Windows 11 right alongside voice access.
Some honorable mentions
While these features can’t be said to have been brought back, seeing as they were never available to begin with, they still deserve a shout-out because we know they were being worked on to some extent. One big thing is tabs in File Explorer and Notepad, which is what came of Microsoft’s experiments with Sets back in the Windows 10 days. Sets would have added tabs to all your apps, but Microsoft ultimately decided that this wasn’t the right solution, and instead, it added tabs to apps where it made more sense, like File Explorer and Notepad. Windows Terminal has them too, though that’s not exclusive to Windows 11.
Android app support is also something Microsoft wanted to do with Windows 10, including Windows 10 Mobile. It was thought to be the lifeline for Windows phones, but it was ultimately scrapped — until Microsoft brought it back with Windows 11, leveraging the work it did on the Windows Subsystem for Linux.
As much new as Windows 11 has brought to the table, it has also brought back a lot of old since its debut, and I’d argue that’s a good thing. Windows 11 felt fresh and exciting when it debuted, and I think that’s worth some of the things that were lost in that initial release. And it’s good to see Microsoft listening to feedback to bring back the core features that people do miss from these older releases.