Microsoft is adding a new feature to the Windows 11 taskbar – but it’s probably not what you expected. While many of us expected drag and drop and the ability to resize and move to be added to the fairly basic Windows 11 taskbar, Microsoft is instead set to add a Windows 10-like search bar.
As Latest Windows reports (opens in new tab)a screenshot appeared showing a new ‘Search’ box
This is on the left side of the taskbar. It’s smaller than the Windows 10 search box and fits better with the overall look and feel of Windows 11, but we’d expect it to work in much the same way.
So you can use it to search for an application or document on your computer, or a website or term on the internet. According to Windows Latest, the search bar is being tested internally and there is no current indication of when we might see it in Windows 11.
Analysis: Who really wants this?
The fact that instead of addressing people’s complaints about the restricted taskbar in Windows 11, it seems like Microsoft is playing with unwanted new features is frustrating for a number of reasons.
For starters, the Windows 11 taskbar lacks a number of features found in previous versions, such as the ability to drag and drop files into a pinned app to open them. You also cannot resize the taskbar or move it to the side of the screen. These are features that people have been asking for since the release of Windows 11.
Which people I don’t have was asking, however it is a search box. The search box in Windows 10 was not very popular, and many people found that it often tried to give you results online, when all you were trying to do was search for a document saved on your PC.
The fact that the search box would also lead you to use Microsoft’s Bing search engine as well as the Edge web browser, no matter what your default settings were, didn’t sit well with people either.
Adding a search box to the Windows 11 taskbar also seems unnecessary because there is already a search icon. Clicking on it will open Windows 11 search, next to a search box. You can also search the Windows 11 Start menu.
So another way of searching the taskbar isn’t really necessary. It also runs the risk of cluttering the taskbar with more unwanted icons.
Why would Microsoft add this then? Well, for starters, remember that this is an early test and may never see the light of day. If that does appears, Microsoft may remove some of the other forms of search from the taskbar, which will avoid filling it with redundant search tools.
Unfortunately, I also feel that this is a feature that will benefit Microsoft more than Windows 11 users. It will likely still force people to use Bing and Edge, inflating the number of users for these two Microsoft products.
This isn’t the first time Microsoft has added a feature that benefits Microsoft, not its customers, and that never works well.