Adding a series of new features, Windows 11 aims for the “hybrid work era”

Additionally, Windows 11 includes new features that help users stay focused and secure, which is always a challenge in a remote work environment.

During the recent Windows 11 feature launch event, Microsoft product manager Panos Panay emphasized: “Flexibility has become extremely important to employees around the world. That will be the case. respond to the new Windows 11 feature set”.

New features of Windows 11, specifically as follows:

Microsoft Product Manager Panos Panay announces the latest Windows 11 features. Photo: Microsoft

Tabs for File Explorer

Microsoft redesigned File Explorer in Windows 11, with cloud support with a smart home page that shows important files right when you need them. File Explorer will have a tab system, allowing users to open multiple tabs in a window, reducing clutter on the screen.

The company also added a Touch Snap layout to help users organize their apps on touch devices more quickly and easily.

Microsoft redesigned File Explorer in Windows 11 with a tab system. Photo: Microsoft

Add folders to the “Start menu”

Users can create folders in the “Start menu” through an easy process. All that is needed is to drag and drop one app icon onto another. A folder will then be created complete with small application icons displayed in the folder graphic to show what’s inside. You can also name these folders to help organize and quickly see what the contents are.

Users can add folders to the Start menu. Photo: Microsoft

Improve the quality of video meetings

As part of a campaign to meet the needs of the online and offline hybrid working era, Microsoft will be rolling out enhancements to the native operating system to enhance the quality of the video conferencing experience.

There are four new “smart meeting” features: Voice focus, eye contact, auto framing, and portrait background blur. Taken together, the new options will ensure users keep good frames at all times, reduce noise and background noise, and remove noise and clutter from the video feed.

A step forward in security

To keep personal information and work data safe for users, Microsoft is rolling out many new security features.

Specifically, Microsoft has developed a new AI-powered system to prevent users from running malicious applications on Windows-based devices, called Smart App Control. The feature relies on an AI model hosted in the Azure cloud to assess the threat posed by the executable. If the threat level is high, the application will not be allowed to run.

Next is the upgrade of Microsoft Defender, an anti-virus service that has been built into Windows 11. This feature helps protect against phishing attacks by alerting users when they enter their Microsoft account credentials into an untrusted website. In the event of a device being stolen or lost, new personal data encryption protections will ensure the data is resistant to attack.

FinalMicrosoft has rolled out an update called Config Lock, which is supposed to “protect users from themselves”.

This feature monitors registry keys to ensure worker devices remain compliant with company security standards. If a policy violation is detected, the device is automatically reverted to the desired state.

Microsoft launched new features for Windows 11. Photo: Microsoft