Microsoft unveiled the next version of Windows this week and it takes a lot of inspiration from macOS. But there are some features Apple should borrow.
It’s been six years since Microsoft unveiled a new version of Windows, but “this holiday” Windows 10 users with eligible PCs will be able to upgrade to a brand new version of Microsoft’s OS called Windows 11. And whether they want to admit it or not, it’s going to look a lot like macOS. Microsoft has changed a lot about the way Windows looks and works, but it’s hard to deny that its “modern, fresh, clean and beautiful” interface borrows heavily from Apple’s style with rounded corners, subtle transparency, and an overall fluidity that would feel right at home on a MacBook. Despite its familiar interface elements, Windows 11 brings plenty of features that Mac users don’t have. It leverages the touch-friendly nature of many PCs, introduces new ways to type and talk, taps into the power of the Xbox ecosystem to elevate PC gaming, and revamps the Microsoft Store with Android apps and a completely new revenue share policy that lets some developers keep 100 percent of what they sell. Of course, we’re not going to see any of that in macOS anytime soon, but there are some features that would work really well on our Macs. Apple revamped Safari’s tab management in a big way with the upcoming launch on macOS Monterey, but Windows 11 has a neat feature in the Edge browser that makes it even easier to see and organize your tabs. Instead of collecting them in a horizontal row above your window, you can also see them in a vertical list by clicking an icon in the top left corner.
