The Windows 11 taskbar changes Microsoft has been testing in Insider builds are now confirmed to be rolling out to all users — and they represent the biggest restoration of interface flexibility the OS has seen since launch. If you have ever missed the ability to move your taskbar, shrink its icons, or clean up a cluttered Start menu, these updates are for you.
Why Microsoft Is Making These Windows 11 Taskbar Changes
When Windows 11 launched in October 2021, it stripped away a host of personalisation options that had been standard in Windows 10 — taskbar positioning, compact icon sizes, and granular Start menu controls all disappeared. The backlash was immediate and sustained. Microsoft’s official Windows Insider blog published a post in May 2026 titled “Improving Windows quality: Making Taskbar and Start more personal”, acknowledging the feedback and signalling a course correction. The goal is simple: give users back the flexibility to shape their desktop around their own workflow rather than a one-size-fits-all default.
Smaller Taskbar Buttons Are Finally Here
One of the most practical Windows 11 taskbar changes is the new Show smaller taskbar buttons toggle. When Windows 11 first launched, the taskbar was made taller to improve touch-screen usability on tablets and hybrid devices. On a traditional laptop or desktop monitor, however, that extra height simply eats into your usable screen real estate.
Activating the new toggle — found at Settings > Personalisation > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviours > Show smaller taskbar buttons — immediately reduces both the panel height and the icon size, recovering valuable vertical pixels without requiring a restart or a sign-out. It is the kind of instant, no-friction change that power users have been requesting since day one.
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Reduces taskbar height to a more compact size comparable to Windows 10.
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Scales down all pinned app icons proportionally.
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Takes effect immediately — no reboot needed.
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Works alongside other taskbar behaviour settings already in place.
Full Control Over the Windows 11 Start Menu
The Windows 11 Start menu is getting a significant overhaul in how its sections can be managed. Previously, trimming the menu of unwanted elements meant hunting through multiple settings pages. The updated design introduces direct inline toggles for every major section:
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Pinned: Show or hide the pinned apps grid entirely with one switch.
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Recommended (soon renamed “Recent”): Toggle the recently used files and apps section on or off independently.
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All Apps: Hide the full app list view if you prefer a minimal, focused launcher.
Critically, file recommendations are now decoupled from File Explorer. You can disable the display of recent documents inside the Start menu while still keeping your Recent Files list intact within File Explorer itself — a distinction that many users have long wanted. Microsoft is also renaming the “Recommended” section to “Recent” to better reflect what it actually shows, and updating the sorting algorithm to reduce noise by surfacing only genuinely recently worked-on documents rather than random system files.
Privacy-conscious users and streamers will also appreciate a dedicated toggle to hide your account name and profile picture from the Start menu, making it easy to share your screen without exposing personal details.
Finally, a new Start menu size setting — accessible from Settings > Personalisation > Start — lets you switch between a compact and a larger layout, ensuring the menu scales predictably across different monitor sizes and resolutions.
Taskbar Repositioning: Move It to Any Screen Edge
This is arguably the most requested feature of the entire Windows 11 interface update: the ability to dock the taskbar to the top, left, right, or bottom of your screen. Windows 10 supported this natively, and its removal in Windows 11 frustrated millions of users — particularly those with ultrawide or vertical monitors and developers who prefer a side-docked panel.
The returning repositioning feature is more polished than its Windows 10 predecessor. The system now automatically adapts several accompanying elements based on where the panel is placed:
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Icon alignment can be set to centred or edge-aligned for any taskbar orientation.
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Context pop-ups — including Start, Search, and system notifications — open relative to the panel’s current position. For example, if the taskbar is docked at the top, the Start menu opens downward from it.
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Auto-hide behaviour functions correctly in the bottom position.
Microsoft has been transparent about current limitations: in non-bottom positions, touch gestures, auto-hide, and the inline Search box are not yet fully supported (a search icon is shown instead of the full bar). The team has confirmed these will be addressed in future Insider builds before a full stable release.
Never Combine: Better Window Management on the Taskbar
For anyone running multiple windows of the same application simultaneously — think developers with several code editors open, or writers juggling multiple browser windows — the improved Never Combine mode is a welcome taskbar update for Windows 11 power users.
When Never Combine is enabled, every open window appears as its own separate labelled button on the taskbar rather than being grouped under a single app icon. Each button displays a text label, so you can identify the exact document or tab at a glance without hovering or clicking to expand a group. This is especially useful when the taskbar is docked vertically on the left or right edge of a wide monitor, where horizontal space is less of a constraint and text labels can be displayed comfortably.
When Will These Features Reach All Windows 11 Users?
As of May 2026, all of these features are live and testable in the Windows 11 Insider Preview builds. Microsoft has indicated that the changes will roll out broadly to the stable channel, though no precise date has been given beyond “coming soon to all users.” Based on the Insider cadence, a general availability release through a cumulative update or a feature drop is likely within the coming months.
If you want to experience these improvements ahead of the general release, you can enrol in the Windows Insider Programme through Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Programme and join the Beta Channel, which offers the most stable preview builds.
What This Means If You Are Still on Windows 10
Windows 10 reaches end of support on 14 October 2025, meaning no further security patches will be issued after that date. If you are still running Windows 10, these new Windows 11 taskbar changes — combined with the platform’s broader security, AI, and performance improvements — make the upgrade case stronger than ever. The taskbar and Start menu have been two of the most cited reasons users resisted switching; Microsoft is now systematically removing those objections.
At TopKeyShop, you can grab a genuine Windows 11 Home licence key from just €14.70, or pick up a Windows 11 Pro + Office 2024 bundle at €19.10 — a cost-effective way to land on the latest version of Windows and take full advantage of everything the new interface update has to offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I enable smaller taskbar buttons in Windows 11?
Go to Settings > Personalisation > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviours and toggle on Show smaller taskbar buttons. The change applies instantly — no restart is required. This option is currently available in Windows 11 Insider Preview builds and will reach the stable channel in a future update.
Can I move the Windows 11 taskbar to the top or side of the screen?
Yes — this feature is being restored. In the latest Insider builds, you can dock the taskbar to the top, left, right, or bottom edge of your monitor via Taskbar settings. Note that touch gestures and the inline Search bar are not yet fully supported in non-bottom positions, but Microsoft has committed to adding them in upcoming builds.
What is changing in the Windows 11 Start menu?
The Start menu is gaining individual on/off toggles for the Pinned, Recommended (renamed to Recent), and All Apps sections. File recommendations inside the menu can now be disabled independently of File Explorer. A new size setting lets you choose between a compact and a larger layout, and there is also a new toggle to hide your profile name and photo for privacy.
What is “Never Combine” and why does it matter?
Never Combine is a taskbar mode that shows each open window as a separate labelled button instead of grouping multiple windows of the same app under one icon. It is particularly useful for developers, writers, and power users who manage many windows at once, as it lets you identify and switch to the exact window you need with a single click.
Do I need to upgrade my PC to get these Windows 11 taskbar changes?
No hardware upgrade is required for the taskbar and Start menu changes — they will arrive via a standard Windows Update to any PC already running Windows 11. If your PC does not currently meet Windows 11’s TPM 2.0 and CPU requirements, you will need to upgrade your hardware or licence before you can access these features.
