Microsoft today announced several new Windows 11 features that will begin rolling out to users running the company’s latest desktop operating system. Some of the key features include taskbar improvements and a preview of the Amazon App Store, which makes a selection of Android apps and games available on Windows 11’s Microsoft Store.
As PCs continue to play a more meaningful role in our lives, we will continue to evolve Windows 11 as the connection point between people, ideas and creations, Panos Panay, Microsoft’s head of Windows business, wrote in today’s announcement. Today, we’re excited to announce the availability of new Windows 11 experiences, including Amazon Appstore previews in the US, improvements to the taskbar, and two redesigned apps: Media Player and Notepad. We can’t wait to see how do you use them”.
With the help of the Insiders community, the Windows development team has been testing these new features for months. Perhaps the biggest change today is the Android apps promised to Windows 11 users before Windows 11’s initial release, thanks to the Amazon Appstore preview, where more than 1,000 apps and games are being added to the Microsoft Store through the Amazon Appstore.
Currently, only Windows 11 users in the US can access the Amazon Appstore preview in the Microsoft Store. Apps like Audible, Kindle, Subway Surfers, Lords Mobile, Khan Academy Kids and many more are available.
This experience, built on the Android platform and powered by Intel Bridge technology, introduces a new class of mobile apps and games available for Windows.
To use an Android app in the US, open and update the Microsoft Store (click Get Updates in Microsoft Store > Library), then search for your favorite app name.
Other notable new improvements include:
- Mute/unmute and share any window from the taskbar
- Add real-time weather to the taskbar
- When using two screens, the clock is displayed on the second monitor
- Two redesigned apps: Media Player and Notepad
Interested in reading all about these new features, updated apps, and taskbar improvements, Panay’s blog post details all the changes in Windows 11: Click Here.