Microsoft is giving Windows 11 users back a fundamental freedom they lost at launch: the ability to move the taskbar to any edge of the display. The change headlines a practical update scheduled as version 26H2 this fall, joined by deep Start menu customization and a less promotional Windows Search experience.

These aren’t experimental one-offs. They’re part of a broader Microsoft quality push for 2026, targeting reliability, performance, and user control. And while 26H2 provides a release umbrella, many of these improvements will roll out earlier to eligible 25H2 devices through regular monthly servicing updates, according to Microsoft’s release notes.

The taskbar breaks free of the bottom edge

The most talked-about change is the return of side- and top-mounted taskbars. You’ll be able to anchor the taskbar at the top, bottom, left, or right of the screen directly from Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors. Microsoft began testing this in Insider builds in May, and the setting includes a live preview before you commit.

A vertical taskbar isn’t just a cosmetic preference. On ultrawide monitors, moving it to the side can reclaim precious vertical space for document windows, code editors, and long lists. Microsoft notes that vertical layouts also make individual app windows easier to distinguish when labels are enabled, especially with the existing “Never combine” taskbar button mode.

But this isn’t a simple port of the old behavior. Microsoft had to rebuild flyout positioning, notification animations, and system tray scaling for each edge. Early Insider builds consequently carry some functional gaps:

  • Auto-hide isn’t supported on alternate positions yet.
  • The tablet-optimized taskbar doesn’t work on side or top mounts.
  • The full Search box is replaced by a Search icon on non-bottom positions.
  • Different taskbar positions per monitor and certain drag-and-drop refinements are still under evaluation.

A smaller taskbar option arrives alongside relocation. Under the same Taskbar behaviors page, a “Show smaller taskbar buttons” toggle reduces both the bar height and the icon size. It’s a binary compact mode, not a free-size slider, but it acknowledges a long-standing complaint that the default Windows 11 taskbar wastes space on non-touch desktops.

Start menu becomes modular—and more private

Microsoft isn’t resurrecting live tiles or freeform resizing, but the Start menu in 26H2 gains the most customization it’s had since Windows 11 launched. Three big controls change the daily experience:

Section toggles. You’ll be able to independently show or hide the Pinned, Recommended (now renamed “Recent”), and All apps sections. Want a clean app grid with nothing else? Hide the rest. Prefer a recent-file hub? Keep only Recent. The toggles live in Settings > Personalization > Start, and they eliminate the need for registry hacks or third-party tools.

Preset sizes. The update adds explicit Small, Large, and automatic sizing choices, replacing the display-size-driven layout that often got it wrong. You still can’t drag corners, but the menu won’t suddenly change size when you dock a laptop.

Privacy on shared screens. A new toggle hides your account name and profile picture while the Start menu is open—simple but effective when you’re presenting, streaming, or sharing a screen. It’s not a comprehensive privacy shield, but it stops one of the most casual forms of personal-data exposure.

Microsoft also decouples Start’s file recommendations from the rest of Windows. Previously, turning off recommended content in Start would kill recent-file lists in Jump Lists and File Explorer. Now the two stay independent, so you can keep a clean Start menu without sacrificing Quick Access convenience.

The “Recommended” to “Recent” rename isn’t just cosmetic. Microsoft says it better describes the section’s actual role: surfacing recently used files and newly installed apps. However, recently installed app promotion remains, so the section may still feel partly promotional to some users. The escape hatch is that you can hide the whole section.

Windows Search: local-first, less noise, more control

Windows Search gets a quieter home screen, better result labeling, and separate toggles for web and Store suggestions. The changes target the core friction that made Windows Search feel like a portal rather than a system utility.

The redesigned home page now emphasizes recent searches instead of trending web topics or promotional tiles. When you open the search pane, you see your own history first—a direct path back to a previous query rather than a content feed.

Search results also get clearer source tags, showing whether an item is an app, setting, file, web link, or Store suggestion. Behind the scenes, the ranking engine now prioritizes local content more aggressively: a locally installed app or a system setting should reliably outrank a web match when it’s the better answer.

Perhaps most important, Microsoft added two independent toggles in Settings > Privacy & security > Search: one for web results, one for Microsoft Store suggestions. Users who want a purely local search experience can flip both off without affecting cloud-file search or other connected features. That’s a stark contrast to the earlier all-or-nothing approach that bundled everything under a single switch.

Typo tolerance and partial-word matching have also improved. A query like “utlook” correctly finds Outlook, and you can locate “MeetingNotesApril.docx” by typing just “april” or “status.” These fuzzy-matching improvements make search act more like the tool people expect, rather than a rigid index engine.

What these changes mean for your daily workflow

For home users and students: The taskbar’s mobility and smaller size directly recover screen real estate on standard laptops. A side-mounted taskbar on a 13-inch screen can reclaim 40–50 pixels of vertical space for browser content, essays, or spreadsheets. The Start menu’s section toggles let families set up a clean app launcher that doesn’t show everyone’s recent files. And search’s local-first bias means pressing the Windows key and typing “mail” opens the Mail app instead of an ad for a web service.

For power users: The return of vertical taskbars with “Never combine” labels brings back a multi-window workflow that many IT professionals and developers have clung to since Windows 10. A vertical taskbar with labeled buttons lets you distinguish a dozen open terminals or browser windows at a glance. The decoupled Start recommendations mean you can turn off Start’s file display while preserving Jump Lists—a tiny but real efficiency win. Search’s separate web toggle finally lets you kill Bing suggestions without disabling cloud document search.

For IT administrators and business environments: The Start menu’s privacy toggle reduces incidental exposure during meetings and screen shares—a small compliance win that requires no policy deployment. More importantly, the ability to hide entire Start sections opens a path to a locked-down, pins-only layout on shared kiosks or task workers’ machines. The decoupled search toggles let you disable web suggestions while retaining Store apps for business-line needs.

How we got here: a three-year correction

When Windows 11 shipped in 2021, the taskbar was locked to the bottom, the Start menu was a fixed grid of pinned icons and recommended files, and Windows Search often blended local results with web promotions. Microsoft argued the centered, bottom-only design was more modern and touch-friendly.

Users pushed back. Moving the taskbar became an Insider feedback hub top request. The Start menu’s rigid “pinned plus recommended” split frustrated anyone who wanted a minimal launcher or a full app list. Search results that prioritized Edge and Bing over local files became a meme. Third-party utilities like StartAllBack and ExplorerPatcher boomed as users hacked back features.

Microsoft’s 2026 quality roadmap marks an explicit pivot. The company publicly committed to “reduced distraction, more opportunities for personalization, and improved reliability” for core Windows surfaces. The taskbar, Start, and Search were called out as priorities. What’s arriving in 26H2 isn’t a sudden reversal; it’s the cumulative result of Insider tests, feedback telemetry, and a strategic decision to prioritize user agency over a singular design language.

What to do now

If you’re running Windows 11 version 25H2 or enrolled in the Insider program, you may already see some of these features. Here’s how to prepare:

  • Check your build: Features are rolling out via Controlled Feature Rollout, so two machines on the same version may differ. Taskbar position, smaller taskbar, and Start toggles are currently in Insider Experimental Build 26300.8553 and later.
  • Explore settings proactively: The relevant controls are in Settings > Personalization > Taskbar (Taskbar behaviors) and Settings > Personalization > Start. Search toggles are under Settings > Privacy & security > Search. Not all options may be visible yet if your device hasn’t received the feature set.
  • Avoid third-party hacks temporarily: If you’re currently using third-party tools to move the taskbar or customize Start, be aware that native solutions are coming. Wait for the official release to avoid conflicts and potential stability issues.
  • Prepare for mixed availability: Even after 26H2 launches, not every device may get all features simultaneously. Microsoft’s gradual rollout strategy means some users may wait weeks. Manually check for updates periodically, and watch for feature enablement packages.
  • Give feedback: If you’re an Insider, use the Feedback Hub to report bugs in alternate taskbar positions, Start sizing, or search accuracy. Microsoft has demonstrated it’s acting on this feedback for the first time in years.

What’s next for the Windows desktop

26H2 won’t end the taskbar or Start menu conversation. The current limitations—no auto-hide on side taskbars, no per-monitor positioning, fixed Start sizing—signal where future updates might go. Microsoft has also hinted at further “craft” improvements, including refined animations and more accessible settings organization.

More broadly, the update validates a pattern: Windows 11 is evolving from a rigid design experiment into a mature platform that accepts diverse workflows. The biggest takeaway isn’t any one toggle. It’s that Microsoft is finally treating user choice as a core feature, not a concession.

For Windows users who waited three years to drag their taskbar to the side of the screen, that’s more than welcome. It’s overdue.