Microsoft is constantly testing new Windows features, whether through the Windows Insider program or even some features that make it into the final versions of Windows. Since the operating system is now updated much more frequently, it is common for features to be added that are then often later removed.
Every now and then, Microsoft announces a good feature for Windows and then removes it. It's always a shame. So I wanted to take a look at some of the features Microsoft has added to Windows and then – much to my regret – removed.
6 My people
I think it was actually a good idea
My Contacts is a feature that was already present in a few versions of Windows 10, but I think it deserved more. The idea behind this feature was that sometimes there are people in your life who are your main focus and you don't want to think about what messaging apps they use, you just want to have quick access to them across all those platforms. My Contacts allowed you to pin your favorite contacts to your taskbar and you could reach them on any platform they had accounts on, as long as that platform was integrated with Windows.
Therein lies the first problem with My Contacts, though. Many messaging services didn't have Windows apps, and even when they did, they weren't always guaranteed to support the My Contacts feature, which severely limited its usefulness. But there's a bit more to it than that. I think another big problem with My Contacts is that while you had quick access to the person you were talking to, you still had to manually switch between the apps you wanted to talk to them on, and your message history was split between each app. I think a unified interface for your cross-platform conversations would have been great.
I admit that this feature may not be for everyone. But I have contacts that I talk to on different platforms and having those platforms under one roof makes it easier. That's why I love using Beeper so much today.
5 Timeline
At least it is now being brought back somehow
The Timeline is another feature that has actually been around for a long time in the Windows 10 era, although it has been toned down significantly in its later years. The Timeline was a clever idea that allowed you to go back to tasks you had previously completed. Your tasks were also synced across devices, so you could continue them from another PC or even your phone at times.
The big problem with Timeline is that apps had to actively support the feature, which many didn't. The usefulness of the Timeline feature was very limited by the apps and platforms it supported, and Microsoft never found a way to make it more consistent.
Well, until recently, at least. It seems that with the upcoming Recall feature for Copilot+ PCs, we can finally realize the vision for Timeline. Hopefully, it lives up to expectations.
4 Sentences
Tabs for all apps
Sets were a feature that sounded like a dream come true. The ability to force each of your apps into a tab was very interesting because it allowed you to group everything related to a specific workload into the same window and made juggling all of those apps much easier.
Microsoft has long teased its fans with Sets. It appeared in the Windows Insider program for a while and was pulled before the next major update, only to be reintroduced about a year later with some improvements. But again, it was pulled before it became officially available, and since then Microsoft has abandoned the concept entirely. Instead, a few key apps have gained Tab support, such as Windows Terminal, Notepad, and File Explorer.
But I still think Sets could be a very useful feature, and in fact an app like Stardock's Groupy does a good job of providing that functionality for the most part. It's a shame Microsoft left it out.
3 Chatting with Microsoft Teams
And Skype integration too
I don't know what it is about Microsoft and messaging, but it seems like something always goes wrong with the company's attempts. In the early days of Windows 10, Microsoft had the idea of ​​integrating Skype functionality into the operating system, so that your messaging app could handle both SMS and Skype messages in the same conversation, and your phone app could make calls for Skype or over the phone. It was a great idea that wasn't executed as well as it should have been, and instead of improving it, Microsoft just gave up and released a new Skype app six months later.
But recently, it happened again with Microsoft Teams' chat feature in Windows 11. Chat was, simply put, a Teams integration in Windows 11. It gave your Teams chats a place in your taskbar, with its own icon that made it much easier to access and even let you preview video settings before making a call. The problem was that the chat feature was fundamentally broken and didn't do much to attract people to Skype. In fact, shortly after Windows 11 launched, Microsoft's Skype team released one of its biggest updates yet with the feature. And then, a year later, it happened again.
Microsoft failed to make it clear that Teams is the future, and that's why no one really wanted to use it. Especially when features like video calling didn't work in Teams. Now the Teams app in Windows 11 is simply pre-installed without the dedicated integration. Frankly, the new app is better, but it feels like it's much less relevant to Windows itself now.
2 Tablet mode
There was simply no real chance given
When Windows 8 came out, it was heavily criticized for trying to redesign Windows to focus almost exclusively on tablet-like devices, with the new full-screen Start menu replacing the classic desktop interface. Microsoft attempted to somewhat fix this with Windows 8.1 and the update that followed, though it wasn't enough to change the perception of the operating system. So in Windows 10, the company reversed course and put the focus back on the typical desktop, though it still tried to keep tablet mode relevant, with a full-screen Start menu still available.
Both efforts failed in different ways. Windows 8 and 8.1 were actually fantastic for tablets, and in hindsight I wish we had more of them, but those efforts came at the expense of the users who made Windows so popular in the first place. And Windows 10 felt like it had been too aggressive in its course correction. Yes, tablet mode was there, but it didn't feel very good. The new full-screen Start menu felt much more bland, touch-based gestures weren't nearly as responsive, and most of the desktop UI still wasn't really touch-focused. It was adjusted for touch, but not designed for that.
Microsoft more or less abandoned tablet mode with Windows 11, although some features were still designed with touch in mind, especially later with the addition of the collapsible taskbar and more touch gestures. Still, it's primarily a desktop operating system and just doesn't feel at home on a tablet. As crazy as it may sound, I think we need more of that Windows 8 DNA, just in a way that's less intrusive for non-tablet users.
1 Windows Subsystem for Android
So much excitement for such a quick disappearance
Windows fans were lured by Android apps for years in the Windows 10 era. Project Astoria was intended to bring Android apps to Windows devices, which was especially important for Windows phones at the time. Of course, that project failed, and Android apps for Windows never became available outside of the Insider program (even then, you had to overcome some hurdles to sideload them).
That was until Windows 11 was announced in 2021 and Microsoft introduced the Windows Subsystem for Android. Even though smartphones were no longer available, Microsoft was bringing Android apps to Windows, which was incredibly exciting… until you realized the company was partnering with Amazon to make it possible. So instead of the Google Play Store, you had the Amazon Appstore, which has almost none of the apps you want to use. It's so much more boring. You could sideload more apps, but most people wouldn't do that.
Additionally, the Windows subsystem was pretty slow. If you tried to launch an app, you'd have to wait quite a while while the Windows subsystem for Android booted up. You could leave the subsystem running in the background to speed things up, but this caused most PCs' fans to spin up even when they were idle. I'm not entirely sure how or if Microsoft could have fixed this, but regardless, the company just killed the feature out of the blue.
Just before the second anniversary of WSA, Microsoft announced the immediate retirement of the feature, meaning it will no longer be available to new users. Existing users will have another year to use it, but that's it. There are still Android emulators for Windows, so the demand is clearly there, but instead of improving WSA, Microsoft has decided to abandon it altogether. It seems like the Android dream for Windows fans has been shattered.
Windows development is often disappointing
Having all these features cut or removed makes being a Windows fan a bittersweet experience. Sometimes Microsoft adds some great features that I appreciate, but then just as quickly those features are taken away from us. I miss many of these features and can still imagine that they could be great if Microsoft just put a little more effort into them. But as it stands, all we can do is appreciate the good features we have and rely on third-party solutions for what's missing. And of course, reminisce about what could have been.