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Microsoft may finally be removing the Windows Control Panel

Control Panel may finally be removed from Windows 11, soon. Here we go again, Microsoft has been migrating the Control Panel for nearly a decade now.

As Neowin reports, an update to a document on Microsoft's support portal, filed under the System Configuration tools states that "The Control Panel is in the process of being deprecated in favor of the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience."

It also goes on to explain why the legacy app has not been removed so far. "While the Control Panel still exists for compatibility reasons and to provide access to some settings that have not yet migrated, you're encouraged to use the Settings app, whenever possible."

Technically, it doesn't say when the Control Panel is going away. Are we there yet? This has been coming since 2015, when Microsoft had confirmed that the Settings app would supersede Control Panel. But, the classic version has survived the axe, though some changes were made to it, such as removing the ability to uninstall updates from CP, it is now only possible via the Settings app.

Windows Settings app still has a long way to go

As someone who uses both Windows 11 and macOS 14 every day, I feel like the Settings app in both operating systems are similar, and they are both trash. Sure, the Settings app lets you find what you need with the search bar. But that's not a good design, it's more useful on phones than on computers. If the search doesn't show what a user wanted, they will have to search again, which is just a waste of time. You could argue that it was designed for beginners, but any of the options are buried under multiple menus, which makes it very difficult to navigate.

I still prefer modifying the network settings, or uninstalling programs via the Control Panel, it's so much easier to do those via CP. The Settings app still lacks many options that are available in Control Panel, you may want to read Martin's article about why the old Programs and Features still offers a better experience. Hopefully, users will be able to use the registry editor for changing things that the Settings app cannot.

Windows 11 Control Panel

The good old Control Panel still works perfectly, maybe it just needs to be redesigned, I don't think it needs a refresh, but Microsoft wants everything to have a "fluent design, and mica effect, ooh!". A pleasant UI and a functional app can co-exist, it's just that the designs are inconsistent in several areas of the operating system.

Oh, and as a reminder, the Redmond company will be removing three apps when Windows 22H4 lands: Tips, Cortana and WordPad.

I'm not opposing every change, I love what Microsoft did with Notepad, tabs, auto save, spell-check, these are fantastic improvements. But, removing useful tools and options in favor of a half-baked idea is bad, it feels like change for the sake of change. Speaking of controversial things, Microsoft is bringing Windows Recall back in October.

What do you think about the Settings app? Do you prefer to use Control Panel?

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