Let’s compare Windows 11 Build 21996 with Windows 10 May 2021 Update.
On the left we have Windows 10 May 2021 Update and on the right we have Windows 11 Build 21996.
In Windows 10 we have the Windows 10 logo on a blue background and on Windows 11 we have some blue wavy things.
Let’s compare the skin.
In Windows 10 the window corners are square, in Windows 11 the window corners are rounded.
In Windows 10 the menus have square corners, a gray background and a blue highlight.
In Windows 11 the menus have rounded corners, a white background and a gray highlight,
they also have more of a shadow than they do in Windows 10.
In Windows 10 the checkboxes are square and are white with a black tick,
in Windows 11 they are rounded and blue with a white tick.
In Windows 10 the buttons are gray and square, in Windows 11 they are white and rounded.
In Windows 11 the scrollbars have also been updated.
In Windows 11 when you hold the mouse over the maximize button it gives you some snapping options.
In Windows 10 it does not.
In Windows 10 when you drag a window to the side or to the top it gives you a faint outline.
In Windows 11 it gives you a blurry outline.
In Windows 11 you can snap the screen in 3,
in Windows 10 you can only snap the screen in 2 or 4.
In Windows 11 when you have multiple windows stacked, that group shows up above the taskbar when you put the mouse over any of the windows in that group.
In Windows 10 it does not.
In Windows 10 when in portrait the windows still snap to the sides of the screen,
in Windows 11 when in portrait the windows snap to the top and bottom of the screen.
Let’s compare the taskbar,
in Windows 10 the taskbar is dark by default, in Windows 11 it is light by default,
although this can be changed in both.
In Windows 10 the icons on the taskbar are left aligned,
in Windows 11 they are centred by default but can be left aligned.
In Windows 11 the taskbar is thicker than it is in Windows 10.
In Windows 10 Cortana is on the taskbar, in Windows 11 it is not.
In Windows 11 it shows the weekday on the taskbar, in Windows 10 it does not.
Although you can get the weekday on the taskbar in Windows 10 by making the taskbar thicker.
In Windows 10 when you right click the taskbar you get heaps of options,
in Windows 11 you only get taskbar settings.
In Windows 10 the search can either be hidden, an icon or a box.
In Windows 11 it cannot be a box.
In Windows 10 the start button is 4 solid white boxes slanted at an angle,
in Windows 11 it is 4 blue boxes not at an angle and it is shaded.
Let’s compare the Start menu.
In Windows 10 the pinned apps are on tiles at the right,
in Windows 11 the pinned apps are icons at the top and it has recommended below.
In Windows 10 the all apps list is on the left, in Windows 11 you have to click all apps.
In Windows 10 the power and account are at the left,
in Windows 11 they are at the bottom.
In Windows 10 when you show folders on Start they are at the left,
in Windows 11 they are at the bottom.
In Windows 10 you can name groups of tiles and you can drag them around,
in Windows 11 you can have multiple pages of pinned apps.
In Windows 10 you can resize the Start menu. In Windows 11 you cannot.
In Windows 10 you can arrange tiles into folders,
in Windows 11 you can move the icons around.
In Windows 10 the Start menu has square corners and touches the taskbar,
in Windows 11 it has rounded corners and floats.
In Windows 10 when you hover over items in the apps list there is a glow that follows the mouse, in Windows 11 there is not.
In Windows 10 the UWP apps are loose in the apps view and the classic apps are in folders.
In Windows 11 the only folder is Windows Ease of Access,
some of the classic apps such as File Explorer, Notepad and Paint are now loose in the apps view,
the rest of the classic apps such as WordPad are now under Windows Tools which opens in a window.
In Windows 11 Notepad and Paint now have new icons, although the programs themselves look the same.
Windows Security and Settings also have new icons.
Some of the icons in the Settings app have also been updated.
The folder icons in the File Explorer have also been updated.
In Windows 11 items viewed in details view are now more spaced apart.
In Windows 11 the icons for the different view options in the File Explorer have also been updated.
In Windows 10 the Recycle Bin icon is side on, in Windows 11 it is front on.
Same with the drive icon and the Windows logo.
In Windows 10 the search bar is at the bottom, in Windows 11 it is at the top.
In Windows 11 there is now a Widgets Dashboard.
In Windows 10 in task view it shows your running programs and gives you a timeline and the desktops are at the top.
In Windows 11 it does not give you a timeline and the desktops are at the bottom.
In Windows 10 the Alt + Tab switcher has a black box around it,
in Windows 11 the Alt + Tab switcher makes the rest of the screen go dark.
In Windows 10 you can have the taskbar at the bottom, at the side or at the top,
in Windows 11 the taskbar can only be at the bottom.
In Windows 10 you can make the taskbar show labels, combine only when taskbar is full and use small icons like it does in Windows XP and Vista.
In Windows 11 you cannot.
In Windows 10 you can change the taskbar height and have folder toolbars, in Windows 11 you cannot.
In Windows 10 you can have the taskbar show on multiple displays
and you can choose whether to have programs show on all taskbars, main taskbar and taskbar where window is open or only on taskbar where window is open.
In Windows 11 the taskbar is only on the main display, like in Windows 7.
In Windows 10 the menu that you get when you right click the Start button or press Windows Key + X is solid and has square corners,
in Windows 11 it is frosted glass and has round corners.
In Windows 10 Internet Explorer is still present, in Windows 11 it has been removed.
In Windows 10 when you type ‘iexplore’ into the run prompt it opens Internet Explorer, in Windows 11 it opens Microsoft Edge.
In Windows 11 when you right click the desktop there is now an option to open the Terminal.
Windows Terminal does not come with Windows 10 but can be installed.
In Windows Terminal you can open Command Prompt, PowerShell and Azure Cloud Shell tabs.
In Windows 10 when you hover the mouse over icons on the taskbar there is a square box around them that touches the top and bottom of the taskbar.
In Windows 11 there is a rounded box that floats.
In Windows 11 when you minimize apps the icon on the taskbar bounces, in Windows 10 it does not.
In Windows 11 there a new animations when you minimize, maximize and close windows.
Let’s compare the boot screen.
In Windows 10 we have 4 solid light blue boxes at an angle,
in Windows 11 we have 4 dark blue boxes not at an angle with a slight gradient.
Both have spinning white dots underneath and a black background.
Goodbye.