Mikhail Parakhin, former head of a new Windows team at Microsoft, has expressed his opposition to removing the movable taskbar from Windows 11. He believes it’s the best UX for productivity and even claims that macOS copied this feature from Windows. However, Microsoft decided to drop the vertical taskbar with disappearing features due to its focus on creating a “symmetric pane” UX.
The goal is to have a balanced and predictable experience by placing system controls on one side of the screen (right) and information on the other (left). This includes widgets like weather and MSN, which pushed the Start menu to the center. A movable taskbar would conflict with these panels, disrupting the UI hierarchy.
Although the original designers were against a movable taskbar due to its impact on app flow and sudden reflows, Microsoft now plans to bring it back with resizing capabilities, similar to earlier versions of Windows. They also aim to reduce Copilot integration and focus on performance optimization in an effort to regain user trust by 2026.
Source: https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/02/14/former-bing-boss-says-windows-11-killed-the-vertical-taskbar-for-symmetric-ux-says-it-was-the-best-productivity-feature