Microsoft has officially announced its transition towards implementing more features and applications of Windows 11 using the WinUI framework. This strategic shift aims to minimize latency and enhance the overall speed and responsiveness of the operating system. A notable change will involve the integration of WinUI into the Start menu, replacing the existing React shell for certain components.
For context, the React framework currently powers essential parts of the Start menu, including the Recommended feed and the All apps list. During the Chain React 2023 event, Microsoft expressed its commitment to React native, indicating that it intended to leverage this platform for not only some user experiences but also for several core elements that define user interaction.
While React performs adequately on contemporary hardware—resulting in a generally fast Start menu—the inherent issue remains: web-based components often lag behind their native counterparts, such as WinUI. This discrepancy arises primarily from latency issues, as the web is not universally suited for all operating system functions.
It’s important to acknowledge that while the Start menu offers a native-like appearance in Windows 11, it operates slower compared to its predecessor. This performance gap underscores Microsoft’s rationale for discontinuing its use of React in favor of a more efficient framework.
According to Microsoft’s leadership, the move to WinUI, which represents a more unified and shared user interface infrastructure, is designed to lower interaction latency significantly.“We’re reducing interaction latency by transitioning core Windows features, ” they stated, emphasizing that this adjustment will lead to enhanced responsiveness across the system.
Improving the shared UI infrastructure is expected to mitigate both interaction latency and overhead at the platform level. However, the journey to effectively integrate Windows with React was not without its challenges, particularly in preserving the “visual coherence” that gives Windows its distinctive look.
To navigate these challenges, Microsoft developed tools such as React Native XAML and Fluent UI React Native, allowing applications to maintain the aesthetic and behavioral characteristics typical of Windows, even while being powered by JavaScript. Nevertheless, the current shift underscores Microsoft’s return to a more straightforward approach, favoring a native framework over a web-based interface.
Enhancements to the Start Menu’s Recommended Feed
In addition to the shift toward WinUI, Microsoft is experimenting with an upgraded ‘Recommended’ section within the Start menu. This enhancement is designed to more intelligently display apps and content relevant to user activity.
Although the specifics of how Microsoft optimized the algorithm for the Recommended feed remain unclear, reports from Windows Latest suggest that it will prioritize showing more relevant applications and recently accessed files. This adjustment aims to ensure users don’t perceive this space as “useless.”
If you find the Recommended feed less than helpful, you can easily disable it through Settings > Personalization > taskbar. By turning off the option “Show recommended files in Start, recent files in File Explorer, and items in Jump Lists, ” the feed will be removed from view.
However, it is important to note that disabling the Recommended feed also impacts the ‘recent files’ section in the taskbar’s jump list and removes the Recent section from the File Explorer, resulting in a more universally constrained experience.
I have reached out to Microsoft for clarification on whether users will gain better control over the Recommendation engine in Windows 11.
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