Windows Search has been one of the most frustrating parts of Windows 11, and now Microsoft is responding with a significant overhaul. A new redesigned Windows Search is currently being tested, it is much faster, more efficient and much more modern.
“This new Windows Search experience is built for speed,” said Anshul Rawat, vice president of the Windows product team at Microsoft. “It builds on WinUI 3 and is part of our broader investment in modernizing our core Windows experiences.”
Microsoft says early testing of this new search has shown “substantial improvements in performance and memory usage,” meaning the company isn’t adding additional overhead to Windows to improve search either. The user interface has also been greatly improved, with quick animations and a large preview pane.
While search is being overhauled visually, behind the scenes Microsoft is also improving the basics. “We’re also improving the way Windows Search understands what you’re searching for, including improving typo-synonym matching,” says Rawat.
I got to try out this new Windows Search interface at Microsoft’s Windows and Surface event yesterday, and I was impressed with how fast and clutter-free it was. Right now, if you search for something like actor size, it will take a few seconds to figure it out and basically show you a miniature Bing result.
The new Windows Search simply displays the result inline, much like the modern search interfaces you see in iOS and Android. These online results also extend to previews of PowerPoint presentations, photos and other files.
The most impressive part of this new Windows Search is being able to use it as a launcher, just like many third-party tools, and have it take action for tasks like turning Bluetooth or dark mode on and off. You can even ask Search to minimize windows or open apps side by side. If you’re using Phone Link, these actions will also extend to your phone so you can simply type “text mom, I’m late” and it will send a text message from your phone.
Microsoft is currently testing this new Windows Search interface with its Windows Insiders, so this should mean we’ll see it appear in Windows 11 in the coming months. “Looking ahead to next year, work is already underway to integrate the new Windows search experience into the Start menu and adapt it naturally to different taskbar positions and Windows configurations,” says Rawat. “Our goal is to make Windows Search better, with more natural ways to express what you need, more context-rich information, and more ways to accomplish your tasks directly from search.”
Gn tech
