Windows 11 removes Paint, Cortana, Skype, Internet Explorer and more

At Microsoft’s “What’s next for Windows” event today, the company unveiled Windows 11 and a bunch of new and improved features that are coming with it. But to make way for new features, some old ones need to be phased out.

“When upgrading to Windows 11 from Windows 10 or when installing an update to Windows 11, some features may be deprecated or removed,” says Microsoft.

Microsoft published a list of features that will be deprecated or completely removed from Windows 11:

• • • Cortana will no longer be included in the first boot experience or pinned to the Taskbar.
    • Desktop wallpaper cannot be roamed to or from device when signed in with a Microsoft account.
    • Internet Explorer is disabled. Microsoft Edge is the recommended replacement and includes IE Mode which may be useful in certain scenarios.
    • Math Input Panel is removed. Math Recognizer will install on demand and includes the math input control and recognizer. Math inking in apps like OneNote are not impacted by this change.
    • News & Interests has evolved. New functionality has been added which can be found by clicking the Widgets icon on the Taskbar.
    • Quick Status from the Lockscreen and associated settings are removed.
    • S Mode is only available now for Windows 11 Home edition.
    • Snipping Tool continues to be available but the old design and functionality in the Windows 10 version has been replaced with those of the app previously known as Snip & Sketch.
    • Start is significantly changed in Windows 11 including the following key deprecations and removals:

1. 1. 1. Named groups and folders of apps are no longer supported and the layout is not currently resizable.
      2. Pinned apps and sites will not migrate when upgrading from Windows 10.
      3. Live Tiles are no longer available. For glanceable, dynamic content, see the new Widgets feature.

• • • Tablet Mode is removed and new functionality and capability is included for keyboard attach and detach postures.
    • Taskbar functionality is changed including:

1. 1. 1. People is no longer present on the Taskbar.
      2. Some icons may no longer appear in the System Tray (systray) for upgraded devices including previous customizations.
      3. Alignment to the bottom of the screen is the only location allowed.
      4. Apps can no longer customize areas of the Taskbar.

• • • Timeline is removed. Some similar functionality is available in Microsoft Edge.
    • Touch Keyboard will no longer dock and undock keyboard layouts on screen sizes 18 inches and larger.
    • Wallet is removed.

It’s also worth noting that since Microsoft Teams will now come integrated and pre-built in Windows 11, Skype will no longer be pre-installed on new devices or when clean-installing Windows 11. However, The Verge notes that Skype will still be available through the Microsoft Store.

Along with Skype, Windows 11 will not install Paint 3D, OneNote for Windows 10 and 3D Viewer, but the apps will remain available on the Microsoft Store. If you have those apps installed, they won’t be removed. However, they won’t be installed on new devices or if you clean-install Windows 11.

Update 06/24/2021 at 06:29pm: Added clarification that Paint 3D will not be included with Windows 11, not the regular Paint app.

Source: Microsoft