Microsoft has started restoring one of the most missed Windows 10 habits in Windows 11: the ability to move the taskbar to any edge of the screen. In the latest Windows Insider beta builds, users can place it at the top, bottom, left, or right, and the company is also testing a compact mode that trims the bar’s height and shrinks the icons.
That may sound like a small UI tweak, but it is really a course correction. Windows 11 launched with a stripped-down taskbar that frustrated power users for years, especially on laptops and smaller displays where every line of vertical space counts. Microsoft now appears to be unwinding some of those decisions instead of defending them to the bitter end, which is usually a sign that enough people complained loudly enough.
Windows 11 taskbar placement is back in beta
The new behavior is currently limited to Windows Insider testers, so regular Windows 11 users will have to wait. But the direction is clear: if your muscle memory says the taskbar belongs elsewhere, Microsoft is finally listening again. The change also puts Windows 11 closer to the flexibility people still take for granted in Windows 10.
Compact mode and better vertical layouts
Microsoft is not just moving the bar around; it is adjusting the whole interface around it. When the taskbar sits at the top, Start and Search now open from the top too, and vertical layouts can be aligned either in the center or at the top. The updated ”Never combine” mode is another practical upgrade for people juggling multiple windows, because titles stay separate instead of turning into a guessing game.
- Taskbar position: top, bottom, left, or right
- Compact mode: smaller taskbar height and smaller icons
- Vertical alignment: centered or top-aligned icons
- ”Never combine” mode: separate labels for open windows
What Windows 11 users can expect next
If Microsoft keeps pushing this direction, Windows 11 may end up looking less like a locked-down redesign and more like a system that remembers who actually uses it for work. The likely next step is broader availability beyond Insider builds, but for now the message is simple: the taskbar is becoming customizable again, and that is a rare bit of common sense from Redmond.