Did you know that Microsoft makes a lot of apps that they don’t include pre-installed with Windows? I know, it’s hard to believe, especially with how bloated Windows 11 has become. Here are the three apps that I wish Microsoft would include with Windows 11.
PowerToys has so many useful features
I use both macOS and Windows pretty regularly, and I was always frustrated that my Mac could preview SVG and STL files, but Windows couldn’t—until I found PowerToys.
Why PowerToys doesn’t come pre-installed on Windows is beyond me. It’s a fairly old app that’s well-built and feature-packed. Previewing SVGs and STL files within Explorer doesn’t even scratch the surface as to what PowerToys can bring to your system.
FancyZones is another function of PowerToys that should just come as a stock part of Windows, but is hidden behind installing an app instead. With FancyZones, you can build custom window snapping layouts to help keep your screen neat and tidy depending on what type of work you do.
PowerRename is something that I used often in PowerToys, as well. As someone who takes a lot of pictures (and has to rename lots of pictures), being able to batch rename using regex is extremely handy—and this is something else I wish Windows had built-in.
PowerToys also includes other functions like a system-wise color picker, the ability to remap keys and bind shortcuts system-wide, and even lets you pin any window to always stay on top of all the other windows on your computer. The pin on top function is particularly useful if you want to keep a mini music player always visible, no matter what other window you click on.
Basically, if there’s something you wish Windows did natively, check PowerToys, it probably does it.
VS Code has become an industry standard for development
Microsoft doesn’t see it as necessary to bundle with Windows, though
Credit: Lucas Gouveia/How-To Geek | Mix3r/Shutterstock
VS Code has become one of the most well-known code editing tools on the market. Cursor, Antigravity, and even GitHub Codespaces use VS Code as their core codebase.
I’ve used VS Code (or a VS Code derivative) for years to program now. It’s just a natural extension of my development process at this point—yet I still have to manually install it on my Windows computers. Notepad comes pre-installed on Windows, and Microsoft used to include WordPad too (until they removed it).
Bundling VS Code with Windows just makes sense, especially if Microsoft is trying to push Windows as a developer-friendly operating system. Notepad used to be a simply text editor, but it has become so bloated that people are installing other apps to use instead of it. If Microsoft simple replaced Notepad with VS Code (or added VS Code alongside Notepad), it would be a much better solution all around.
Sadly, I don’t think Microsoft will ever bundle VS Code with Windows, even though I really want them to. It’s just too much of a power user app for the average Windows user, and it seems Microsoft thinks that it’s better to bundle Netflix and Candy Crush with Windows 11 then a tool people might actually use.
Microsoft To Do is the task management app you didn’t know existed
Microsoft would see a lot more use of To Do if they just had it pre-installed on Windows
Credit: Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek | Microsoft | KsanderDN / Shutterstock
If we rewind time about 15 years, you’d find only one task management app installed on my devices: Wunderlist. Oh, I long for the Wunderlist days to return. It was a fantastic task management app, and then, in 2015, Microsoft purchased Wunderlist. They kept the famed task management app around for a while, but in 2020, they sunset it for Microsoft To Do.
If you’ve never heard of Microsoft To Do, it’s a simple, free, and cross platform task management app. It’s pretty full-featured, offering repeating tasks, smart lists, groups, reminders, file attachments, and more. A unique take within Microsoft To Do is Steps. Basically, Steps are subtasks that help you accomplish a primary task.
Microsoft To Do syncs within the greater Microsoft ecosystem, including Outlook, Teams, and even works with Cortana (RIP) and Copilot.
If you’re looking for a simple, free, and full-featured task management app, Microsoft To Do might be the app for you. It’s not the perfect Wunderlist replacement, but it’s still solid if you don’t want to pay for a task management app like Todoist.
I really wish Microsoft would overhaul what they include with Windows. They include so many frivilous apps, like games nobody plays or a Netflix app no one uses, but they ignore software that real people would actually use. The crazy thing is, Microsoft wouldn’t even have to pay for the licensing to install PowerToys, VS Code, or To Do on any computer, as they make it!
Maybe one day Microsoft will actually listen to users and pre-install software that people actually would use. Or, better yet, give an option during Windows setup of what software you do (or don’t) want pre-installed. A boy can dream.
