Microsoft previously planned to reduce bloated built-in software in Windows 11, allowing users to delete more inbox applications, including Microsoft Photos. In addition, the company also announced that it will remove the "Tips" app in Windows 11 in a future version, which is expected to begin rolling out sometime next year.
As the name suggests, this app is mainly used to showcase new features of Windows and tips and tricks on how to get the most out of the operating system. The app launched with Windows 10 and received a major UI tweak when Windows 11 rolled out, but now it's going away. Microsoft is planning to block more financial apps, according to a support document
We previously reported that Movies & TV and Maps apps would be branched out from OOBE. In addition to the Tips app, WordPad and Cortana will also be axed. While the WordPad and Tips apps are still alive and functional, Cortana appears to have been permanently stopped.
With the release of Build 23585 on the developer channel, Microsoft also allows users to uninstall more inbox applications. Once considered the core Windows experience, most of these applications remain unused and rarely updated.
As we discovered in the new Build release notes, the Camera, Cortana, People, and Photos apps can now be uninstalled. Previously users had to resort to Powershell to uninstall these applications, but now they can be uninstalled with just a few clicks.
We can’t help but wonder what the logic is behind making these apps dispensable. Common apps in Windows 11 always have a purpose, especially Camera, Photos, WordPad, and Tips. We can argue about Cortana's usability after the last few updates, but other apps can be helpful. At least that's the case with WordPad and the Photos app.
The logic seems to be to make Windows a more user-friendly option, as many experts have speculated. Microsoft has always been committed to making Windows faster and more efficient, and removing core applications is precisely to achieve this goal.
These changes will be released in the Canary channel with Windows 11 Build 25992. As with most Canary releases, the release notes don't include many details.
One of the most critical changes in this release are changes and improvements to the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol:
SMB firewall rule changes provide a higher degree of firewall protection.
SMBNTLM blocking exception list will appear in Windows 11.
The SMB client now supports connecting to SMB servers via TPC, QUIC and RDMA ports as well as the previous ports.
SMB access control certificate changes via QUIC client are now supported.
In addition to the above changes, File Explorer performance has been improved and 7-zip and TAR archive creation capabilities have been added. Snapshot layouts now also show suggestions.