Windows 12 Hands-On: Microsoft's Biggest Redesign in a Decade
Microsoft is overhauling everything from the Start menu to the settings app. We spent a week with an early build and came away cautiously impressed.
Microsoft hasn't shipped a Windows release this ambitious since Windows 7. Windows 12, currently in preview for Insider participants, rethinks several core assumptions about how the operating system is organised and surfaces AI at every level of the interface.
The New Start and Taskbar
The Start menu has been rebuilt around a search-first model. Rather than pinned apps arranged in a grid, the default view shows recent files, a search bar, and AI-suggested actions based on context — time of day, calendar events, recent activity. It takes adjustment but feels faster once you adapt.
AI Integration
Copilot is now embedded more deeply than a sidebar panel. It can annotate content from any open application, suggest edits in real time, and trigger system actions via natural language. The implementation is uneven — some integrations feel magical, others feel like demos that escaped the lab — but the direction is clear.
System requirements remain a concern. Early builds perform well on modern hardware but struggle on machines without a dedicated NPU, suggesting that some AI features may be gated to newer devices at launch.