Next-generation Windows major feature addition

If Windows 11 is not easy to use, I hope Microsoft will work hard to develop Windows 12 with major feature additions:

Enhancing the Visual Experience: 

• The transparency effect has been improved, and the glass effect has been added. 
• The system avatar is rounded and rectangular, and the search box is rectangular (more in line with the current design trend). 
• Added top information bar (weather, date and time).
• Uses Windows 11's startup sounds.

Start Menu/Screen: 

• Structural Innovation: Clearly divided into accounts, pinned list (most used/recommended), pinned tiles (four-column layout) for clear. 
• Full-screen Start Screen Return: Blends the traditional lists of Windows 7 with Windows 8.1-style live tiles (Info Display and Quick Launch) that support both horizontal and vertical arrangements.
• Tile Flexibility Enhancement: Available in five sizes: small, medium, wide, large, and high, far exceeding the previous options.
• Custom tile options: Includes colorful, light, dark, transparent (default), translucent tones for a high degree of personalization.
• Migration-friendly: When upgrading from Win8.1, 10, and 11, fixed apps and websites are automatically migrated, reducing user reconfiguration workload.
• Copilot Tiles: The AI assistant Copilot gets exclusive tiles that show its importance.

Taskbar & Search:

• Search box becomes larger & shapes change: The search box is more conspicuous, from circular (Win11) to rectangular, and wider options are supported to strengthen the search entry.
• Search menu flexibility: The height is freely adjustable to align with the Start menu style.

Personalized lock screen interface:

• Date and time alignment is divided into left and center. 
• New photo effects put the subject of the photo before or after time.

Widgets:

• Pin to Desktop: No longer limited to a small panel above the taskbar, it can be pinned anywhere on the desktop like a traditional gadget. 
• Full-screen mode: The left is the widget panel, and the right is the information source (such as news), supporting up to six columns for more information. 
• New Widgets: It is explicitly mentioned that the "People" widget and the "Cortana Suggestions" widget will be coming (although Cortana itself seems to have updated as well). 
• Microsoft Store Widgets: Specialized Store Entry Widgets.

Productivity and Multitasking Enhancement:

• Task view returns to the Win10 experience Drag and drop to multi-desktop: More mature multi-desktop management.
• Window switching returns to the Win10 experience: The Alt Tab experience returns to the classic. 
• Stick Assistant returns to Win10 experience with significant enhancements:
  Supports ultra-widescreen (21:9, 32:9).
  Support for up to eight snap layouts, especially for large landscape screens, a productivity tool.

App Updates:

• New Mail, Calendar, People: Highlights and may be accompanied by UI and feature updates. 
• New version of Cortana:
  Multilingual Support: Expands the range of use.
  Return of consumer skills: Music control, smart home control, third-party skills return, trying to restore their usefulness as voice assistants.

Microsoft Store refresh:

• UWP app returns: Some high-quality UWP apps are back on the shelves. 
• Game Ecosystem Expansion: Added PlayStation App and Nintendo Game Zone, significantly expanding game-related content.

Android Subsystem Regression: WSA regression, with a special emphasis on the ability of apps that support landscape display to run in full screen (solving one of the previous major pain points).

Notification Center and Calendar Separation: The notification center and calendar's quick operation panel are separated, potentially leading to a cleaner interface and more focused operations.

Transfer data: Transfer partitions, personal files, and apps from your old PC to a new PC or hard drive.

Classic apps and features return at scale: This is the most notable (and questionable) section, including:

Apps: MSN Series apps, Tips, Print 3D, Maps, desktop messaging apps, Windows Media Center, Windows 7 desktop widgets, Windows 8.1 apps (partial). 

System features: Homegroup, Timeline (cross-device history), Tablet mode, Windows Ink Workspace.

Core & Version:

Version number: Launched 26H1, the build number resets to 12.0.0, marking a significant new beginning.

System naming: Windows 12 and Windows 12e are mentioned, as well as Windows 12 Ultra.

Extensive free upgrade paths: Covers Windows 11 (including SE), Windows 10 (including S, 10X), Windows 8/8.1 (including RT), and Windows 7. This is a key strategy to attract users to migrate.

Hardware requirements are graded:

Windows 12e: Ultra-low threshold (2GB RAM, 32GB storage), for education or basic devices, may be similar to the Cloud/SE version.

Windows 12 (Basic/Home/Pro, etc.): Mainstream threshold (4GB RAM, 64GB storage), removal of strict restrictions such as TPM (the most significant change!) ）。

Windows 12 Ultra (Ultimate): High-performance threshold (8GB RAM, 128GB storage, TPM 2.0, DirectX 12), unlocks all advanced features (e.g. advanced AI features, extreme performance optimization?) ）。

Significantly longer life cycle:

Home/Professional/Workstation Edition: 2 years -> 4 years.

Enterprise/Education/IoT Enterprise Edition: 3 years -> 6 years. This is a huge attraction for enterprise and institutional users, reducing migration frequency and total costs.