- Microsoft has made it clear that it's "really directly influenced" by feedback from Windows 11 users
- Pavan Davuluri, head of Windows, said: "I'm really excited for what's ahead. This year you're going to see us really double down on it [listening to feedback]."
- The skeptics out there are going to need to see the results of this new attitude before they're convinced, though
Microsoft has again underlined how it's listening to Windows 11 users, and specifically testers, in terms of taking on board feedback to improve the operating system.
Windows Latest reports that in a meeting with Windows Insiders in Seattle, Microsoft made it clear that it's been very involved with analyzing feedback from these testers over the past couple of months, saying it was "really directly influenced" by what it's hearing.
Pavan Davuluri, who is head of Windows at Microsoft, reportedly shared a message summing up the company's new attitude: "I also want you to know this is the start. I'm really excited for what's ahead. This year you're going to see us really double down on it [listening to feedback]. Navjot [presumably Navjot Virk, CVP of Windows Experiences] and I have this frame of customer love equals performance; is it fast? Reliability: is easy to use, does it do all the things I think of from a quality perspective? And then craft, how do I feel? Does it make me happy? Do I feel connected to the product?"
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Davuluri added: "Our goal as we go forward is to be more open as we build Windows, make sure you feel like you are included in the entire lifecycle of our product making process."
Analysis: walking the walk
The report also observes that Davuluri said 'when people at Microsoft are passionate about a product, they can deliver amazing things', and that this now applies to Windows. Which is an odd way of framing things – so, the people who've been crafting Windows 11 for the past five years weren't passionate about it?
I should note that this isn't a direct quote from the Windows boss, rather it's just a sentiment expressed by Windows Latest itself in the site's report, but it's come from somewhere (presumably), and it struck me as oddly jarring.
The truth, though, is that Microsoft hasn't been listening to people in recent history. If you recall, in the earlier days of Windows 11, the software giant did make good deal of noise about eliciting and acting on user feedback, but that seemed to eventually evaporate into the OS mists. We then had AI come stomping onto the scene, trampling through Windows 11 and leaving its heavy hoofprints everywhere, while users fed back very clearly that they didn't want more AI features, but rather they'd prefer fixes for all the existing fundamental problems with Windows 11.
And here we are, now, with Microsoft having kicked off its grand scheme to fix Windows 11 in 2026. So, when the company talks about listening to feedback, there's inevitably going to be skepticism, and indeed there has been quite a lot of that aired.
Funnily enough, the point about the lack of passion comes back in there. If you scan the comments from skeptics on Reddit, there are some common themes, such as accusations that the people making Windows 11 don't actually use the OS (and that they're sat there working on Macs).
Or sentiments like: "The biggest problem with Windows is, it is directed by [a] bunch of UX [user experience] people who didn't care about the quality of the OS, they only care to push their UX to make them look like they are useful."
Or more general accusations about AI 'slopification' and spyware (or adverts), all of which you'll see in this example Reddit thread.
Microsoft clearly needs to shake off the chains of this entrenched skepticism, which is very deeply ingrained in some folks. And this new push to revamp Windows 11, and do better with testing the OS, does feel like it's a genuine change to me. Granted, I'm still worried that not enough emphasis has been put on bug squashing – and specifically how Microsoft is going to overhaul its internal QA processes, Windows Insiders aside – but I have hope.
Or at least I'm willing to give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt, and to see how Windows 11 progresses as the year rolls on. All the right noises being made, however, must translate into all the right changes being made with a successful implementation across a dauntingly broad swathe of different facets of Windows 11.
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