One year ago, Microsoft released a Windows 11 preview build with an interesting taskbar change: a simplified tray area with a shorter date and time and no notification button. Fans of simplistic user interfaces, including me, welcomed this addition. Sadly, it was short-lived. Microsoft turned off the simplified tray area, quoting the need to address unknown issues. Now, exactly one year later, we have more information on why the feature was removed.
Brandon LeBlanc from the Windows Insider team recently replied on X that user feedback about this feature "was not pleasant," and Microsoft decided to remove it:
The feedback we got about that was not pleasant. That’s why is disappeared.
— Brandon LeBlanc (@brandonleblanc) July 12, 2025
Such a radical approach to customer feedback is surely odd. These days, when Microsoft introduces new features, especially for the taskbar or the Start menu, it gives users more flexibility by allowing them to turn on or off certain additions. For example, the upcoming notification clock is customizable, and if you do not want to see it, just go to Settings and turn it off. Some argue that Microsoft should have kept the simplified tray area as an optional feature, disabled by default. Still, Brandon"s reply to that shows that probably few people actually wanted it.
Dozens 😂
— Brandon LeBlanc (@brandonleblanc) July 12, 2025
It is hard to say what part of the simplified tray area infuriated Windows insiders to the point of Microsoft removing it, but there you go. Now, if you want a simpler taskbar, you can try enabling the one Microsoft uses on touchscreen devices (it works on desktops as well), but that variant is quite extreme with its minimalism.
Interestingly, the option to hide the notification bell button is still available in Windows 11, so if you want to keep the tray a bit cleaner, go to Settings > System > Notifications and toggle off the "Show notification bell icon" option.
Who among you hated the simplified tray area in Windows 11? Make your confessions in the comments.