According to a Windows Central report, Microsoft is working on an overhaul of Windows 11’s File Explorer app. The new File Explorer reportedly features redesigned, more touch-friendly navigation, better photo viewing with larger previews, keyword and color tagging to organize files, and better integration with Microsoft 365 and OneDrive. It features tight integration.
The internal mockup of the new interface shows a new “Recommended” section for Files, in addition to the existing areas for Pinned and Recent Files, with large previews of various documents and their file locations ( OneDrive, SharePoint, and local). All of your Downloads folders are listed) and recent changes. The new look also comes with a “more modern cord” under the hood.
According to reports, Microsoft hopes to release a new Explorer by the end of the year. This could be part of the annual Windows update coming this fall, but Microsoft is taking a “whenever it’s ready” approach to releasing new Windows features in the Windows 11 era. I’m here.
File Explorer has been updated several times since Windows 11 was released. Shortly after the release of the Windows 11 2022 Update, Microsoft updated File Explorer with a tabbed design and added a small batch of other additions. The app has also been updated to match the rest of the Windows 11 new look of the original release of the OS, ditching the old Windows 8-era Ribbon UI.
Decades after the Internet Explorer antitrust lawsuit, Microsoft’s efforts to consolidate and bundle various services still occasionally attract the attention of government regulators. Politico reported this week that EU regulators are about to launch an antitrust investigation of the company for bundling Microsoft Teams with its suite of productivity apps formerly known as Office. Similarly, a version of Explorer that promotes OneDrive and Microsoft 365 in favor of it could also draw the ire of regulators.
