Microsoft has slowly done away with many commonly used legacy features in Windows 11, such as the Control Panel. I rarely use the Control Panel on my PC, as Settings is more than enough, but that doesn’t mean you won’t run into legacy pop-ups, such as the Bluetooth file transfer tool. Microsoft says it plans to modernize more areas of the OS.Previously, Microsoft confirmed it was working on a dark mode overhaul for the operating system to cover legacy pop-ups, including the Windows Run dialog. In fact, there are plans to build a dark mode for the Windows Registry Editor as well, but Microsoft won’t commit to a deadline for now.Now, it looks like Microsoft has other big plans for Windows 11.According to Marcus Ash, who heads Windows Design, Microsoft is internally building new tools that would modernize more pop-ups, including legacy dialogs and system UI.The company says modernizing Windows is the primary focus, while applying dark mode to legacy components is secondary (if modernization efforts take longer or do not work).“We started with extending dark mode in the Run dialog and various File Explorer surfaces to address customer asks,” Marcus Ash wrote in a X post. “At the same time, we are building out tooling to scale modernizing other dialogs across Windows 11 that were built on legacy frameworks.”One user suggested that Microsoft should not spend time obscuring old interfaces and should instead modernize those areas with WinUI. It’s a fair point that we all agree with, including Microsoft. Thankfully, Marcus Ash confirmed that this is the primary focus at Microsoft.I don’t think these are just words, as recent Windows preview builds include a modern Windows Run, built using WinUI 3. It also supports dark mode, and it’ll be upgraded with newer features, including smarter search.However, it won’t replace the existing legacy Run, which will continue to ship and even get a dark mode revamp.I’ve asked Microsoft for more details, and I’ve been told that these changes will roll out throughout 2026, so there isn’t a specific deadline for a dark mode overhaul.However, features like a movable and resizable taskbar are being prioritized over other changes, while the native Start menu is the runner-up.Microsoft also has plans to build 100% native apps for Windows 11, but that will happen gradually.The stakes are high as Microsoft promises bold changes for Windows 11On March 20, Microsoft confirmed a major update for Windows 11 and shared a long list of improvements, but those are not the only changes.Later, users started asking Microsoft questions, and the company shared more details, including plans to reduce ads in Windows 11. While Microsoft won’t remove “upsells” from the OS, it does plan to cut them down and even consider removing the Microsoft account requirement.Only time will tell us the real story, but this time, based on what we have been hearing from our internal sources, Microsoft is serious about its plans to improve Windows 11.The post Microsoft confirms Windows 11 update to modernize legacy UI, as Control Panel and other legacy features continue to live appeared first on Windows Latest