Microsoft is secretly testing new Windows 11 features - and users might have them without knowing about it

Stickers on the desktop, tablet mode improvements, and a new sustainability section are all being experimented with by the software giant

(Microsoft)

Microsoft is quietly working on new Windows 11 features that have yet to be rolled out to the public.

Stickers for desktop wallpapers, the ability to hide the taskbar when using Windows 11 in tablet mode, and a new sustainability section have all been found within the latest test version of the operating system.

The new customisation features will seemingly let users post stickers and edit them from the desktop, but it is unclear exactly whether they will have any practical use.

References to the feature reference Windows 11 for education use; since Microsoft recently shipped Windows 11 SE to low-cost laptops for students, it is possible the two are related. The Independent has reached out to Microsoft for more information.

Microsoft is also seemingly developing its tablet mode so users can “automatically hide the taskbar when using your device as a tablet”. Microsoft has generally shuttered many of its tablet-first features post Windows 8.1, but Windows 11 utilised many layouts and gestures originally intended for a hybrid operating system.

Finally, a new sustainability setting will provide more information on energy saving and recycling a computer once it has reached the end of its life.

These features are not available to most Windows 11 testers yet, however.

Since announcing the new operating system in October 2021, Microsoft has still yet to push out globally many of the features it touted at launch.

Most notably, the company promised Android apps on Windows via the Amazon App Store but that feature is still unavailable for many users outside the United States four months after launch.

Microsoft’s chief product officer for Windows Panos Panay had told The Independent exclusively that “all stores [and] all apps are welcome on Microsoft Store” when Windows 11 was first announced.