Published Apr 10, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT
Pankil is a Civil Engineer turned freelance writer from Ahmedabad, India. As a long-time Windows and Android user, he has extensive knowledge of both operating systems and specializes in creating how-tos and troubleshooting guides.
Pankil has been writing about Windows, Android, and iOS since 2021. He has written over 1200 articles across reputable publications like MakeUseOf, GuidingTech, and TechWiser.
Outside of his writing endeavors, Pankil is an avid football fan and loves to plan his international travels with his wife in his free time.
Windows is full of interesting features, but not everything is worth your time. Some feel unnecessary or exist for the sake of it. But you have to give Microsoft credit. Some of their features may look unpolished at first, but they often improve over time. The problem is, most of us never go back to give them a second chance.
In 2026, I decided to revisit such features I’d completely written off as gimmicks. And to my surprise, some of these ended up becoming my favorites, and I honestly regret not trying them sooner.
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Information at a glance
Windows 11’s widgets panel didn't make a great first impression when it first appeared, so like most people, I also ignored it for years. But there are two important things Microsoft has improved over time. First, you can now disable the Microsoft Start Feed completely. More importantly, the number of third-party widgets has grown significantly, so you’re not limited to just Microsoft’s services.
These changes may not seem like a lot, but they were enough to pull me back in and, surprisingly, make me stick with it. Now, the widgets panel is something I actually care about. One of my favorite ones is live sports scores. Whenever my team is playing, it automatically shows live game scores, so I don’t have to keep a tab open.
I’ve also added a Spotify widget, which shows popular playlists and lets me jump right into music I’d normally have to open the app to find. The PC Manager widget lets me keep an eye on the RAM usage, and if things start to slow down, I can use its Boost feature to free up RAM with a single click.
I’ve also added the Phone Link tab, so I can keep an eye on my phone’s battery level and notifications. These are just a few examples, but you get the idea. And the best part is, Windows lets me access all these widgets with a simple Win + W shortcut.
God Mode
The Settings app isn’t worth your time
God Mode has been around since the days of Windows Vista, but most people never stumble upon it because it’s not enabled by default. I did know about it but never really saw the need for it since the Control Panel already did the job. But once Microsoft started pushing everything into the new Settings app, I ended up switching to God Mode entirely.
God Mode is a special folder that puts every single Windows setting in one place. And I really mean everything. Open it, and you’ll see a long list of 200 options grouped in various categories. It may seem slightly overwhelming at first, but there’s a search bar at the top that makes things easy.
What I like the most about God Mode is how much time it saves. The regular Settings app has everything, but it buries options behind, which means it takes far too many clicks just to change simple things. For instance, to add a printer, you have to navigate to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners and then click Add device. With God Mode, I can simply scroll to the Printers and scanners section and click the Advanced printer setup.
Although God Mode isn’t available by default, it’s easy to add. Right-click anywhere on the desktop and choose New > Folder. Then, give it the following name.
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
That’s it. Your God Mode folder is ready. On my PC, I’ve pinned the God Mode folder to the taskbar so I can open it from any screen.
Voice typing
Let your voice do the typing
Credit: Adaeze Uche/MakeUseOf
I’ll be honest. I love typing on my Keychron K6. But when you’re doing it day in and day out, your hands could use a break. Windows has offered voice typing for quite a while now, but I always assumed it’d be clunky, inaccurate, and not suitable for serious work. Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Once I gave it a proper try, I ended up loving it. Press Win + H and a small floating panel appears. Hit the microphone button and start speaking. That’s basically all there is to it and it works everywhere. Notes, browsers, documents, chat apps, you name it. If there is a text field, voice typing usually works there. And it’s no gimmick. The feature handles punctuation, understands context, and keeps up with my speech.
What surprised me the most is that it supports over 50 languages, including my local ones like Gujarati and Hindi. This is quite handy for me, as I no longer have to switch keyboards and struggle typing in different languages. I can just speak naturally and let Windows do the work.
Voice typing also supports handy commands like saying “comma,” “period,” and “new line” to format your text. You have to try it to really know how useful it is.
Revisiting these features reminded me that sometimes the tools we ignore are the ones that ended up being the most useful. All it takes is giving them another shot. These are just three of my favorites. There are plenty more Windows features I rely on every day.