Features new to Windows 8


The transition from Windows 7 to Windows 8 introduced a number of new features across various aspects of the operating system. These include a greater focus on optimizing the operating system for touchscreen-based devices and cloud computing.

Development platform

Language and standards support

Windows 8 introduces the new Windows Runtime platform, which can be used to create a new type of application officially known as Windows Store apps and commonly called Metro-style apps. Such apps run within a secure sandbox and share data with other apps through common APIs. WinRT, being a COM-based API, allows for the use of various programming languages to code apps, including C++, C++/CX, C#, Visual Basic.NET, or HTML5 and JavaScript. Metro-style apps are packaged and distributed via APPX, a new file format for package management. Unlike desktop applications, Metro-style apps can be sideloaded, subject to licensing conditions. Windows 8.1 Update allows for sideloading apps on all Windows 8.1 Pro devices joined to an Active Directory domain.
In Windows 8 up to two apps may snap to the side of a widescreen display to allow multi-tasking, forming a sidebar that separates the apps. In Windows 8.1, apps can continually be resized to the desired width. Snapped apps may occupy half of the screen. Large screens allow up to four apps to be snapped. Upon launching an app, Windows allows the user to pick which snapped view the app should open into.
The term "Metro-style apps" referred to "Metro", a design language prominently used by Windows 8 and other recent Microsoft products. Reports surfaced that Microsoft employees were told to stop using the term due to potential trademark issues with an unspecified partner. A Microsoft spokesperson however, denied these reports and stated that "Metro-style" was merely a codename for the new application platform.
Windows 8 introduces APIs to support near field communication on Windows 8 devices, allowing functionality like launching URLs/applications and sharing of information between devices via NFC.

Windows Store

Windows Store is a digital distribution platform built into Windows 8, which in a manner similar to Apple's App Store and Google Play, allows for the distribution and purchase of apps designed for Windows 8. Developers will still be able to advertise desktop software through Windows Store as well. To ensure that they are secure and of a high quality, Windows Store will be the only means of distributing WinRT-based apps for consumer-oriented versions of Windows 8.
In Windows 8.1, Windows Store features a redesigned interface with improved app discovery and recommendations and offers automatic updates for apps.

Shell and user interface

Windows 8 features a redesigned user interface built upon the Metro design language, with optimizations for touchscreens.
Metro-style apps can either run in a full-screen environment, or be snapped to the side of a screen alongside another app or the desktop; snapping requires a screen resolution of 1366×768 or higher. Windows 8.1 lowers the snapping requirement to a screen resolution of 1024x768. Users can switch between apps and the desktop by clicking on the top left corner or by swiping the left side of the touchscreen to invoke a sidebar that displays all currently opened Metro-style apps. Right-clicking on the upper left corner provides a context menu with options to switch between open apps. The traditional desktop is accessible from a tile on the Start screen or by launching a desktop app. The shortcut cycles through all programs, regardless of type.
The interface also incorporates a taskbar on the right side of the screen known as "the charms", which can be accessed from any app or the desktop by sliding from the right edge of a touchscreen or compatible touchpad, by moving the mouse cursor to one of the right corners of the screen, or by pressing. The charms include Search, Share, Start, Devices and Settings charms. The Start charm invokes or dismisses the Start screen. Other charms invoke context-sensitive sidebars that can be used to access app and system functionality. Because of the aforementioned changes involving the use of hot corners, user interface navigation in Windows 8 is fundamentally different when compared with previous versions of Windows. To assist new users of the operating system, Microsoft incorporated a tutorial that appears during the installation of Windows 8, and also during the first sign-in of a new user account, which visually instructs users to move their mouse cursor into any corner of the screen to interact with the operating system. The tutorial can be disabled so that it does not appear for new user accounts. Windows 8.1 introduces navigation hints with instructions that are displayed during the first use of the operating system, and also includes a help and support app.
In Windows 8.1, the aforementioned hotspots in the upper right and the upper left corners can be disabled.
Pressing or right-clicking on the bottom left corner of the screen opens the Quick Link menu. This menu contains shortcuts to frequently used areas such as Control Panel, File Explorer, Programs and Features, Run, Search, Power Options and Task Manager. In Windows 8.1, the Quick Link menu includes options to shut down or restart a device.
Windows 8.1 Update introduced changes that facilitate mouse-oriented means of switching between and closing Metro-style apps, patterned upon the mechanics used by desktop programs in the Windows user interlace. In lieu of the recent apps sidebar, computer icons for opened apps can be displayed on the taskbar; as with desktop programs, shortcuts to apps can also be pinned to the taskbar. When a mouse is connected, an auto-hiding titlebar with minimize and close buttons is displayed within apps when the mouse is moved toward the top of the screen.

Bundled apps

A number of apps are included in the standard installation of Windows 8, including Mail, People, Calendar, Messaging, Photos, Music, Video, Camera, SkyDrive, Reader, and six other apps that expose Bing services.
Windows 8.1 adds Calculator, Alarm Clock, Sound Recorder, Reading List, Food & Drink, Health & Fitness, Help + Tips, Scan, and a file manager integrated in the SkyDrive app.
Windows 8 also includes a Metro-style system component called PC Settings which exposes a small portion of Control Panel settings. Windows 8.1 improves this component to include more options that were previously exclusive to Control Panel. Windows 8.1 Update adds additional options to PC Settings.

Start screen

Windows 8 introduces a new form of start menu called Start screen, which resembles the home screen of Windows Phone, and is shown in place of the desktop on startup. The Start screen serves as the primary method of launching applications and consists of a grid of app tiles which can be arranged into columnar groups; groups can be arranged with or without group names. App tiles can either be small or large in size and can also display dynamic content provided by their corresponding apps, such as notifications and slide shows. Users can arrange individual app tiles or entire groups. An additional section of the Start screen called "All Apps" can be accessed via a right click from the mouse or an upward swipe and will display all installed apps categorized by their names. A semantic zoom feature is available for both the Start screen and "All Apps" view which enables users to target a specific area or group on the screen. The Start screen can uninstall apps directly.
Windows 8.1 makes the following changes to the Start screen:
  • The "All Apps" section, now accessed with a hidden downward arrow or upward touch gesture, features a visible search bar which can display results for apps or other items. The section is dismissed by a similar button with an upward arrow. An option to display the "All Apps" section automatically instead of the Start screen is available.
  • On high-resolution display monitors with sufficiently large physical screen sizes, an option to display additional tiles on the Start screen is available.
  • Start screen tiles can be locked in place to prevent accidental manipulation of tiles.
  • The uninstall command allows Windows Store apps to be uninstalled from multiple computers.
  • More size options for live tiles on Start screen: small, medium, wide, and large. The "small" size is one quarter of the default size in Windows 8.
  • Expanded color options on the Start screen, which now allows users to customize a color and a shade of one's own choice instead of choosing from limited colors.
  • New background options for the Start screen, including animated backgrounds and the ability to use the desktop wallpaper.
  • Enhanced synchronization settings, including those for app tile arrangement, tile sizes, and background.
  • In a multi-monitor configuration, Windows 8.1 can optionally display the Start screen only on the primarily display monitor instead of the currently active monitor when the key is pressed.
  • Multiple desktop applications can be selected from the Start screen and pinned to the taskbar at once, or multiple desktop applications and Metro-style apps can be selected from the "All Apps" view and pinned to the Start screen at once. Windows 8.1 Update augments this capability by allowing Metro-style apps to be pinned to the taskbar. The Start menu in previous versions of Windows allowed only one desktop application to be selected and/or pinned at a time.
  • By default, Windows 8.1 no longer displays recently installed apps and their related entries on the Start screen; users must manually pin these items.
  • Windows 8.1 introduces options to categorize apps listed within the "All Apps" section of the Start screen. Apps can be categorized by their name, the date they were installed, their frequency of use, or based on their categories. When sorted by category, desktop applications can optionally be prioritized within the interface. Windows 8.1 Update allows additional app tiles to be displayed within the "All Apps" section of the Start screen.
  • The ability to highlight recently installed apps has been enhanced in Windows 8.1 Update, which now displays the total number of recently installed apps within the lower-left corner of the Start screen in addition to highlighting. In contrast, the Start menu interface included in previous versions of Windows only highlighted apps. Windows 8.1 Update also enables semantic zoom upon clicking or tapping the title of an app category.
Windows 8.1 reverts two changes that were featured in Windows 8. Windows 8 removed the Start button on the taskbar in favor of other ways of invoking the Start screen. Windows 8.1 restores this button. Windows 8 also showed the Start screen upon logon, as opposed to other editions of Windows that show the desktop. In Windows 8.1, user may now choose which one to see first. Windows 8.1 Update boots to the desktop by default on non-tablet devices and introduces the ability to switch to the taskbar from the Start screen or from an open Metro-style app by directing the mouse cursor toward the bottom of the screen.
Windows 8.1 introduces a new "slide to shutdown" option which allows users to drag their partially revealed lock screen image toward the bottom of the screen to shut down the operating system. Windows 8.1 Update introduces a visible power button on the Start screen. This power button does not appear on all hardware device types. By default, new account profiles in Windows 8.1 Update also receive four additional tiles pinned to the Start screen: This PC, PC Settings, Documents, and Pictures. In Windows RT, only the PC Settings tile is added.