Windows 8.1 is now available globally, a free update for all existing Windows 8 and Windows RT users. Customers can download the free update from the Windows Store and enjoy significant new features such as; the return of the Start button; constant desktop mode; new gesture control; customisable tile sizing; and several new keyboard shortcuts. To find out more, continue reading our Windows 8.1 review.
It’s been less than nine months since Windows 8 was launched to the public, but it feels a lot longer. The radical redesign remains a source of frustration for many long-time Windows users, as the split personality is both confusing and jarring.
See also: Windows 8 review
Windows 8.1 addresses some of these problems by refining the interface and adding new features, such as the familiar Start button on the desktop.
Here, we’ll look at the main features and changes in Windows 8.1. We’ve based the review on the preview version, so bear that in mind.
See also: How to try Windows 8.1 Preview
Windows 8.1 review: Start button and Start screen
For tablet users, the new ‘modern’ interface is exactly what Windows needs. It’s designed to be operated with your fingers, unlike the fiddly desktop which really needs a mouse for fine pointer control.
However, most people are using Windows 8 on a laptop or PC without a touchscreen and still use the desktop, if not exclusively, then for the majority of the time.
The lack of a Start button (and corresponding menu) was a huge change in Windows 8. Add to this the hidden nature of the Charms bar and search facility and the result was disorientated users who couldn’t figure out how to perform basic tasks such as launching an application or finding a recently used file.
Fundamentally, nothing has changed in Windows 8.1. There’s still the desktop and separate Modern UI, and two versions of Internet Explorer (more on that later). It’s best to think of the update as a series of refinements, rather than any major changes, backtracks or retreats.
One feature which will undoubtedly be seen as a U-turn is the return of the Start button in Windows 8.1. However, it’s just a shortcut to the modern Start screen which, if you think about it, is really a replacement for the old Start menu.
On the Start screen you can click on a shortcut to a desktop application and it will launch on the desktop (you could do this in Windows 8, of course) but now the experience can be made less jarring by setting your desktop wallpaper to be the background on the modern Start screen.
There are a couple of subtle changes to the Start screen, too. One is a downward pointing arrow which, when you swipe down or click on it displays all your apps. It’s also easier to customise groups of icons on the Start screen, and there are two new icon sizes: large and small.
When you right-click on the Start button, you get the 'power user' menu which was present in Windows 8 (and can still be called up using Windows+X). However, a new entry is Shut down, allowing you to use the old-style menu options to power down, restart or put the computer in to sleep mode.
Windows 8.1 review: Snapping windows
Although it was possible to have two modern apps on screen at once, one had to occupy a thin strip at the side. Microsoft has seen sense and now allows two apps to have half of the screen each, but you can drag the divider line to, say, give one app three quarters of the screen if you prefer.
Depending on the resolution and size of your screen, you might be able to have four modern apps next to each other, but on a tablet such as the Surface Pro, you’ll be limited to two apps.
Those with multiple screens will appreciate that apps can now use both screens to show different content. For example, an image editing app could have the tools on one screen and the image could occupy the entirety of the other screen.
Windows 8.1 review: Search
Search has changed, too. Where previously the system-wide search facility defaulted to searching for Apps (and you had to click on other categories such as Files or Settings if you weren’t searching for an app), it now sensibly searches everywhere, including the internet.
The results you see will be dependent on what you search for, but searching for Madonna would produce a Wikipedia link, a list of tracks to preview, videos, photos, news stories and more. A search for PC Advisor, meanwhile, results in a list of Word and Excel documents which contain this phrase, plus web links and a map.
Clicking particular results will launch the relevant Modern UI app, desktop app or web browser. As the results are provided by Microsoft Bing, it could provide a much-needed boost for that search engine.
One big advantage of the change is that you can open the search on the desktop (by pressing Windows-S) and launch a desktop app or file without seeing the Start screen at all – a bit like using the old search box in the Start menu.
Windows 8.1 review: App updates
Photos
The original Photos app was one of the better Microsoft creations, but lacked on key ingredient: editing. That’s remedied with a new editor which allows you to apply quick fixes, remove red-eye, crop, rotate and even more advanced adjustments such as colour correction. You can undo your changes step by step, and choose whether to save a copy or overwrite the original photo.
We’ve never been tempted to use the built-in Mail app. It looked clean and fresh, but had extremely basic features.
In the final version of Windows 8.1 (but not in the Preview) are a bunch of features that should give Mail a power boost. In the left-hand pane will be shortcuts to your inbox, a VIP-style inbox containing emails from your favourite contacts, flagged messages, contacts and other inbox folders.
You’ll be able to manage email from multiple accounts and Microsoft is working to get information from Google Calendar as well. Other new features include options to keep only the most recent version of a newsletter you regularly receive, and deleting all messages from a particular sender.
Mail also gets its own search field, which you can use to search the current folder or your whole inbox. This is in addition to the generic Search Charm which lets you find anything on your computer (or the net) while you’re using Mail.
If someone emails you a web link, a preview of the page is now shown in pane on the right-hand side, which could be convenient, but might also pose a security risk.
Windows Store
The app store has been given a small facelift, and is all the better for it. Navigation has been vastly improved by putting the list of categories in the app bar (visible when you right-click) instead of forcing you to scroll endlessly through them all.
Windows 8.1 review: New apps
Windows 8.1 introduces a couple of new apps: Reading List and Food & Drink.
Reading List is really just a list of bookmarks, but takes advantage of the Share Charm. You can share content to Reading List not just from the web, but also from other apps which support it (such as Mail and People). It’s particularly useful if you have multiple Windows 8 devices as, by default, your Reading List is synched between them.
Food & Drink is a recipe app to which you can add your own recipes (you can use a webcam to take a picture of a recipe in a book) or simply as a portal to search for recipes online.
Within the app is an interesting new feature: Hands-free mode. This is designed to prevent dirty hands touching your tablet or laptop when you’re cooking. It uses your webcam to detect when you’re swiping in front of the screen and scrolls in that direction to the next page of instructions (which are displayed in a nice, large font).
Windows 8.1 review: PC Settings
More settings have found their way into the Modern UI settings ‘app’, and there are now fewer reasons to go to the old Control Panel. However, settings are still heavily pared down and you’ll probably find that the Control Panel is still necessary for advanced settings.
One addition under the Network heading is Workplace. When you to bring your Windows 8 device to work, this will allow you to join a corporate network but without requiring you to have a separate user account that’s joined to the company ‘domain’.
Combined with another new feature called Work Folders, you can synch work documents to your laptop or tablet. Should you then lose your computer or leave the company, the IT admin can revoke access remotely.
Windows 8.1 review: Customisation
If you’ve read anything at all about Windows 8.1, you’ll probably already know it provides more scope for customisation. You can choose a much wider variety of hues for the Start screen. You can also choose to display a photo slide show on your Lock screen.
More importantly, there’s a new tab called Navigation when you right-click on the desktop Taskbar and choose Properties. This menu contains options which address some of the biggest complaints about Windows 8.
One is the new ability to boot straight to the desktop, bypassing the Start screen. Another lets you force the Start screen to show on your main display when you have more than one monitor. Before, the Start screen would appear seemingly on any screen.
The final option is to show desktop apps before Modern UI apps on the Apps list when sorted by category. It sounds like a minor feature, but it makes a considerable difference if you predominantly use the desktop.
Windows 8.1 review: Conclusion
As we said at the start, Windows 8.1 is a refinement of Windows 8, not a revolution. It tweaks a few things, adds a few requested features and options and introduces a redesigned Store and a couple of new apps.
It doesn’t change the fact that Windows 8 is still an operating system of two halves. It’s less jarring when you enable all the options on the new Navigation tab, but it’s essentially a spit and polish job.
The fact remains that Windows 8 is a fast, stable OS that can be used just like Windows 7 on a PC or laptop. It takes a bit of adjustment living without the old Start menu, but little has changed in most other respects.
In terms of the Modern UI, you can completely ignore it if you want to, but anyone with a Windows 8 tablet should appreciate the updates. Possibly the most important is the ability for two or more apps to share the screen without one being consigned to a useless vertical strip.
A significant problem remains the dearth of apps in the Windows store. Microsoft has improved the built-in apps to the stage at which they should have been when Windows 8 launched, but there’s still work to do. And if Microsoft can’t get it right (where’s the Modern UI version of Office, for example?) then how can it expect other app developers to jump on board?
Those who put off buying a new laptop or PC because of having to re-learn Windows might do well to try Windows 8.1.
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Comments
jon said: The desktop never went away Jamie Its always been available Not sure what your problem is W81 allows you to choose desktop new Start screen or combine the two Gives everyone the choice That seems a reasonable approach to me
jon said: I find it much easier to use and I picked it up very quickly Its a great improvement on Vista and 7 that I used to have And 81 is even better I really enjoy combining the apps with the desktop on the same screen - great fun and really easy to do If you prefer the 7 ways of doing things then simply boot to the desktop and download one of those start button add-ons Nothing being foisted on you You choose whether you want the new features that others like or stick with what youre used to
jon said: Quite the opposite Nothing is being forced on you If you want that W7 feel then just start into the desktop which looks exactly like W7 You just have the added benefits of apps on the Start screen faster boots a more secure system and so on You choose
jon said: Not sure where the server comes into it A tablet laptop and desktop are all computers as are mobile phones now Many people have all of them and want to use them so they can access the same mail favourites layout across the lot Thats one of the main points of W8
jon said: The desktop has hardly changed at all Perhaps you are referring to the Start screen Whats wrong with the email Ive noticed no difference to how it was in Windows 7
robwin18 said: Must admit the lost Start Menu was a mistake and they may have been too clever for their own good by issuing a system for both desktops and tablets all in one If you were offered the choice of installing either one or the other may have prevented the apparent hostilityEven I have bought a Start Menu and am very happy now with Win8 but can understand the reaction to it even if I dont wholly agree with many comments by others
Arben Myrtaj said: Im not using 8 I just tested it I obviously use 7 Im just saying that were I to use it Id be forced into an OS without a Start Menu where they could have easily made it optional when they saw the reviews from the testers but they just went on their ownAnd it wasnt because it was the best thing to do they just couldnt go back it would do more harm then good to their sales if they would revert itSo basically they sacrificed us for more sales
Technophobe said: I am a bit of a novice when it comes to computers my parents who are both in their seventies bought a new windows 8 desktop after the old one with XP expired the words my father used when it was set up are probably not suitable for here but having seen what he means I think microsoft have made a terrible mistake in changing the desk top so radically some of the software that they used to have doesnt seem to run and the E mail programme is just complete rubbish
robwin18 said: Having read your latest novel I dont understand how Microsoft have forced you to do anything or you must be very weakIf you dont like Windows 8 well dont bloody use it rather than slagging everyone else offNo ones putting a gun to your headWhy am I acting as though I am right anymore than you think you are we all have our opinions so lets just leave it at that shall we
robwin18 said: Well at least I aint bitter and twisted knowing you cant understand what the majority are able to As long as you are happy in your own little world thats all that counts eh
Arben Myrtaj said: You cant get rid of trollsHe does this for a living
Arben Myrtaj said: If you think the majority of people like Windows 8 then get out of Wonderland little Alice and come back to reality youve been dreaming for far too long thus becoming delusional
Arben Myrtaj said: Thats what your mother said the moment you came in this world
Arben Myrtaj said: So you use different file types that makes you know all about the windows system nowI fix problems with file types being linked to the wrong program in the registry for the matterAnd wow youre saying programmers are clueless about user experience how pathetic is thatThis site is filled with hypocrites All the programs you mentioned are design programs and some are office programs one is OCR then you went into video editing and capturing with Camtasia so basically you seem to be into designing nowWhat does that make you a software expert Do you want me to list every application Ive used in my life and compare whos list of used applications is longerI told you Ive used so many applications that you have no idea in every category finding the best ones according to my needs amp preferences I use Camtasia amp Snagit for the matter But that has nothing to do with the OS itself I just mentioned that to tell you that I know what Im talking aboutIts ironic how Microsofts chief of strategy for Europe held a meeting in my country a couple of months ago and he was speaking about not forcing customers into something they dont want yet Microsoft did just thatHe was going all out saying everyone should use what they like yet they dont allow us to do thatDo you think it would cost MS anything to reinsert the start menu into Windows 8 with a patch No it wouldnt cost anything but it would show they were wrong which is something they dont want to admitIn my country we have an expression which in English would be something like You cant sell me soap for cheese which literally means you cant give me something and trick me into thinking its something elseI dont buy Microsofts crap about how great Windows 8 is because it is plain pathetic with virtually no improvement over 7They did the same with Vista get windows Vista now awesome new UI new Features better security more options to explore a brighter future amp blah blah blahWe all know how Vista turned out to be maybe you dont but anyway and that is what Windows 8 is I thought everybody knew that with Microsoft its one Great OS and a crap OS after it but it seems you dontYou just get what youre given and dont analyze it just get used to it and think its awesomeI call that the New Product Syndrome Meaning you just basically go with the flow its new its great its awesome and so onWell me Im not that type of person I give credit where credit is due you dont have enough logic to understand whats good and whats not so you take everything for grantedAt least I know what I want you just go with the flow and accept anything youre given Good luck with that just be careful because one day you may get offered sht instead of a chocolate ice-cream and you wont know the difference
Arben Myrtaj said: Since you got in the conversation as I said to the other 60 year old fart I know all about software in fact Ive explored so many of them that Ive forgotten a good deal of them because of how many software Ive used in different categories I know all about the start menu replacement applications that allow you to turn the PC on straight on the desktop rather than on the metroAnd I did use one while I tested Windows 8But that is not the point The point is Microsoft forced me to use something and they justified it by saying nobody uses the Start MenuWhen people started to complain they kept insisting on their idea which is a big failure if youre not using a touch-enabled device Metro is a good UI if youre using a Touch-Screen device not a PC with a keyboard and a mouse You cannot just make one single OS for every type of device that is ignorant but above all it just shows plain laziness Microsoft wouldnt bother creating specific OS for PCs and Touch Devices that they made a hybrid OS that is half bad in everything it offersStop justifying a piece of crap of a product and stop acting like youre in the majority and Im in the minority because its quite the opposite I dont praise something if it doesnt deserve itI NEVER used Windows Vista so I was quite used to Windows XP and 2 of its predecessors but the moment I tried Windows 7 I realized it was a great OSAnd Windows 7 is quite different from XP but never did I complain about it so the problem is not about me not getting accustomed to a different OSI dont like Windows 8 it is as simple as that and Ive got pretty valid reasons which blind fanboyism as I said prevents you or anyone who opposes my ideas from realizing how bad Windows 8 isA wise man once said if it isnt broken dont fix it Thats what Microsoft should have done if the start menu works fine dont remove itBut since they did it at least admit the reason they removed it wasnt that people didnt use it its just they couldnt make a touch-screen device with a small start-menu because in fact touch devices need the big tiles of the metro UI to work which is rather uncomfortable and bad-looking on a PCSo stop acting like you or anybody here is right and I come out of nowhere being the rebel or something I love Microsoft products in general Ive used pretty much most of their products and love their user-friendliness but when they screw up they screw up Windows 8 is not user-friendly has a bad-looking GUI and overall offers me absolutely nothing that Windows 7 cantIn fact all it does is annoy me with how bad it looks and how inefficient it is and how much its advertised to be this great OS with all these great changes that are supposed to make everything better and easier when it is quite the opposite
robwin18 said: Well all I can say is that if you havent got to grips with Win8 in 2 months that seems to say more about you than it does against Win8If you are so obsessed with having a start menu then for gods sake spend 300 and get say the Startisback menu software and you will have a Win7 system with Win8 speed and you need never see the Metro interface again then you will be happy and others on here can be free of all the abusive commentsIt aint rocket science
robwin18 said: Why do so many people have to be so bloody rude and ignorant on hereThe majority of people like and fully enjoy Win8 if you are one of those who seem to have the inability to understand it the answer is fairly simple stop moaning and either do something about it or just go away
Claz said: Wow way to go the full retard stupidity at its finest here
Claz said: Just do the simple solution and download StartIsBack everybody wins
doyouthinkso211 said: did I say please help me