"In Windows 11, you must first click the search magnifying glass or hit Win + S and start typing. "
Can you not just start typing after pressing only the Windows key? That one change alone would make me avoid the OS like the plague because its how I open apps and files 90% of the time. I don't want to have to add that extra key 100 times a day.
"Functionality-wise, it’s not really any different than Windows 10 search as it combines results from your own computer with web search (from Bing) as needed."
Can the web search be disabled? That's the first thing I do in Windows 10 (well, second after privacy ) because the bing results slow down the search by a LOT and they block me from my files/apps.
Even when the first screenshots came out, I called this as being a slower OS. More clicks, more bloat, more animations, less information. Form over function. So far, it seems like I was right. The worst parts of Windows 10, except moreso.
This is a team who has been trying to get rid of the control panel for 5 years, but still can't figure out how to design a functional settings menu to replace it. Its hopeless; a major step backwards.
The only thing that they've learned since Windows 8 is that the start menu shouldn't hide the taskbar. But.. They still thought that was a good idea in the first place.