Mikhail Parakhin, the former head of Windows and Bing at Microsoft, has expressed his dissatisfaction with the current state of the Windows 11 taskbar, labeling it as “unusable.” Despite recent updates allowing users to move the taskbar, the option to auto-hide it when positioned at the top or sides remains absent. Parakhin’s frustration is palpable, especially considering that Windows 11 has been available for over five years.
In a candid post on X, Parakhin shared his disappointment after installing the 26H2 update, which he had anticipated would restore the “taskbar on the left.” He lamented, “Autohide doesn’t work and I can’t adjust the size, so, not usable yet. Pavan Davuluri, c’mon, man, please make it real.” Davuluri, the current head of Windows, has yet to respond to Parakhin’s critique.
This isn’t the first instance of a former Windows leader voicing concerns about Microsoft’s decisions regarding the platform. Earlier this year, Parakhin revealed that he had advocated for the inclusion of a movable taskbar during his tenure, emphasizing that a vertical taskbar with auto-hide enabled was optimal for productivity—a setup he has utilized throughout his life.
Parakhin pointed out that Windows 11 abandoned several features from Windows 10 in favor of a “symmetric panes” design, which places Weather, Widgets, and News on the left side of the screen while notifications and system controls occupy the right. He noted that a vertical taskbar would disrupt this layout.
While Microsoft has finally reintroduced the vertical taskbar, the functionality that Parakhin favored—vertical orientation with auto-hide—is still lacking. The September 2026 Patch Tuesday update marked the arrival of the movable taskbar and the ability to resize it, but the rollout was gradual, with most users receiving these features only with the 26H2 update on September 29. Although the update does not introduce new features, it activates previously delivered functionalities from earlier versions.
Windows 11’s so-called taskbar upgrade is still half-baked compared to Windows 10
To move the taskbar in Windows 11, users must navigate through Windows Settings > Personalization > Taskbar, where they can select their preferred layout. Unlike Windows 10, where users could simply drag the taskbar to their desired location, Windows 11 requires a more cumbersome approach via the settings app. This limitation has drawn criticism, particularly from those who frequently adjust their taskbar positioning.
Another significant drawback is the absence of auto-hide functionality for the taskbar when positioned at the top or sides. Microsoft has acknowledged this limitation but has not provided a timeline for its resolution. Users attempting to enable auto-hide for a moved taskbar will encounter a warning indicating that this feature is only available when the taskbar is at the bottom, a stark contrast to the flexibility offered by Windows 10.
Windows 11’s taskbar also suffers from a lack of a comprehensive right-click menu. In Windows 10, users could easily lock or unlock the taskbar for resizing, while Windows 11 offers a significantly more limited set of options. Recently, Windows 11 introduced the ability to reduce the size of the taskbar and its icons, but the manual resizing feature by dragging the edge remains absent, leaving power users like Parakhin understandably frustrated.
Despite his departure from Microsoft a year ago, Parakhin, now the CTO at Shopify, continues to use Windows for his work. When questioned about his operating system of choice, he humorously remarked, “What else would I be running?!” As Microsoft remains silent on the shortcomings of the Windows 11 26H2 taskbar features, it seems that users may have to wait several months for the full suite of functionalities from Windows 10 to be integrated into Windows 11.
