Since its release in late 2021, Windows 11 has kept adding features through its many updates. Whether it's the upcoming version 24H2 or the numerous updates we've received over the past few years, there's a lot being added and changed in Windows as time goes on.

But for all those additions, Windows has also lost a few capabilities and features along the way. Old technology gets left behind all the time, and suffice it to say Windows 11 has a body count at this point. Let's take a look at all the features that Microsoft has deprecated or completely removed from Windows 11 (and in some cases, Windows 10) over the past few years. For features that aren't gone yet, being deprecated means there's a good chance they will be soon, so you have to be ready for when that happens.

12 Mail and Calendar

Say hello to the new Outlook, whether you like it or not

One of the more recent victims of Microsoft's strategy is the touch-friendly Mail and Calendar app that first appeared with Windows 10. It's been a part of Windows 11 since day one, but in September 2022, Microsoft confirmed that its web-based Outlook app would be replacing not only the classic desktop Outlook app, but also the Mail and Calendar apps in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

It's a tragic loss, too, considering the app took a long time to support features like multiple accounts and non-Microsoft email addresses. What's more, the new Outlook app loses the touch-friendly gestures that made the Mail and Calendar apps work so well on Windows tablets. Mouse and keyboard users will probably be happy about this transition, though.

11 Tablet mode

Windows tablets aren't the same anymore

For a few years, with Windows 8 and 10, Microsoft really wanted WIndows tablets to be a thing, especially with the introduction of the Surface. Windows 8 was designed for tablets first, and Windows 10 came with a dedicated tablet mode, which added a back button to the taskbar, changed the Start menu to take up the full screen, and made apps also open in full screen by default. It wasn't a perfect implementation, but with some effort, Windows could have been a great tablet OS.

Instead, Microsoft decided to get rid of tablet mode altogether with Windows 11. Sure, some things still tried to make the OS more touch-friendly, with some swipe gestures and enlarged menu options, but tablets were no longer the focus. That being said, Microsoft has since made some more enhancements, with even more touch-based gestures and a new UI for tablets where the taskbar collapses into a much smaller size while using an app, allowing you to take advantage of the entire screen. In some ways, Windows 11 is better for tablets than Windows 10 ever was, but it still feels like Microsoft is only giving it a half try.

10 Windows Timeline

Is it ever coming back?

Windows Timeline is another feature that never made the cut to Windows 11, and the writing was kind of on the wall already. Shortly before Windows 11 was released, Microsoft stopped supporting the ability to sync Timeline data across devices on personal Microsoft accounts, and last year, it stopped being supported for Microsoft Entra ID users, too. Now, Timeline data is only stored locally, and it's still only on Windows 10.

A spiritual successor of sorts to the Windows Timeline could be coming to Windows 11 in the form of Recall, a feature that's part of Copilot+ PCs. However, even this feature has been pulled back and it's not even available to Windows Insiders, with no official release date in sight. We can certainly hope.

9 Windows Speech Recognition

Replaced by Voice access

A relatively recent removal from Windows 11 is Windows speech recognition, an old feature that allowed you to control your PC using your voice. This is only a half discontinuation, though, because Speech Recognition was deprecated in December 2023, over a year after its successor, Voice access, was introduced. Voice access does pretty much everything Speech Recognition did, and then some, on top of having a much more modern UI.

Windows SPeech Recognition isn't completely gone yet, but it has been deprecated and could be removed in an upcoming release. In fact, we can no longer find it in preview builds of Windows 11 version 24H2.

8 Steps Recorder

Now you have to record videos

Steps Recorder is a feature designed to help users guide other users in doing certain things. Essentially, it would take screenshots of every interaction with your PC so they would be saved as steps. Windows 11 brought some big updates to the Snipping Tool, though, including the ability to record videos, meaning you have an easier way to share step-by-step guidance now.

That's why, in late 2023, Microsoft announced it was deprecating Steps Recorder. The feature is still present in Windows 11 version 24H2, but Microsoft has confirmed it intends to remove the feature from Windows altogether. If you ask us, recording videos is much better anyway.

7 Internet Explorer (and Microsoft Edge Legacy)

The true end of an era

Internet Explorer is one of the most iconic browsers ever, and not exactly for good reasons. After dominating the market in the late 90s and early 2000s, Microsoft's browser developed a reputation for being slow, cluttered, and overall behind on the times, being significantly outpaced by rivals such as Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Internet Explorer was on the decline for years until in 2015, Microsoft replaced it with Edge.

Except Internet Explorer was still around for many more years as a backup. Windows 11 was the first time Microsoft shipped an operating system without Internet Explorer since its introduction, but even then, Windows 10 kept supporting Internet Explorer 11. The death of IE was dragged out for years, with multiple different phases to its discontinuation, finally culminating with its full removal in February 2023.

In fact, the original version of Microsoft Edge was killed off first. In early 2020, a completely rebuilt version of Edge was released based on the Chromium engine, and the previous version that made its debut with Windows 10 was discontinued altogether shortly thereafter.

6 Windows Mixed Reality

A Windows 10 dream gone by the wayside

Windows 10 was the era when Microsoft wanted Windows to be everywhere and feel like a truly universal experience, as well as embracing emerging technologies. One of those was mixed reality, or augmented reality, with a few headsets launching during the earlier years of Windows 10's life. These headsets were trying to provide a more affordable VR-like experience for the mass market, but as time went on, it became clear that there wasn't enough support for the platform.

Windows Mixed Reality did still make it into Windows 11, but in December 2023, Microsoft announced the feature would be deprecated, meaning you shouldn't expect any further developments. There haven't been new headsets in many years, either, so this makes sense. However, the feature is still supported if you have a headset. Consumers can keep using it until November 1st, 2026, with commercial customers getting one extra year of support before the platform goes silent forever.

5 Paint 3D

No one wanted a basic 3D modeling app, it seems

Another big part of Microsoft's push to embrace new technologies in Windows 10 was Paint 3D, which aimed to bring 3D design and printing to the masses. The name was no coincidence, either. Microsoft wanted Paint 3D to be for 3D objects what Paint was for 2D images — make it accessible to anyone and popularize the concept as a whole. It was arguably a noble effort that deserved better than it got.

Alas, much like mixed reality, 3D objectsweren't something the public at large was interested in yet. Maybe because there's a much higher barrier to entry when it comes to designing in a 3D space, Paint 3D was never all that talked about by anyone outside of Microsoft, and it quickly became secondary to, well, basically everything else after its debut in 2017. Paint 3D did come to Windows 11 and is still available to download from the Microsoft Store, but it's been officially deprecated as of this month, and it will disappear from the Store on November 4th this year.

4 Chat with Microsoft Teams

Maybe things would be different if Microsoft actually tried

When Windows 11 made its debut, there were a few things that were changed significantly from previous releases, making it apparent that Microsoft wanted a clean break with something that felt completely fresh. Chat with Microsoft Teams was one of the big new features, integrating the company's newest messaging app straight into Windows, something that hadn't really been attempted in the same way before.

This could have been the chance to get users to move away from Skype, but instead, Microsoft kept on delivering major updates for its old app, often making it more interesting than Teams itself. With Windows 11 version 23H2, Microsoft removed the Chat integration, and now, Windows 11 just comes with a new Teams app that's actually better than before, and it's pinned to the taskbar by default, but it doesn't feel like an integrated experience in the same way it used to. It's just another app.

3 WordPad

Goodbye, old friend

WordPad is one of the oldest apps to be discontinued during the Windows 11 era. First introduced in Windows 95, WordPad is a text editor that bridges the gap between plain text (like Notepad) and a paid app like Microsoft Word. It allowed you to edit and properly format text, including the ability to add images and objects, though it lacked the extensive capabilities of paid solutions. It was perfect if you just wanted to draft a document quickly without having to pay up.

Earlier this year, though, Microsoft started removing WordPad from clean installs of builds in the Insider program, and it's since been confirmed that Windows 11 version 24H2 will remove this feature entirely. For your basic editing needs, Microsoft wants you to use the web app for Word, which is also free and actually has more features, though it requires internet access. Alternatively, you can pay for Microsoft Office or check out some potential Office alternatives.