14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft declared war to the classic Control Panel back in July 2015 when it rolled out the first Windows 10 version, promising to move all options to Settings and eventually kill it off.
Three years later, the Windows Control Panel is still there, despite Microsoft moving more of its sections to the Settings app. Every new Windows 10 update represented a step forward in the migration from Control Panel to Settings, but in the April 2018 Update, both continue to be available.
There’s no doubt that Microsoft still wants to get rid of the Control Panel, and the company reiterates this plan on every occasion.
A message posted in the Feedback Hub on Windows 10 clearly emphasizes that this is the goal that Microsoft has in mind and which at some point in the future would finally be achieved.
“Thanks for your feedback about merging settings and the Control Panel. This is something we have been and will continue working on,” a message posted by a Microsoft engineer reads.
Opinions on whether the Control Panel should go away or not are still mixed. While some believe that this is one of the features that should never be killed because it makes setting up Windows a breeze, others think it’s a thing of the past that has to get the ax because a modern replacement is available.
I’m more inclined to go for the second version. Many of the people who want to see the Control Panel surviving Microsoft’s wrath are former Windows XP and Windows 7 fans who ended up using Windows 10 not necessarily because they wanted to, but because they had to. No matter if it’s gaming, software compatibility, or simply performance improvements what made them switch, these people aren’t necessarily the first adopters of Windows 10, and would gladly go back to Windows 7 if it had all the goodies of Microsoft’s latest OS.
These users don’t want to see the Control Panel go mostly because they’re super familiar with it. It’s an essential part of Windows 7, and by forcing them to switch to the Settings app, they have to fully embrace the modern push that Windows 10 is based on.
And while this is a more subjective choice, I think that no matter the way Microsoft should go, it’s important for the company to actually embrace an idea and go all-in on it. The way things are right now is extremely confusing for everyone, with some options available in Control Panel, while others are listed in the Settings app. Messages posted in the Feedback Hub emphasize how frustrating this is.
“Either keep Settings or go back to Control Panel. This disjointed mess of finding settings everywhere isn’t efficient. Also, there is no way you can stuff everything from Control Panel in the Settings and keep it efficient. I haven’t seen any actual improvements in the last years, you’re making it worse and worse. Change for the sake of change doesn’t make it better,” a user called Roy D. explains in a message in the Feedback Hub.
And he’s right. Microsoft needs to pick a strategy and implement it no matter what. The transition is hard, there’s no doubt about it, but delaying it only makes everything confusing for users.
The Windows 10 Redstone 5 update coming in the fall is likely to continue this approach, though I think that it’ll be a painful process until this migration is completed. Nobody knows how long it’s going to take until the classic Control Panel goes dark completely, but as things are right now, there’s no way it’s going to survive.
What’s your take on this? Is Microsoft doing the right thing by killing off the Control Panel? Should the company rip off the band-aid or stick with this super-slow transition process?