Microsoft With Windows 10 Is Slowly Phasing Out Control Panel for Its Touch-Friendly Settings App

The Control Panel and Settings app for Windows PCs offer the same functionality (more or less), but some users prefer one over the other. It is mainly because some users enjoy the no-frills look of the Control Panel, while the Settings app offers a more advanced look with enhanced UI and touch-friendly support (for compatible devices). But it now appears that Microsoft is planning to kill the Control Panel’s page in the near future with new Windows 10 updates.

According to Windows Latest, Microsoft with the latest Windows 10 preview builds, is redirecting users from the Control Panel’s System page to the ‘About’ in Setting app’s System page. The report adds that Microsoft is also blocking Properties shortcut (from This PC page) and third-party applications that could have been used as a workaround to access the System page on the Control Panel. Notably, earlier this year, references to ‘Hide_System_Control_Panel’ were spotted in Windows 10 preview builds. Recently, Microsoft with the Windows 10 October 2020 Update, removed the System page in the Control Panel.

Since the launch of Windows 8, Microsoft has been gradually making it difficult for users to find the Control Panel icon on the system. Users can; however, still find it by searching it on the Cortana Search bar but its shortcut keys are being removed with each Windows 10 update. The shift is mainly a part of Microsoft’s overall plan of reintroducing more user-friendly interfaces and platforms. For instance, the company recently announced its plans to shut down the classic Internet Explorer browser to push its latest Chromium-based Microsoft Edge. Notably, Microsoft Teams will stop supporting the Internet Explorer 11 starting November 30. Similarly, the current Settings app on PCs-running Windows 10, works better with touch-friendly systems like Microsoft Surface devices. With more user-friendly icons and faster interface, Settings app can also be a more preferred interface among young users, who are not used to the bland interface of Control Panel.