All articles tagged with #customization
WIRED highlights five Chromium-based extensions—Improve YouTube, Enhancer for YouTube, PocketTube, Turn Off the Lights, and DeArrow—that enhance YouTube with UI tweaks, playback controls, subscription organization, screen dimming to reduce distractions, and crowdsourced improvements to video titles and thumbnails, all without focusing on ad blockers.
An Android Authority writer argues that Samsung’s Good Lock—a modular, official customization toolkit—gives Galaxy phones a level of control (keyboard, Quick Settings, per-app timeouts and volume, edge gestures, and more) that Pixel can’t match. While Pixel offers a clean stock Android experience and faster updates, the breadth and polish of Good Lock make switching to Pixel impractical for him right now.
Windows 11’s 25H2 preview (build 26300.8493) brings back taskbar repositioning on any screen edge and a 'show smaller taskbar' resize option, but the experience isn’t as flexible as Windows 10: you must adjust settings instead of dragging the bar, auto-hide is still buggy, vertical layouts show quirks like a shortened year and no seconds, and multi‑row taskbars remain missing.
Microsoft is rolling out an Insider Preview (Build 26300.8493) that reinstates a resizable taskbar and configurable Start menu on Windows 11, letting users move the taskbar to the top or sides, enable smaller icons, and tailor Start menu content and size, while maintaining a list of recently installed apps; the company also teases a modern Run dialog and broader performance and UX improvements.
Microsoft is rolling out full Windows 11 taskbar and Start Menu customization to Windows Insider participants in the Experimental channel, allowing the Taskbar to be moved to top, bottom, left, or right with per-position alignment and smaller icons, plus a revamped Start Menu with adjustable sizes and toggleable sections (Pinned, Recent, All) and privacy options. Start’s file recommendations are now separated from File Explorer’s recent items, and the Recent area is renamed from Recommended. The updates are set to reach 24H2/25H2/26H1 users in coming weeks.
A GameSpot review argues that Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream offers a livelier, more polished life-sim experience than The Sims 4, thanks to highly customizable Miis, external personality displays, seamless autonomous interactions, and expressive dream sequences, showcasing Nintendo’s charm and suggesting EA could learn from Nintendo’s approach even as it stops short of declaring it a true ‘Sims killer.’
The Steam Controller blends mouse emulation, an on-screen keyboard, and extensive customization—joystick regions, button mappings, and virtual menus—with haptic feedback and real-time tweaks to work across Steam and non-Steam titles, plus community configurations and even non-gaming PC use.
Apple's iOS 27 adds a 'Create a Pass' option in Wallet, letting users generate digital passes from scanned tickets or membership/gift-card information or create a custom pass when no QR code is available, with three color-coded types (purple for events, blue for memberships, orange for other) and full customization of images, colors, and text ahead of WWDC.
Windows Central reports that NT Lite’s latest update (v2026.04.10936) lets users strip AI features like Copilot and Windows Recall from Windows 11 version 25H2 images, shrinking install sizes and enabling pre-install or live-edit customization. While Microsoft continues to fold AI into Windows (e.g., AI agents in Taskbar and Xbox mode), NT Lite provides an option to remove AI components for those seeking a leaner OS. The tool supports ISO/WIM/ESD/SWM formats and warns that removing critical components can cause boot issues, so testing in a VM and creating restore points is advised.
Microsoft's April update for Xbox consoles and the Xbox app on PC adds deeper customization and cross‑platform tweaks: you can create up to 10 home groups, color‑tune the UI, disable Quick Resume per game, view a new Play History tab, and choose streaming resolution with a Network Quality Indicator; the PC app now lets you add any installed game or app from any source to Xbox, pin up to three items from Jump Back in/Most Recent lists, enable a Gamepad Cursor for mouse input in Game Bar, and reposition on‑screen notifications for achievements and invites, signaling a stronger multiplatform Xbox experience under new leadership.
YouTube TV is rolling out a fully customizable multiview that lets subscribers mix and match up to four live channels from nearly the entire lineup (including add-ons like NFL Sunday Ticket) via a server-side feature with a new staging area to organize content by categories such as Recommended, Sports, and News. Users can build their view in a multiview tab on the app’s bottom bar, with base plans starting around $82.99/month for 100+ channels; some family‑friendly content is not available in multiview.
WhatsApp is testing a paid subscription tier called WhatsApp Plus for Android beta users. It adds customization features such as premium sticker packs with fullscreen animations, optional accent colors, and alternative app icons, plus a higher pinned-chat limit (3 to 20), 10 exclusive ringtones, and bulk theming/notification options across chats. The beta shows €2.49 per month in Europe and $29 in Mexico, with a potential one-month free trial; core messaging remains free, and the plan isn’t expected to affect WhatsApp Business. iOS support and wider rollout are planned for future releases.
Microsoft says it’s working on additional Start menu customization options for Windows 11 after user feedback criticized the current Categories layout. The changes are expected to be incremental rather than a full redesign, with potential new controls over categorization and maybe a resize option, and are accompanied by moving the Start menu to WinUI to improve performance; rollout timing isn’t disclosed.
Microsoft is rebuilding the Windows 11 Start menu with WinUI 3, adding Settings-based controls to resize between small and large layouts and to toggle off entire sections (including the Recommended feed and All apps), while boosting responsiveness and search performance under load as part of the Windows K2 initiative.
Power users are expanding Windows 11 customization largely through third‑party tools (Start11, Rainmeter, custom skins) because Microsoft still limits personalization options. While Microsoft has started addressing some pain points—adding a movable taskbar, offering a setup-update skip, and trimming Copilot exposure—the community has already filled the gaps with Start11 and other skins, fueling a thriving ecosystem and prompting debate about Windows 12. A reader poll asks whether Microsoft should give more built-in customization.