Microsoft's CEO promised the world to consumers in a speech about fixing Windows 11 but one thing Satya Nadella said worries me

Date:
Sun, 03 May 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Description:
Satya Nadella talking about consumers in relation to Windows 11 is mostly reassuring, with a notable exception.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Earlier this week, Microsoft 's CEO added to all the promises that've been made about how the company is taking the drive to fix Windows 11 very seriously , although there was an element here which I found less reassuring.

Windows Central picked up on chief executive Satya Nadella's little speech, which came as part of Microsoft's recent earnings call (following its fiscal Q3 results). Nadella said: "When it comes to our consumer business, we are doing the foundational work required to win back fans and strengthen engagement across Windows, Xbox, Bing , and Edge. In the near term, we are focused on fundamentals, prioritizing quality and serving our core users better." Article continues below You may like Microsoft has underlined how it's using tester feedback to fix Windows 11 Apple's MacBook Neo triumph
could also be great news for Windows 11 laptops Microsoft just released an update I actually want to install and you should too "With Windows, we recently announced performance improvements for lower memory devices, streamlined the Windows Update experience , and brought back focus to core features and fundamentals that matter most to our customers." Nadella further referenced Xbox along the same lines, stating that Microsoft is "recommitting to our core fans and players" and citing the changes to Game Pass last week
as an example of how the company is "staying responsive to customer feedback" (another major theme with Windows 11 of late ). What's interesting here is that the CEO wouldn't normally be drawn to comment so directly on Windows, especially not from a consumer point of view as seen here. And he's also addressing how Microsoft wants to "serve" those consumers better, and even referring to them as "core users", as if they're more important than corporations. (And it's true that while consumers are more numerous, just about, the business side of Windows makes a lot more money for Microsoft). It's great to see Nadella comment so frankly on the situation with consumers, and it's telling about the importance of overhauling Windows 11 and making
the OS much better. It shows that the CEO and the company realizes the gravity of the situation that Windows 11 has found itself in , and that Microsoft really is taking this seriously, which, as already noted,
underlines a whole lot of signs in a similar vein of late. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Bing it on (Image credit: Ollyy / Shutterstock) So, that's all good, but I'm about to nitpick somewhat, because there's something that worries me in Nadella's key statements above. Let's rewind back to this sentence, on the "work required to win back fans and strengthen engagement across Windows, Xbox, Bing, and Edge."

Bolstering Windows, yes, that's great, and Xbox, fine and dandy, all good
but Bing and Edge. Wait a minute where do Bing and Edge come into it?

Yeah, I know. Bing and Edge are important to Microsoft, clearly. But this is messaging from the CEO which is specifically aimed at consumers, and acknowledging these "core users", remember? How much does the average
consumer use Bing or Edge? What to read next Hate Windows 11's Start menu? Rumor suggests Microsoft is fixing it Microsoft says a 'chill OS with fewer upsells is a goal' for Windows 11 Microsoft has finally started its campaign to 'make Windows 11 better'

Not a lot, frankly. Okay, so Edge is the second most-used desktop web
browser, but it's a long way behind Chrome, and adoption has remained lackluster going by the market share figures I've seen (just over 10% or so).

And yes, Bing has hit a billion active users for the first time, which
Nadella also announced, but how much does the average consumer care about it? Not much, I'd argue, and if you look at search engine market share (on desktop), Bing is on about 10%, which is as far behind Google as Edge lags Chrome. I'm guessing a lot of Bing's billion users are from the business
world (and that a good deal of fresh traffic has been driven by Copilot queries).

So, the question is: why bring Bing and Edge into a statement that's firmly targeted at consumers?

True, this is all part of an earnings report, and Nadella evidently has investors in mind here, too, as a result. But this kind of encapsulates one
of my concerns about the big Windows 11 revamp: that Microsoft wants to
please consumers, yet it constantly has one eye on investors, and the
monetary part of the equation.

Of course it's interested in the financial side of the equation, you may well be muttering to yourself under your breath at this point: it's a business, it exists to make money. However, I worry that the mention of Bing and Edge in the same breath as Windows 11 and Xbox in a speech focused on consumers is a somewhat concerning glimpse into the inner workings of Microsoft's collective mind here.

Remember that one of the promises of the 'fix Windows 11 initiative' was to chill out on all the upselling activity in the OS ? That was the response of
a key Microsoft exec to a jab at Windows 11 and specifically about pushing Edge and Bing in an advert-like way within the operating system 's interface.

And yet, here we are, basking in the glow of Nadella's commendable promises
to 'win back fans' with Windows 11, which in the same breath has a nod to the shareholders along the lines of 'don't worry, we've not forgotten about Bing and Edge either'.

I've never had much faith that Microsoft is going to relent with the kind of promotional activity that has been a hallmark of parts of the Windows 11 interface (the Start menu, Settings app , and notifications center in particular), and this thorn amongst the rosy consumer-targeted comments from Nadella does little to convince me otherwise. A dominant desktop force (Image credit: TechRadar) It's noteworthy that Nadella also took the time to share news of a new high for active Windows devices, which now exceed 1.6 billion globally. This is a clear reminder of the dominance of Windows in the desktop world, in a time where people are increasingly talking about the threat Linux poses . (On the latter score, it's notable that Microsoft is also making promises relating to better gaming performance for Windows 11 versus that
seen on SteamOS , too).

I don't want to detract too much from what Nadella said here it represents a mainly comforting backing up of what Microsoft has already laid out on the table. However, while it's a telling reinforcement of intent, I do find it ironic that Bing and Edge were mentioned alongside Windows and Xbox here,
when for consumers, their main desire is to see the latter two forces
banished from Windows 11 for good. (Well, that's not entirely fair, but it's certainly true for some folks going by many of the comments you see on the likes of Reddit although the less noisy majority simply just don't care
about either Bing or Edge, one way or another, I suspect).

I really hope that Microsoft can make a key move in improving Windows 11 by reining in all the promos and upselling for Edge, Bing, OneDrive, Microsoft Accounts, and so forth. This would be a huge fan-pleaser, and I'd rank it as close to the importance of fixing QA and testing for Windows 11 (which I've already banged on about recently ).

However, I have my cynical hat on here (along with my skeptical shades), and
I remain unconvinced that much will change about upselling in Windows 11 at all. And Nadella's comments here haven't helped soothe my fears, let's put it that way. I think Microsoft needs to tread carefully and look at some of the reaction to this online, because while the CEO is talking about 'winning back fans', there are Redditors pouring scorn on the idea that there were fans of the OS in the first place.

As one Reddit poster phrased it : "Windows 11 fans? Are there any? I thought people use Windows because it runs games and most software, not because they're fans."

And another in the same thread observed: "IDK if I've met a Windows fan in
the last decade. It's more like ' tolerators .'"

Microsoft is priding itself on listening to feedback now , so I think it
must take note, and focus on turning 'tolerators' into users with a good deal more enthusiasm for Windows 11. And here's a clue the key to swaying those opinions very definitely doesn't involve anything to do with Bing or Edge.
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsofts-ceo-promised-the-world- to-consumers-in-a-speech-about-fixing-windows-11-but-one-thing-satya-nadella-s aid-worries-me


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