Just a few days ago, a Microsoft support document revealed that “Control Panel is in the process of disappearing in favor of the Settings app.” Now, the company has clarified the message that led us to assume that this legendary component, which has been with us for 39 years, would be saying goodbye to us. It’s not going to happen that way, after all. At least, not as soon as we believe.

Nothing about disappearing (yet)As noted by Ars Technica, Microsoft has changed this statement to state that “many Control Panel settings have been moved to the Settings app, providing a more modern and streamlined experience.”

Everything remained as it wasIn reality, Microsoft has been moving configuration options from Control Panel to Settings for years, and in Windows 11, users rarely need to access the old component. Things like display configuration or the section for deleting or adding apps were part of the Settings tool for a while and have been removed from the Control Panel.

It will continue to be part of Windows 11. Even so, the Control Panel is still available and will continue to be so for now. This is proven by its presence in Windows 11 24H2, the next major system update that is already offered to Copilot+ PCs and that will carry some of the options that we traditionally find in the Control Panel or at least that will be offered in both tools. This is the configuration state that is made when closing the lid of the laptop or pressing the on/off button,

Necessary layoffs. The configuration tool came to Windows 8 in 2012, but took center stage in Windows 10 in 2015. Gradually, more and more options became part of this tool, and in some cases it disappeared from the Control Panel. However, this component continues to be preferred by a certain segment of users who can configure more advanced system parameters. One example is the configuration of network parameters, which in some cases are easier to configure from the Control Panel.

Backwards compatibility remains importantMicrosoft has always been committed to backward compatibility, something that is especially true for business users who maintain old computers and applications. In these cases, for example, the Control Panel continues to make sense, but its options are gradually becoming part of the Configuration tool.

A look back to the past. It is also surprising that Microsoft has kept the Control Panel without any aesthetic changes. Its design and iconography are the same as Windows Vista (2006) and Windows 7 (2009), which makes the appearance of the icons and the interface quite characteristic. While other classic applications such as Paint or Notepad have evolved somewhat, WordPad has recently announced its farewell.

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