Windows 11’s taskbar is quietly borrowing an old trick from Windows XP: a list of window…

⚡ Key takeaways in 5 seconds - Microsoft is testing a new taskbar setting in Windows 11 called “Show taskbar previews as”. - It allows you to replace pop-up window thumbnails with a compact list of titles — just like Windows XP did for grouped windows. - The taskbar will also get a button to ring a lost Android phone. ### 🔍 What was discovered A setting called “Show taskbar previews as” was spotted in a fresh Windows 11 test build. When enabled, hovering over a minimized or grouped app shows a text list of window titles instead of thumbnails. This is a return to the Windows XP approach — back then, an overloaded thumbnail screen was replaced with a simple menu. Alongside this option, a button that lets you ring a lost Android phone is also being tested. The source doesn’t specify exactly how it’s implemented or how it integrates with Find My Device or Phone Link — only that such a feature exists in the taskbar interface. ### 💡 Why this matters For users with dozens of open windows, a list of titles is often more convenient than tiny thumbnails — it speeds up navigation and reduces visual clutter. Bringing back the “XP trick” looks like a deliberate step toward letting users customize the interface to their liking. The Android phone finder button, if it makes it to a stable release, could be a nice bonus for those who constantly lose their phone. There’s still no official timeline for these features to ship in Windows 11 — the source only mentions the testing stage.