Microsoft’s new features, improvements, and security fixes for Windows 11 may lack some pizzazz, but the company maintains that they will enhance usability, performance, and security.
Multiple outlets have reported that the company will start rolling out the Security Update for Windows 11 on Tuesday, April 14. Various design changes have been made to the Settings app, Smart App Control, the home page, and Windows Narrator, among several others.
One caveat: The company uses the Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR) technology to roll out new improvements gradually, so it may be a while before you see them. Here are five of the notable updates.
1. Smart App Control changes
Among the noteworthy changes in the April update for Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2 are updates to the Smart App Control. You can toggle Smart App Control on and no longer have to reinstall the operating system to use it.
The feature can be found in the Windows Security app, which locks down the system and allows only trusted apps to run, preventing unwanted behavior from untrusted apps.
Originally, Smart App Control was only available for new installations, and it required completing the installation to turn it off. But this is changing with the release of the April 2026 Security Update.
To turn this feature on or off, go to Windows Security > App & Browser Control > Smart App Control.
2. Windows Narrator with image description for all
The Narrator feature already can generate image descriptions using AI on Windows 11, but the functionality was limited to cloud-based Copilot+ PCs. Now, the Narrator feature brings image description to all devices using Copilot analysis instead of requiring a local AI model.
For this feature, use the “Narrator key + Ctrl + D” shortcut to describe the focused image or the “Narrator key + Ctrl + S” shortcut to describe the full screen.
3. Improvements to the home page in settings
While the home page in the settings app isn’t seeing dramatic changes, the Device info card is being refined to make it easier to understand.
Additionally, Microsoft has said that the Home page has been updated to improve the loading performance. You’ll also find reliability improvements when updates are downloaded from Settings > System > Advanced.
4. Tweaks to the About page
There are some especially noteworthy changes in the About page. To begin with, Microsoft is doing an about-face on some previous improvements, and once again, it shows the top cards for key hardware specifications, such as processor, memory, graphics, and storage.
“The change that really got me excited is the addition of graphics and storage details under the ‘Device info’” section,” wrote Windows Central author Mauro Huculak. “This information should have been available on this page from the start. I’m not sure why it was so hard to include.”
5. Improvements to Accounts section in settings
Microsoft is adding an update in the Accounts section that includes an upgrade option for users with a Microsoft 365 Family plan connected to the operating system.
If you don’t want to see this option, you will need to turn off suggested content in Settings.
And on the “Other users” page, the dialog to change the account time is being updated to match the style of the Windows 11 design language.
Huculak characterized the updates as “incremental” and “thoughtful,” if unexciting.
He added that if Microsoft keeps adding updates like these, “Windows 11 may finally settle into the stable, polished rhythm people have been waiting for since launch.”
