Windows 11: Taskbar with rounded corners is not a new feature

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Several Windows 11 Insiders have spotted a rounded-corner taskbar in the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25174, a preview of Windows 11 23H2, from the Dev Channel, as well as other Insider Previews and published in the sub-reddit r/Windows11. But it is a bug.

No taskbar with rounded corners for Windows 11

While some users thought they had discovered a new optical feature for the Windows 11 taskbar, which gives it rounded corners, it quickly turned out that it was a bug and not a new feature.

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Windows 11 taskbar with rounded corners (image: u/caipira113)

As Brandon LeBlanc, senior program manager in the Windows 11 Insider program, has now announced via the short message service Twitter, this was simply a graphical bug.

This looks like an error. There are a few such bugs that change the user interface in various ways. That's not something we're testing in A/B testing.

Brandon LeBlanc, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft

Currently, it is assumed that the feature , which is responsible for the rounded corners of the windows, is also transferred to the taskbar. This is then also displayed temporarily in this style.

Restarting the user interface corrects errors

After exiting and then restarting the user interface via the process explorer.exe or a restart of the entire operating system, the taskbar is then displayed as usual.

Taskbar with rounded corners from the Microsoft Store

Although Windows 11 will not offer a “floating” taskbar with rounded corners “out of the box” in the future either, there is a solution for this optical gimmick in the Microsoft Store. The small tool RoundedTB can make the Windows 11 taskbar appear floating, transparent and with rounded corners at the top or bottom of the screen.

figure> RoundedTB modifies the taskbar and gives it rounded corners (Image: TorchGM)

The official project page on the developer platform GitHub and the official release notes for the current release 3.1 (v1.3.1.0) provide further information on RoundedTB. A download (.ZIP) from the developer's site is also possible.

RoundedTB modifies the taskbar and gives it rounded corners (Image: TorchGM)

The developer of RoundedTB also works closely with the maker of TranslucentTB. TranslucentTB is a tool that gives the taskbar transparency and an acrylic style so that the two programs complement each other as much as possible and don't accidentally get in each other's way.

TranslucentTB is too Available through the Windows 11 and Windows 10 Microsoft Store and the official product page on GitHub.