Microsoft has announced that it is in the process of phasing out the Control Panel, a feature that has been part of Windows for 39 years. The Control Panel will be replaced by the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience. The Control Panel has been a staple of Windows since version 1.0 in 1985.
It provided a centralized location for users to view and manipulate system settings and controls. Through a series of applets, users could adjust various options ranging from system time and date to hardware settings, network configurations, and more. However, the Settings app, which was first introduced in Windows 8 in 2012, has gradually taken over many of the Control Panel’s functions.
During the Windows 10 era, the Settings app began picking up more Control Panel settings, and by the time Windows 11 was released, it was full-featured enough to serve as a complete Control Panel replacement for most users.
End of Control Panel era
Microsoft’s support document states, “The Control Panel is in the process of being deprecated in favor of the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience.”
While individual Control Panel applets have disappeared over the years, such as the Displays panel and the Add/Remove Programs screen, Microsoft’s note suggests that the rest of the applets may disappear completely in some future Windows update.
However, for now, there is nothing changing in Windows. Even the upcoming 24H2 update still includes all the old Control Panels. The Control Panel’s design elements have remained largely the same since Windows NT 4.0 in 1996, with many of the current Control Panel designs and iconography settling during the Windows Vista and Windows 7 eras in 2006 and 2009.
It is one of the few areas of the operating system that hasn’t been updated for Windows 11. Administrators who still use the Control Panel for certain settings are now advised to plan for a transition. The Control Panel, which has hosted countless settings over the years, will soon host none.
Its eventual phasing out has been long anticipated, marking the end of an era for longtime Windows users.
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