The Sticky Notes app for Windows is about to receive possibly its biggest update yet. The default Windows app works similar to how most people use Post-its in real life: you can quickly take notes and make them visible on your desktop. It's been four years since we've seen any major updates to Sticky Notes, and Microsoft promises it has big things in mind for the handy app.
The update was announced by the official Microsoft Sticky Notes account on X (formerly Twitter)the account's first post since April 2020. The post sparked rumors among users who quickly began speculating about what Microsoft might be cooking up, and many users were quick to express concern that the new Sticky Notes is an app based in the web.
🎉New year! New updates! Stay tuned for some of our biggest announcements yet! 🥳pic.twitter.com/OhgpkBxFfoJanuary 24, 2024
Windows fans start speculating
Some users assumed the app was getting an AI-powered injection similar to those seen in apps like Notepad and Paint, and in line with Microsoft's big push for AI-assisted tools. In fact, our own Muskaan Saxena wrote about her hopes for a AI-Powered Sticky Notes App at the beginning of this year. It seems that neither this nor the idea of a web-based version is the case, however, with the profile @stickynotes responding to his first announcement post that the Sticky Notes app will not be a web app (at least for now).
Since everyone asks… Our big news is not a web application… for now😉January 24, 2024
Then it continued with a series of fun posts teasing users about the upcoming update, including one that looks like a screenshot of the app that reads:
“There are many rumors about our update. Can you guess what it is?
Only wrong answers.
We will go first…
Sticky Notes AI Update.”
Since everyone asks 😆 pic.twitter.com/wKpSuvLMCZJanuary 29, 2024
Right now, Sticky Notes seems to enjoy a good reputation among Windows users and fans, even if it has a relatively basic feature set. Neowin says the app has “reliability and simplicity,” and Microsoft would do well to prioritize and preserve these aspects of the app.
Microsoft's recent history
Microsoft recently launched the new web-based Outlook app, replacing existing desktop apps like Mail, to a lukewarm reception. Users have expressed disappointment over shortcomings related to the features of the new Outlook application and its functioning as a powerful data collector for Microsoft, as reported by Proton AG (a company that offers online services with an emphasis on privacy). This recent news related to Outlook makes users skeptical about future developments coming from Microsoft.
Fans and watchers of the Sticky Notes app are evidently open to seeing what Microsoft has in store, making no bones about their strong potential concerns, and Microsoft could pull something truly impressive out of the bag. Some users have raised the question of whether Sticky Notes really needs fancy new features, but perhaps it's easy enough to just not use what they don't need.
Personally, I agree that an app like Sticky Notes could be better fit for purpose if kept simpler, and even if Microsoft adds features, there's probably plenty of room for development without needing to invoke AI. We'll have to see how exciting this update is when it arrives, but until then, we'll have to wait and hope Microsoft listens to user feedback.
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