Microsoft Is Retiring Control Panel With October 2020 Update, Redirecting to Settings App: Report

Microsoft is looking to move Windows 10 users from the regular Control Panel to the Settings app. According to a report, Microsoft had plans to redirect users to the Settings app when they visited System settings through the Control Panel in preview builds from earlier this year, and now the latest Windows 10 October 2020 update has made it official. It also states that future Windows 10 updates will also stop opening pages in the Control Panel and use the modern Settings app instead.

The Windows 10 October 2020 update comes with version 2009 and is not available to all users as of yet. It brings a host of changes to Windows 10, including migrating users from the Control Panel to the Windows Settings app. A report by Windows Latest states that the System page in Control Panel no longer shows system information in the Control Panel window. Instead, it takes users to the About page in the Settings app. The update also allows users to copy information available on the About page.

In a separate report, the publication points out that in the latest preview builds, Microsoft has removed the ability to right-click within the File Explorer and open the now-retired System page of the Control Panel. CLSID-based IDs and third-party apps have been blocked as well and users won't be able to launch the System applet of the Control Panel using Open Shell and Classic Shell.

It goes on to state that Microsoft is testing a flag that will take users accessing the “Programs and Features” page in Control Panel to the Apps & Features page in the modern Settings app instead. Microsoft will likely retire other pages of the Control Panel as well with future Windows 10 updates. Microsoft's explanation for this is that the Settings app already has the functions that these retired Control Panel applets bring, as per the report.

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