While Microsoft keeps testing and adding new features to Windows, it also keeps shedding stuff the company feels is no longer necessary. These are added to the list of deprecated Windows features, and the most recent one on this list is Paint 3D which, the company announced, will soon be dead.
Similar to Paint 3D, which Microsoft had seemingly hoped to kill off sooner, the Windows Control Panel is a feature that the tech giant has been wanting to deprecate for a while.
The first such reports started surfacing back in 2011 when a leaked Windows 8 screenshot suggested that Microsoft was looking to replace the Control Panel with "PC settings". This Settings option was made with touch-friendliness in mind though the Control Panel continued to co-exist still.
Later in 2015, it was rumored that the company may finally do away with it as a senior Microsoft official confirmed that "Settings will eventually supersede Control Panel." However, the application continued to persist still as some of the things had not been moved over.
Although that was said by a Microsoft employee nearly a decade ago, the company itself never published anything such on its official site until just a few days ago.
On a new support page about the various native Windows configuration tools that we have covered in detail in this dedicated article, Microsoft has finally stated that the Control Panel is "in the process of being deprecated in favor of the Settings app".
Additionally, the company also adds that there are certain compatibility reasons as to why the older app still exists. It writes:
The Control Panel is in the process of being deprecated in favor of the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience.
Tip: while the Control Panel still exists for compatibility reasons and to provide access to some settings that have not yet migrated, you"re encouraged to use the Settings app, whenever possible.
For those who may not be aware, the Control Panel was first introduced to Windows in 1985 with version 1.0. If you are curious to know more about the early days of Windows, you can read about it in our dedicated "look back" piece we did last year.
Update, August 26 2024: Microsoft has revised the text seemingly hinting that Control Panel may be un-killable, at least for a while.