5 apps you should be using instead of the default ones on Windows 11

While Windows 11 may be one of the most used operating systems in the world, its default applications certainly aren’t very popular with users. When starting up your Windows 11 PC or laptop for the first time, you may want to adjust which apps the operating system will use by default. Although Microsoft has worked hard to make its default applications better in recent years, these 5 default apps are still easily surpassed by third-party alternatives.

Changing default apps on Windows 10 and 11

Windows 10 and 11 operating systems have different ways of handling default applications. On Windows 10 there were 6 different default applications you could set and, once you changed things, the choice of default would apply to all file extensions of that type.

Windows 11 works differently, with the OS asking you to set a default application for each file type. For instance, if you wanted to change your media player, you couldn’t just set a third-party application as the default anymore. You’d have to set the media player as the default application for all related file extensions including .mp4, .mkv, .mov, etc.

There are exceptions for this depending on which third-party applications you plan on installing. Some third-party applications will have an installation step that will ask you to make the application the default application for Windows 11, but not every application does this.

If you don’t want to manually change every default app for each file extension in Windows 11, then you can just use the
Open with
function and then save as the default for each file type you encounter.

The Movies & TV app is great, but it lacks features

The default media player in Windows 11 is the Movies & TV (U.S.) or Films & TV (worldwide) app. To be fair, this default Windows Media Player is actually a massive upgrade compared to Microsoft’s previous media players. The media player is optimized for Windows devices and, when used on laptops, has the best performance in terms of battery life when compared to any alternatives.

However, there are some issues with it, firstly, codecs. The Movies & TV app is missing some relatively important video formats, which you can only play if you buy the extensions from the Microsoft Store. Secondly, it lacks features found in other media players like a converter or even basic subtitle generation. If you are constantly finding yourself unable to watch movies or TV, then there are two other media players that you should try out instead.

If you are just looking for a one-stop shop media player that can play almost any video you throw at it, then you should download the much beloved VLC Media Player. Besides a small stutter here and there, this media player will let you change the aspect ratio, generate subtitles, convert it to another format, or even make simple edits with relative ease.

The new alternative that many VLC veterans have switched to is a media player by the name of PotPlayer. PotPlayer has a large library of supported formats, with even more advanced subtitle generation than VLC. It also has far more customization options, allowing you to download or create new skins and UI elements.

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4 Internet browser

Don’t be afraid of using a new browser

A common thought among PC users is that there is no use for Microsoft Edge, other than to download your new web browser. This may not be the case anymore, since Microsoft has put a lot of effort into improving Edge. However, it still falls short, with only 15% of users reportedly using the browser.

While Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was once the best web browser available, it fell out of popularity when confronted by newer web browsers like Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. This is still true today, with Google Chrome being the most popular web browser on Windows desktops controlling nearly 60% of the market, while its competitors share the rest. But if you’re looking for a new browser to use, luckily, you’ll find no shortage of competition.

If you’re not a fan of Chromium web browsers, then your best option would be Mozilla Firefox. If you want a web browser that uses fewer resources, so that you can game or run other applications at the same time, then you can choose Opera GX. If you are using your web browser for work or studying, then you might want to give Vivaldi a try. There are so many different web browsers with unique features that could be beneficial for you to use, so don’t be afraid to explore them.

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3 Video editor

Clipchamp is okay for beginners, but not much else

In 2022, Microsoft released Clipchamp, which, by all means, is a fine video editor – with “fine” being the operative word there. This is a video editor that will work for a beginner or someone who has small-scale projects with less advanced editing needs, as Clipchamp doesn’t hold up so well once a project becomes more complex. If you are a professional video editor or someone who uses their video editor frequently, then unfortunately, Clipchamp just isn’t going to cut it.

In this scenario, you’ll have to decide whether your video editor is worth paying for or not. The best video editor on the market is Adobe Premier Pro, which has a steep learning curve but has far fewer limitations than Clipchamp or other third-party applications. In Premier Pro you can cut and edit videos as you normally would, but also color grade your footage, create/add effects and transitions, and have access to tons of plugins. The community behind Premier Pro is also amazing, and you’ll have no problem finding a myriad of YouTube tutorials on every facet of the editor. Naturally, this all culminates in a hefty price tag for Adobe’s subscription service.

If you don’t need something as powerful as Adobe or you don’t want to pay for a subscription, then DaVinci Resolve is the best free alternative to Clipchamp. DaVinci Resolve is a free open-source video editor that gives you a very similar experience to Adobe Premier Pro, albeit with a few bells and whistles missing. The program has a similar look and toolset, but unlike Clipchamp, you can export videos up to 4K before you have to even look at the paid option for the app. While fewer people use the app, there is still a dedicated community creating how-to guides, templates, and other resources for the software.

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2 Image editor

Adobe always wins, but GIMP is free

The default Windows 11 image viewer/editor, the Photos app, is great for viewing images, scrolling through slideshows, and organizing albums, but the image editor is limited. When compared with other applications, the Photos app offers only a few customization options, similar to a social media photo editor.

If you’d like to have more options when editing your images, then there are great free and paid image editors available. For the pros, there’s really no point in recommending any other application other than Adobe Photoshop, which is the most advanced image/photo editor available. In addition to being comprehensive, it is worked on tirelessly and updated often, which is largely why Adobe subscriptions are so expensive.

If you don’t want to pay for a subscription, don’t need more advanced features, or just aren’t a fan of Adobe in general, then you’ll be happy to know there are multiple free alternatives available. If you’d still like software that has features similar to Adobe, then you might want to try GIMP. Otherwise, if you’re looking for a more intuitive app, then you should download the Canva app for your desktop, which has some great image editing tools and beginner templates.

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1 Screen recording

Windows has three tools for this, but they all fall short

Technically, there is no proprietary screen recording application in Windows 11. However, you can record your screen using either the Snipping Tool, Microsoft 365, or the Xbox Game Bar. The Snipping Tool on Windows 11 is basic, but it will easily record your screen for the few times you may need the function. If you need to record how-to guides, work/school presentations, or even record gameplay on your gaming PC, then you will probably need software that has a bit more power. Enter the Xbox Game Bar, which seems like it would be perfect then for gamers who want to record and share their game footage.

Unfortunately, while the Xbox Game Bar does a good job of recording videos for general purpose, when using the program in-game, it can drop your frame rate quite a bit. Also, the software encounters a lot of issues when recording longer or higher-definition footage. This seems counter-intuitive for a game recording software. I have personally used the Xbox Game Bar for years, and in that time I have encountered video artifacts and scrambled audio on multiple videos taken by the software.

If you’ve got a medium to high-end PC, with a good CPU, then you shouldn’t be using anything less than OBS Studio. It is a free open-source screen recording software with advanced customization options and no watermark. OBS Studio supports both CPU and GPU encoding, has recording and streaming functions, and also allows you to overlay secondary audio or video elements while recording.

However, if you have an Nvidia graphics card, even a relatively older one, then you can use GeForce Experience’s ShadowPlay function. Nvidia’s Geforce Experience app lets you save the last 5 to 15 minutes of gameplay, or record longer sessions in higher definition with minimal/no performance dips. The genius of Nvidia’s recording function is that it uses a secondary chip on the GPU, which means that your PC isn’t wasting resources on a secondary application. There is one caveat though. If your PC or game crashes, your recording will be lost or corrupted, as the app records in mp4 instead of MKV.

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There are so many more

There are so many other apps you can use to replace the default applications on Windows 11, this list could go on forever trying to cover them all. For this list, though, we tried to focus on alternative apps with functions that are useful for everyday users. You may be lacking some key capabilities that have sadly been left out by the default applications that Microsoft has developed.

But you can rest at ease knowing that if there is any default application or even UI element you don’t like on Windows 11, you’ll always be able to find tons of alternatives that you can use instead. You may be looking for increased productivity, better customization, or just an aesthetic you prefer over the default app. If you are looking for more options than your Windows 11 default apps, then here are another 20 open-source alternatives to popular software on Windows.