The short answer is that the code required to move the taskbar to the top or sides isn’t actually in Windows 11, because Microsoft created the new taskbar from the ground up and didn’t use the old code from Windows 10.
So instead of porting the old, good code, they wrote something worse, with fewer features, and called it a day.
For me personally, while I never used the "move taskbar" ability, I made heavy use of the "extend taskbar to multiple lines" ability on my work laptops, as I always have a ton of apps/windows open and I can't stand grouping them.
Windows 11 taskbar is now being “upgraded” with AI-first features. Microsoft is working on the Ask Copilot bar, which may replace Windows Search in the taskbar. More recently, Microsoft has started testing AI agents directly inside the taskbar, with Microsoft’s goal of turning the taskbar into an AI hub.
I am now convinced that Microsoft executives have drunk the Roko's Basilisk cool-aid, honestly believing that if they don't force AI down everyone's throats, then they will be tortured by the AI singularity until the end of time. There is no other reasonable explanation for why they keep forcing AI onto users who do not want it.
