That's the thing, you're new to Windows and thus are learning the optimum way to use the interface as it is now. And yes, just hitting the Windows key and typing is the easiest way to get what you want. But that wasn't always there, and when it was it wasn't the best way. Existing users had grown accustomed to picking what they wanted from a list. It was this disruption in their workflow that upset people.

In Windows 95 and NT 4 it was indeed horrible and there were as many complaints about the original start menu as there was the full-screen one. This was mostly handled starting with Windows 2000 by having the first few icons in the menu be frequently used items. The things you use 90% of the time were no more than two clicks away. (One if you pin it to the task bar.)

Search was added in Vista but was unreliable because the word matching wasn't predictable. Today I was having to use regedit on Windows 7 and the icon wouldn't be shown until I typed the 'd'. Windows 10 improved a lot, though I still am befuddled why it decides to show or not show certain things.

Also, it's further confused by their being two searches. The box you see when you press the Windows key or icon isn't the same as the Cortana bar. Add to that that opening a link to a website from there will always send you to Edge. It's easy to be skeptical about what Microsoft will do with search in the future. How will you feel if in three years they do away with the search box that you've become accustomed to?