The appearance of Windows 10 has remained quite stagnant in recent years, with only a few adjustments to the edges. But Microsoft is finally updating the look and feel of its desktop operating system.
On the tap are a new news and information panel and a simplified set of system icons. They are currently available to a subset of members of the Windows Insider program on the Insider Dev channel with Build 21327. For all others, the new elements are expected to appear in the autumn version, which may also include other new design features, such as floating system panels and rounded window corners.
These are significant changes in the appearance of the interface, but they are not as drastic as Microsoft’s response to Chrome OS, Windows 10X. The Beta Insider channel is where you’ll find previews of the next version, the Windows 10 Spring 2021 update (also known as 21H1).
News and interests
The Windows 10 Start menu already includes weather and news buttons for quick information on these topics, but the company is preparing a new dedicated dashboard that will appear on the taskbar complete with story images. The panel opens complete stories in your browser, where the presentation has also been redesigned, with larger cards for each story. The cards even include “Like” buttons, like the one on Facebook, so you can react to the stories, which will appear in other users’ feeds and are likely to influence what will appear in your own feed.
New system icons
Since its announcement at the 2017 Build conference, the Fluent Design System has slowly entered the Windows system and applications. Fluent emphasizes transparency, subtle animation and simplified typography and iconography. The new Dev Build 21327 features a new font for icons, called Segoe Fluent Icons. Its simplified appearance and drawn in lines continues the trend of moving away from skeuomorphism at the interfaces.
The build also includes other fixes and updates, such as a 64-bit version of PowerShell for ARM64 devices. To sign up for Insider builds and try out the new features for yourself (keeping in mind that it’s pre-release software with no guarantee of stability), visit insider.windows.com.