Here are the visible modifications Microsoft confirmed off in Windows 11

Microsoft introduced Windows 11 right now, and one of many headline options of the “next generation” working system is its visible overhaul. It’s released an entire video about the way it designed its new OS, which exhibits off the brand new rounded corners, icons, and extra.

Here’s a take a look at among the UI modifications Microsoft confirmed off in its presentation right now (together with some that we obtained a take a look at from subsequent movies), and the way they evaluate to Windows 10.

Microsoft has moved the Start button from its time-honored place within the decrease left-hand nook to the center of the display. While it’s a smaller change than what Microsoft did with the Start display in Windows 8, it’s nonetheless seemingly going to take some getting used to — for some, it’ll be going towards over 25 years of muscle reminiscence. The pinned taskbar objects are additionally shifting with it, taking heart stage in your display.

(Microsoft will let folks transfer issues again to the left in the event that they don’t just like the change, although, according to The Wall Street Journal.)

Clicking that Start button reveals the up to date Start menu, which Microsoft says is powered by the cloud and Office 365. Where the Start menu in Windows 10 principally acted as a listing of apps, the model in Windows 11 will suggest which apps and paperwork you could prefer to work on.

Live Tiles, which used to dwell within the Start menu, have been changed by widgets, which get their very own house.

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft says it’s rebuilt its retailer to make it quicker and to provide it a brand new design.

Windows 11 additionally has a brand new UI for choosing which format you wish to snap to. We’ve been capable of simply snap apps facet by facet since Windows 7, and Microsoft’s added further layouts over time, however we haven’t seen a built-in windowing supervisor with this many choices (Microsoft’s FancyZones was a separate obtain). The older suggestion system does appear to still be in Windows 11 as properly.

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is giving its icons some much-needed consideration in Windows 11, lastly overhauling among the photographs which were round for the reason that ‘90s — though they might still include floppy disks. Microsoft shows off some of the new icons in the image below, but you can also find them throughout today’s movies and demos.

Image: Microsoft

File Explorer’s prime bar has additionally seemingly obtained some tweaks — the tabs look like gone, changed by a row of buttons that look like extra optimized for contact. The aforementioned new icons additionally add to the up to date look.

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft additionally confirmed off Windows 11’s touchscreen prowess — whereas Windows 10 did have a pill mode, it’s now being deprecated in favor of a refined transition to a full-screen expertise, the place your taskbar merely spreads out the icons a bit extra, provides “subtle visual cues” and will increase the sizes of contact targets to make home windows simpler to tug and faucet.

Image: Microsoft

You can see what the transition appears like for your self at 3:47 in our video.

Windows 11 will embrace Microsoft Teams, Microsoft’s communications app, proper in your Start menu, and it’ll be built-in instantly into Windows. Right-clicking the (redesigned) Teams icon in Windows 11 exhibits many extra choices than can be found in Windows 10.

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft has a set of latest wallpapers for Windows 11, with the default one trying like a glassy, fabric-y piece of coral. We have a complete submit concerning the new wallpapers right here.

Of course, there are modifications that apply to all the OS, not simply elements of it. Transparency, particularly on the subject of coloration, appears to be a heavy a part of Windows 11, and Microsoft says it’s actually rounding out all of the sharp edges within the UI. The OS additionally simply has a extra glassy, clear look total.

There are, nevertheless, occasions the place it’ll seemingly be laborious to inform Windows 10 and 11 aside. I used to be capable of recreate one in every of Microsoft’s screenshots, and whereas there are variations, it does present that app design can be an enormous a part of consumer expertise.

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