Microsoft has taken the covers off the Fluent Design changes it has made to Windows 10, which will appear in the Fall Creators Update.
Redmond’s Fluent Design language made its debut earlier this year as the successor to Microsoft’s tile-like Metro design, but had yet to appear in any Windows software.
Fluent Design won’t bring in a massive overhaul of the Windows 10 aesthetic, but will initially offer subtle design inflections, such as the ‘Acrylic’ transparency affects on the panels of windows boxes that display blurred takes on the content and colours behind them; it’s slightly reminiscent of the transparency design Apple brought in with iOS 7.
Other small features include the Reveal function, which as the name would suggest, reveals buttons or icons when a cursor hovers over something containing them. Again, it’s nothing particularly groundbreaking, but does give Windows 10 a more dynamic and modern look.
Once the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update rolls out on October 17, Microsoft will then start to look at pushing other parts of Fluent Design into Windows 10 and its associated apps.
Despite its massive user base, Windows has always been a little lacklustre on aesthetics when compared with the likes of macOS. But Redmond is trying to change that, as seen not just with Fluent Design but its efforts to redesign the Outlook app for both Windows and Mac machines.
With Outlook, Microsoft is working on introducing improvements such as a custom ribbon which users can decide on the buttons displayed to have an interface tailored for their particular tasks, while the left navigation panel will offer faster access to folders spread across multiple accounts.
Such changes might be subtle, but they show Microsoft is every bit as serious about its software feel and appearance as it is with adding smart features and having an open ecosystem for developers to tap into.
Related: Windows 10 Creators Update review
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
