Windows 9 Latest Screenshots Indicate Metro & Flat Design Are Coming On Strong
The latest screenshot leaks with the development of Windows 9 provide a few more clues about the state of the operating system under development at Microsoft. Let's dig in.
Start Menu
The Start Menu indeed looks to be back, as evident in the below screenshot capture. The menu has a Metro UI feel to it to the right side though, so it's a combination design. However, for Start Menu purists this will be a sight for sore eyes for desktop users who deplored the Start Screen and want to hark back to desktop days of yore.
Windows Settings
The PC settings appear be currently continuing their divide and configure approach rather than going back to the centralized Control Panel for easy adjustment.
Even Flatter Design
While Windows 8 opted for the currently popular flat design UI, Windows 9 is evidentially even flatter than that.
The borders for windows are just a pixel wide at best. A few of the icons it can be seen have received a redesign to make them two dimensional instead of having more weight through a more complex design. Though this is a bit of a hotchpotch with this Windows 9 build 9834 that was compiled September 8. While the Explorer icon in the taskbar is 2D, icons inside Explorer like Downloads and Documents keep their 3D appearance. The taskbar jump list has also been switched to a single pixel border.
New Search & Virtual Desktop Buttons Spotted
A new search button can be seen on the taskbar near the familiar Start button but so far how this functions is unclear.
The Virtual desktop interface also gets a new button so allow users to easy switch virtual desktops.
Both of these features will most likely have keyboard shortcuts.
Metro Design Cues
The Metro UI which has been loved and derived in equal measure by Windows users seems to be infecting the desktop via the Start menu and possibly elsewhere as well.
It seems a shame that with the centralization of Windows to a single version that the developers cannot simply have one UI for tablet users and a desktop version without the Metro UI for everyone else. Instead, it appears that Microsoft are going ahead with their idea to enable Metro apps to be able to run directly from the desktop and providing a Metro UI to make the newcomer apps feel right at home.
Technical Preview Event
Microsoft is still currently expected to unveil Windows 9 and release a Windows 9 technical preview at an event on September 30. The Windows 9 UI could still keep evolving right up to and past this date though.
