Microsoft has finally updated the 26-year-old Windows 95 icons
Microsoft is rebranding Windows 10. However, this is not a simple touch-up; Microsoft is taking care of all the fine details, including getting under the switch plates and sanding the molding.
Windows receives visual updates on a regular basis, with constantly changing recycling bins, Start menu colors, task bar icons, and other prominent components that PC users interact with on a daily basis. However, Microsoft has a number of less-noticed visual cues that were in desperate need of an update — as in, haven't been updated since Windows 95 desperate.
The redesign is part of a larger visual overhaul of Windows 10 scheduled for October, which Microsoft made available to developers this week via a developer preview. It incorporates updates to some of its lesser-used icons to better reflect 21st-century technology. CRT monitors have been phased out in favor of flat screens, and trackball mice have been replaced by touchscreen mice.
The visual refresh, which was first spotted by Windows Latest, updates all of Microsoft's system icons to match the rest of the company's updated imagery. True, some items remain antiquated: Floppy disk icons remain, but they now appear to be part of Windows 10 rather than the Windows from Bill Clinton's first term.
Windows 10 is unquestionably in need of an update: Apart from twice-yearly updates, it has remained largely unchanged since its 2015 release. Six years is a long time for any PC operating system, and a revolution is coming to personal computers that will undermine Windows' dominance as a productivity operating system.
What's in the refresh?
Microsoft's twice-yearly Windows updates typically include a handful of useful new features (a new screenshot tool, a cleaner Start Menu, etc.). This year's spring update will be another of those minor tweaks and bug fixes.
However, the fall update will introduce a comprehensive redesign of Windows 10, codenamed "Sun Valley," which will include an entirely new Start Menu, File Explorer, Action Center, and taskbar. Tablet users will also receive a redesigned virtual keyboard with improved access to emojis, according to reports. And Microsoft is expected to overhaul all Windows 10 elements in order to unify the operating system's recently tweaked design elements — including the new icons Microsoft previewed this week.
Why now?
The majority of recent Windows updates have been targeted at specific audiences, most notably gamers and corporate customers. However, the PC is making a comeback as a consumer staple — the work-from-home era ushered in by the coronavirus pandemic has reintroduced the cool factor to productivity. Microsoft wants to ensure that its new everyday users enjoy their PC experience.
Microsoft is also attempting to respond to Apple's new M1 chip, which is essentially a custom-built smartphone microprocessor on steroids for Macs, reshaping the PC industry.
Apple's new Mac OS Big Sur takes advantage of the new chip by incorporating features familiar to iPhone and iPad users. Convergence of smartphones, tablets, and personal computers is already underway.
Microsoft's hybrid device, the Surface Pro X, is based on an architecture similar to that of Apple's (AAPL) M1. And it's releasing Windows 10X this year, a new operating system built from the ground up for nontraditional devices (think foldables, tablets, and other computers that don't look like traditional laptops or desktop computers).
This new type of chip has the potential to upend the staid PC world, spurring Microsoft to redesign Windows for new types of PCs it hasn't imagined yet. As a result, it's past time for Windows 10 to receive a significant update.
Still, Microsoft's (MSFT) reputation for fixing operating systems that aren't broken isn't exactly stellar. Thus, much depends on Microsoft's ability to make the next version of Windows 10 something that hundreds of millions of computer owners will want to continue using.
