14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10 Technical Preview, which is already up for grabs for anyone registered for the Windows Insider Program and to everyone else thanks to dedicated ISOs, indeed brings some new features on the desktop, including Cortana and multiple desktops, but the overall look remains pretty much the same, except for some subtle changes here and there.
It appears that the desktop could soon get a completely new look thanks to the addition of a dark theme that could make Windows altogether look a bit more modern and very different from its predecessors.
As you can see in the adjacent screenshot, the taskbar has received a complete overhaul, but it’s not yet clear if this new look could also become available to users as part of the Windows Insider Program or only in the final version of the OS.
Cortana and new icons on the taskbar
This dark theme for the Windows desktop also includes new icons for the taskbar, which make everything look more minimalistic, but in a very stylish way. Obviously, Cortana’s search box is still there in the taskbar, along with all the usual icons, including the notification center that keeps you up to date with what’s happening on your system.
The titlebar of windows launched while the dark theme is enabled is also changed, and it appears that Microsoft might also be working on new windows buttons, as the minimize, maximize, and close buttons showing up in the screenshot are entirely different from what we can find right now in Windows 8.1.
User-requested feature
Interestingly, the addition of a dark theme to the default Windows configuration is one of the most popular requests coming from users, so it could also serve as proof that Microsoft is indeed listening to its customers.
Here’s what one user said in a suggestion submitted to Microsoft on UserVoice:
“Since Windows 10 is intended to be a game changer this feature as well as overhauling windows desktop icons to meet flat and rectangular design like Windows Phone is a MUST in this critical and important time to support Windows ecosystem users.”
The Consumer Preview version of Windows 10, which could be released for download later this year, is very likely to come with this feature, but more information on this will most likely be shared later this month, during the January 21 event in Redmond.