14 DAY TRIAL // Among many other improvements aimed at traditional PC users who still rely on a mouse and keyboard, Windows 10 will also come with plenty of visual improvements, including a new dark theme that's very likely to be offered alongside the standard visual style.
A couple of screenshots that have gotten leaked in the last few weeks and which have apparently been nothing more than concepts based on insider information have revealed what the new desktop might actually look like, and a new mockup published today comes to bring us a better glimpse into this new design.
Created by DeviantArt user MarcosHq, the concept you see here imagines a dark theme for the Windows 10 desktop, and while some of the elements might not make their way to the OS, the taskbar certainly looks very similar to the leaked screenshots.
New taskbar and simple icons
One of the changes that Microsoft is making to the desktop is pushing everything towards a cleaner and simpler approach that would in the end make the whole interface cleaner and less cluttered.
This is the case of the taskbar and the new icons as well, both of which have received some subtle refinements here and there with the exact same purpose.
In the dark theme, the taskbar not only looks perfectly flat but is also lacking transparency, which might actually be a major setback for users who hoped to see Aero come back in Windows 10.
At the same time, icons are nothing more than white symbols on a black background, and while this could indeed look very good, software developers also need to redesign their icons to match this approach.
Keep in mind that there is no guarantee that Windows 10 would retain the new look seen in this mockup and in the leaked screenshots, but there's no doubt that a dark theme for the desktop would really come in handy to many users who have until now had to turn to third-party themes to get this.
More on this will most likely be presented by Microsoft itself at the Windows 10 event, next week.