Microsoft working on more visual overhauls for Redstone 3

Apr 5, 2017 12:48 GMT  ·  By

The Windows 10 Creators Update (internally codenamed Redstone 2) is just around the corner, but all eyes already seem to be on the next OS update due in the fall as Redstone 3.

It looks like Redstone 3 will bring several visual improvements, and after seeing a bunch of universal apps getting the Project NEON treatment, it’s now the time to see how Microsoft could revamp the Start menu and the taskbar.

A screenshot published today by MSPU and allegedly coming from internal builds of Windows 10 Redstone 3 shows a facelift version of the existing Start menu that features transparent live tiles and the same blur effect that lets you see what’s behind it on the desktop.

Transparency and blue seem to be Microsoft’s next big things, and the Start menu will definitely look better with these visual effects, especially because they would create a more consistent user interface across the operating system. At this point, live tiles are solid colors, but starting with Redstone 3, Microsoft could make them all fully transparent, though it will also come down to developers to adopt this feature.

On Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft is yet to update all of its apps to feature transparent tiles, but hopefully everything would be faster in the case of PCs with Redstone 3.

Light taskbar also planned

Additionally, it looks like Microsoft might be working on a light taskbar as well, with users to be allowed to choose between dark and light, with a third version using the accent color configured in the OS.

A light taskbar has been spotted in several highly-praised concepts and it looks like Microsoft finally got the message, so the Redstone 3 update could bring it to PC users as well.

Redstone 3 is projected to launch in the fall, with early builds already being worked on behind closed doors at Microsoft. The first public builds are likely to ship to insiders shortly after the debut of the Creators Update, though it’s not yet clear if these visual improvements will be included or not.