14 DAY TRIAL // Well, it’s better late than never. The super-popular Task Manager is finally getting the modern overhaul everybody has been waiting for, with Microsoft providing users with a preview of this update as part of the latest preview build shipped as part of the Windows Insider program.
The first notable thing about the improved Task Manager is the redesigned UI, which has been created from the very beginning to align with Windows 11.
At the same time, the Task Manager is also getting a dark mode, something that Windows users have been drooling after for a very long time.
“We have updated the design of Task Manager to match the new Windows 11 design principles. This includes a new hamburger style navigation bar and a new settings page. A new command bar on each page gives access to common actions. We are also excited to bring dark theme to Task manager and will automatically match the system-wide theme configured in the Settings app,” Microsoft announced today.
The new Efficiency mode
Microsoft has also revealed that the Eco mode bundled with the Task Manager last year has evolved to become Efficiency mode, now supposed to display the power consumption of an app. Controls to limit every app will also be provided.
“You can apply Efficiency mode either by clicking on the command bar in the Processes page or right click on the process. You can only apply Efficiency mode to single process and not to the entire group process. If the option is grey out, it generally means that it’s a core Windows process and throttling it might affect the performance of the system. The Efficiency mode process will be marked with a new leaf icon, and we are also introducing new pause icon for Suspended process to indicate the process is in suspended mode,” Microsoft explains.
This feature is rolling out in stages to insiders in the Dev channel, so it’ll take a while until the new Task Manager becomes available for everybody in the Windows Insider program.