14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is believed to be working on a new version of the blur effect currently available in Windows 11, and this could eventually land as an improved flavor of Mica.
Spotted by StartIsBack (via WL), the new visual effect is obviously based on Mica, though right now, it appears to be called Tabbed.
At first glance, it’s just a darker version of Mica, but at the same time, it could be refined even further in order to provide users with some extra polishing across the operating system.
Of course, Microsoft has so far remained tight-lipped on this update, so for the time being, nobody knows exactly if and when it’s supposed to show up in the Windows Insider preview builds.
No word regarding the launch date
Microsoft is projected to launch the first Windows 11 feature update later this year, possibly in the summer, and if this is indeed the target release date, then the Tabbed UI should make its debut in testing builds rather sooner than later.
Microsoft is betting big on Mica, especially as it provides users with a more modern UI in Windows 11.
“Mica is a material that appears on the backdrop of your application — behind all other content. It is an opaque material that incorporates the user's theme and desktop wallpaper to create its highly personalized appearance. As the user moves the window across the screen, the Mica material dynamically adapts to create a rich visualization using the wallpaper underneath the application.
In addition, the material helps users focus on the current task by falling back to a neutral color when the app is inactive,” Microsoft explains in the official documentation, emphasizing that Mica is specifically built with performance in mind, therefore not causing any slowdown on the devices where it’s enabled.