14 DAY TRIAL // The recently released Windows 10 build 14361 brings a new Settings app that includes several refinements, some of which are based on user feedback, as Microsoft itself explains.
Supposed to replace the traditional Control Panel at some point in the future, the Settings app has received several improvements throughout the development of Windows 10, and this new build brings other touches here and there for an overall improved experience.
Specifically, the Settings app now better adapts to the visual style you are currently using, so no matter if you like the light or the dark mode, it’ll look good anyway.
The navigation pane now switches to white when you set the light mode in the Settings app and to black when the dark mode is activated. This helps contribute to a more consistent look across the operating system, as in the previous versions, the navigation pane remained grey no matter what.
Starting with this build, Microsoft has also added a small block of color just next to the section you are browsing on. This addition comes to make it easier to determine which page you are navigating and uses the accent color configured on your system.
New Home button
There’s also a new Home button at the top left that allows you to go to the Settings homepage with just one click, and you can click anywhere in its proximity to enable it. This is clearly a welcome change for those with a touchscreen because they don’t have to press exactly on the text, but anywhere around it.
And last but not least, Microsoft has also implemented some other small tweaks here and here, including a slightly increased size of the page name text.
In the future, the Settings app is expected to become the one destination for everything related to configuration on a Windows device so that the classic Control Panel will go away completely. Improvements such as these are clearly playing an important role in this regard, especially because there are users upgrading from Windows 7 where the Control Panel was the center of the whole universe.
