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Windows 11 Pro Overview Windows 11
The main part of this announcement was going to be a presentation of a significant user interface change, codenamed Sun Valley. As we know, a significant part of the UX changes will be borrowed from the Windows 10X shell, and Windows 10X is not coming to the market. Now, as expected, the leak of Windows 11 information begins. Features of Windows 11 Pro Windows 11 will get a completely new design. Microsoft clearly needs a good reason to reverse its previous claims and continue to ditch Windows 10 by introducing a new operating system number.
And a completely new design is great for that
The giant from Redmond has long been preparing a redesign for an update with the code name Sun Valley (« Sun Valley ») – it seems that Windows 11 was under this name. The Sun Valley project has appeared on the network for a long time – Microsoft regularly they revealed details about the new interface style, insiders shared previously unknown information, and popular designers in their circles drew realistic concepts based on all this data. Startup and system items will float above the bottom bar. Start is the calling card and face of every recent version of Windows. Not surprisingly, in Windows 11, the developers will transform it again, but not so much from a functional point of view, as from a visual point of view – the Start window will move above the bottom bar.
Right angles will disappear, replaced by tabs
We have to admit that this small change makes the system look much fresher. Judging by the information on the network, Microsoft will not radically change the « interior » of this menu – the innovations will only affect the design of the window itself. The control panel will also float, and its design will be exactly the same as that of « Start ». The action center will be combined with the control buttons together – a similar one has been used for a long time in other operating systems. Almost all mentions of this new menu indicate that it will be an island – controls will be on a separate panel, notifications will be on another, and specific items (like a player) on another.
There will be a translucent background with fading all over
Indeed, insiders and concept designers do not agree on this point – some are confident that Microsoft will not change its traditions and keep right angles, while others are convinced that in 2021 Microsoft will follow the trend of fillets. The latter fits better with the definition of « all-new Windows » — floating menus alone aren’t enough for a new design to be considered truly new. Tabs are expected to affect virtually everything in the system, from context menus and system panels to all application windows. True, even on this issue, the opinions of concept designers differ – some draw fillets in all possible interface elements, others combine them with right angles. There is disagreement on the web about the style of the window display island, the design of the corners and the levitation effect of the menu, but almost everyone is unanimous about the transparency of the windows.
New font that has already been displayed
The vast majority of design leaks and renders show transparency and fading in all windows, whether it’s at least the Start menu or Explorer. Moreover, these effects are even in the assembly of the canceled Windows 10X operating system, which Microsoft was developing for devices with two screens and weak gadgets in parallel with the Sun Valley project. The so-called acrylic transparency involves the use of new effects when hovering over elements, as well as increased spacing between elements – those areas of the interface with which the user interacts will certainly become larger, and page titles will be bold. Windows 11 will most likely use the default responsive Segoe UI Variable font, which already appeared in Windows 10 Build 21376 for Insiders.