For the longest time, Windows has suffered from an inconsistent user interface design. It started with Windows 8, but got worse over the lifespan of Windows 10, with various levels of UI design, frameworks, context menus, iconography, and more getting thrown into the mix across the many different versions of Windows 10.
In fact, Windows 10's inconsistent UI design became so bad that it began contributing to people's dislike of Windows, citing its perceived lack of polish and craft as a reason to avoid it over competitors like Apple's macOS, a platform that takes pride in how it looks and feels to use.
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So with Windows 11, Microsoft began addressing this problem. The debut of Windows 11 in 2021 was a huge step in the right direction, attempting to modernize a number of Windows UI surfaces with a consistent design language using the company's WinUI framework.
Slowly but surely, older and inconsistent UI surfaces were updated with modernized alternatives that match the design of Windows 11. Things like the volume and brightness control, file share dialog, context menus, and more were updated with a more consistent design that look great.
More recently, Microsoft has improved dark mode across the Windows 11 interface, making it more consistent in apps like File Explorer where much of it was missing dark mode support and contributed to the "Windows never feels finished" allegations that have haunted the platform for years.
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced a renewed focus on modernizing and updating more of the Windows 11 interface, with an effort to utilize WinUI across more of the Windows 11 shell where applicable. The company also promised to deliver performance upgrades in the process, ensuring that WinUI surfaces would match or exceed the performance of the older interfaces it's replacing.
It's been a few months since Microsoft announced its plans to bring WinUI to more areas of the OS, and work has been slowly progressing. The company has already confirmed that it's rewriting the Start menu with WinUI, which should make it faster and more responsive. But there's more interfaces that the company is yet to announce that we know is also in the works.
Modernized File Properties
First up, recent Windows 11 preview builds have confirmed that Microsoft is rebuilding the File Properties dialog in File Explorer with WinUI. This is one area of the File Explorer that hasn't been touched in well over a decade, meaning it still doesn't even support dark mode.
This legacy interface is being rewritten with WinUI, and the first sightings of this work were spotted in a recent preview build, albeit only when viewing the properties of a file in the Recycle Bin.
With that said, we know Microsoft is planning to bring this modernized experience to the entire File Properties experience, meaning right-clicking and selecting properties on a file in File Explorer will soon present you with a consistent design that matches the Windows 11 aesthetic.
Modernized Autoplay Menu
This interface hasn't been touched since Windows 8, and is one of few areas of the OS that still utilize Microsoft's old Metro design language. The menu that appears when you plug in a USB drive or insert a disc is being modernized with WinUI, which will bring a consistent Windows 11 design to the aged interface.
Microsoft has confirmed this work is underway, but is yet to give us a look at the new interface, though we know it will support both light and dark mode unlike the current version. For now, we'll just have to imagine what such a modernized menu might possibly look like. Still, it's good to know the work is happening.
Modernized Print Management
It's not the sexiest feature in the world, but it looks like Microsoft is building a modern version of the Print Management experience with WinUI, replacing a decades old interface with something that looks like it was designed for Windows 11. And yes, it supports dark mode now.
This is the first MMC-based interface we're seeing get the WinUI treatement, which bodes well for future modernizations of apps like Disk Management, Computer Management, and more. These 90s era interfaces have plagued the Windows experience for years, so it's very reassuring to see Microsoft is finally working on WinUI versions of these apps.
Modernized Run Dialog
Microsoft has already announced and shipped preview builds with this redesigned interface, but the company is rebuilding the classic Windows Run dialog with WinUI, now with support for both light and dark mode, and features from PowerToys.
The company says the new UI is both better looking, more functional, and faster than the legacy Run box it replaces. With that said, it appears the modern Run interface will be shipping as an option that users will have to manually enable first if they want to see it.
The new Run interface also includes the ability to type ~\ for quick access to your home directory, and it will also show app icons when applicable in your recent search list, which is a nice touch.
Rewritten Start Menu
As mentioned up top, Microsoft has already confirmed that it's rebuilding the Start menu with WinUI, but we're yet to hear more about what that's going to entail for the end user.
So far, we know the goal of the WinUI rewrite is to make the Start menu faster and take up less system resources. This should mean (very) slightly less memory usage for the Start menu, as many WinUI interfaces will share a System Compositor, which is how Microsoft intends to make WinUI faster.
It's unclear if Microsoft is planning to redesign the Start menu alongside the WinUI rewrite. Last I checked, this was not in the plan. While there may be some minor UI differences and adjustments between the current Start menu and WinUI Start menu, I understand that the company intends to keep the experiences mostly the same.
This makes sense given Microsoft just launched new customization options for the existing Start menu, which would be odd to change so soon.
Compact Context Menus
While not technically a legacy interface, context menus on Windows 11 are a mess, and Microsoft is working to redesign them so that they are faster, more responsive, and most importantly, more customizable.
Coming this year, Windows 11's context menus will be updated with a new compact design that's smaller and lighter, meaning they won't lag or take as long to open, especially when there's lots of actions and items within the menu.
Microsoft is also planning to let users customize which items appear within the context menu, as well as configure the order in which those items appear. This means users will be able to hide certain actions and apps from the context menu if they don't use them.
More to come
It's clear that Microsoft is not done with updating legacy and problematic parts of the Windows 11 interface with WinUI. Microsoft's CVP of Design and Research, Marcus Ash, recently told Windows Central that the company has been working to improve its tooling so that it can move quicker to update even more legacy parts of the OS, including apps like the Registry Editor one day.
With that work ongoing, it's likely that we're going to see even more older and outdated parts of the Windows experience updated with modern WinUI designs. While certain legacy interfaces will likely continue to exist for years to come, it looks like Microsoft is exploring where it can best implement new UIs as fast as possible without breaking compatibility.
Moving more parts of the Windows UI under a consistent UI framework should result in better performance and reduced memory usage, which should make the OS feel faster and less bloated, thanks to that new System Compositor that's in the works that is designed to manage all WinUI interfaces across the Windows Shell.
It's good to see Microsoft once again focused on polish and craft. It helps make Windows feel more unified and cared about, something that has not been so obvious in recent years and in my opinion has eroded confidence in the platform. Hopefully Microsoft will continue to focus on craft for years to come.
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