Microsoft hints at “sweeping visual rejuvenation” of Windows

A finger on the Windows user interface

Microsoft is planning a "sweeping visual rejuvenation" of Windows, according to a job posting that the company swiftly altered.

An advert for a software engineer within the Windows Core User Experience team was promptly changed, according to The Verge.

The listing originally said that the engineer would be working on a redesign of Windows that should signal to users that "Windows is BACK", but it was quickly re-worded after a number of people spotted the sentence that implied the tech giant was set to overhaul the Windows UI.

"On this team, you'll work with our key platform, Surface, and OEM partners to orchestrate and deliver a sweeping visual rejuvenation of Windows experiences to signal to our customers that Windows is BACK and ensure that Windows is considered the best user OS experience for customers," the advert said, according to The Verge.

An overhaul to Windows has been in the works for some time, with rumours suggesting the company is planning a big user interface change to debut later in the year. Windows Central reported on these changes in October, suggesting a new Start menu, File Explorer and various new sliders and controls.

There is also talk that Microsoft is developing an all-new Outlook. According to Windows Central, the new app is currently being tested by Microsoft with the aim of it replacing the built-in Mail and Calendar apps on Windows 10.

The app, codenamed 'Monarch', is "a new version of Outlook designed for large-screen experiences", according to the leak, and is set to be a single desktop client that will be based on the web version of Outlook. However, it looks as if the app is still in testing, suggesting it might not debut until next year.

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IT Pro has approached Microsoft for comment.

Bobby Hellard

Bobby Hellard is ITPro's Reviews Editor and has worked on CloudPro and ChannelPro since 2018. In his time at ITPro, Bobby has covered stories for all the major technology companies, such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook, and regularly attends industry-leading events such as AWS Re:Invent and Google Cloud Next.

Bobby mainly covers hardware reviews, but you will also recognise him as the face of many of our video reviews of laptops and smartphones.