Before the expected reveal of Windows 11 on June 24, a huge leak has plagued the OS, giving us our first look at its UI and a number of features that will form part of it. It will be a spiritual successor to Windows 10X, which was canned midway.
The leak shows us an updated Start Menu that’s devoid of any Live Tiles, though they can indeed be added if the user desires. By default, the Start Menu is populated by pinned apps, recent files, and buttons for quickly shutting down or restarting Windows 11 devices. You will also notice that the icons on the taskbar are centred, giving them a more modern look, but you can indeed go back to a classic left orientation through settings.
A dark mode, unsurprisingly, forms part of the Windows 11 experience, whereas the windows themselves have rounded corners finally. It looks like this version of the OS will mark a comeback for widgets. The widgets menu will slide out to provide quick access to news, weather, stocks, and more.
Snap controls are being updated as well. Right-clicking on the Maximize button will seemingly open up a menu showing the preferred layout for your cascade windows. You can have a maximum of four of them on simultaneously.
Windows Store doesn’t seem to have been updated, but then again, it won’t be visible in the leak unless Microsoft has made the server-side update. The company apparently plans to give a huge overhaul to this space, encouraging more developers to start migrating their programs there. Deeper Xbox integration is no surprise, even as Game Pass gains more popularity.
this is the new Windows 11 startup sound pic.twitter.com/UQZNFBtAxa
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) June 15, 2021
All these leaks have come our way through Tom Warren of The Verge, who has been digging through the leaked version, finding fresh additions. Do go through his Twitter feed to find more gems. Like this one right above, which gives you your first listen of the Windows 11 startup sound.