Windows 10 will soon be getting a host of new system icons, giving the operating system’s look a much-needed refresh (in advance of Windows 10X). The icons are slowly showing up in test builds of Windows 10, and you can check them out early if you’re a Windows Insider.
If you don’t want to deal with betas, the best you’ll be able to do is gawk at the entire suite of new designs from afar—until they finally hit Windows 10 proper, which should be soon.
I think the new designs look great; The monochromatic silhouettes introduced in 2015 have been replaced by colourful and expressive shapes. Unfortunately, not everyone is stoked on the refreshed look. But it’s not the new icons that are the big issue, rather, your Start Menu’s single-colour backgrounds.
Microsoft has started updating the system app icons for Windows Insiders. The new ones don’t use your system accent color, and look pretty out of place in the current start menu. Perhaps the 10X start menu could make its way over to desktop sooner rather than later. pic.twitter.com/bsJnXu6sC6
— Cody Carson (@hologei) February 20, 2020
Your Start Menu’s background colour is normally set by the accent colour of your Windows theme, and it dynamically changes whenever you adjust the setting or update your desktop image. These new icons are using the same blue background regardless of your settings (because of course a Windows update would make things worse somehow).
[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2020/02/what-is-windows-10-s-mode-and-how-do-i-remove-it/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/09/windows10-410×231.jpg” title=”What Is Windows 10 ‘S Mode’ (And How Do You Remove It?)” excerpt=”Most Windows 10 laptops on the market come with a full version of the software pre-installed. However, some models use a version called ‘S mode’. It’s considered a more streamlined option with better security and speed but there’s a catch — it forces you onto the worst aspects of Windows 10 with heaps of annoying restrictions. Here’s how you get out of it.”]
Idiosyncrasies like this are common for Windows Insider builds and I suspect they’ll be fixed by the time the new icons roll out publicly. (Microsoft plans to include them in the big Windows 10X update later this year.)
If you’ve received the updated icons and they’re making Windows look bad enough that you’re willing to abandon you current desktop theme, try changing your background image and/or adjusting your Windows theme’s accent colour by right-clicking your desktop and selecting Personalise > Colours. This should help the new icons fit in better—either by allowing you to match the unchanging blue as close as you can, or by helping you find a decent complementary colour.
[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2020/02/microsoft-is-killing-off-its-2018-windows-10-update/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/07/windows10update-410×231.jpg” title=”Microsoft Is Killing Off Its 2018 Windows 10 Update” excerpt=”Microsoft is finally driving a knife into its Windows 10 November 2018 update — the dreaded 1809 version. After May 2020, the plagued update will no longer be supported by security updates and users will be urged to move onto later models. Here’s how you check whether you’ll be affected.”]
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