Skip to main content

Microsoft teases design overhaul of major Windows 11 app

Microsoft teased a design overhaul that is coming to the Windows 11 File Explorer app in a future update at its Build developer conference this week.

The new File Explorer design is based on WinUI 3 and will modernize the app’s folders, sidebar, address bar, and search bar to be more in tune with the overall Windows 11 style. This will bring to File Explorer a look and feel with more rounded and blurred designs, as well as mouse and touch optimizations, Windows Central noted.

Recommended Videos

Today, we announce new AI experiences and tools for #Windows11 to empower developers. Pumped to introduce you to Windows Copilot and Dev Home. #MSBuild https://t.co/MkqiKKtuFg pic.twitter.com/pf1H3o1tyW

— Panos Panay (@panos_panay) May 23, 2023

Microsoft initially made small updates to File Explorer in Windows 11 and continually so in 2022, adding such features as tabs. Still, the legacy design of the app remained from years ago. The updated app is featured in a reel alongside functionalities for Microsoft’s Copilot app, in which you can see the notable differences in the File Explorer design, such as the action buttons being located below the address bar.

The brand is also said to be working on a Gallery feature that will get the same update to the WinUI 3 modern design as File Explorer.

Windows Insiders are currently testing other app updates, such as pane view, but not the updated File Explorer design. This is a feature that connects to Microsoft 365 and “shows recent activity on shared files, and even provides contextual information like where the file came from,” such as email or chat, according to Windows Central.

Since the File Explorer design update was inadvertently shown, users might have to wait a little longer for Insider testing and a general rollout.

Still, this update is sure to excite Windows enthusiasts who have long desired a new look for the File Explorer app. Many expected to have to wait until Windows 12 to see a real change. One such Microsoft fan earlier this month showcased his own concept of the upcoming Windows 12 system with a redesigned File Explorer featuring unique functions to match the updated look.

Fionna Agomuoh
Fionna Agomuoh is a Computing Writer at Digital Trends. She covers a range of topics in the computing space, including…
Windows 11’s controversial AI Recall feature is coming to your Copilot+ PC very soon
The Surface Pro 11 on a white table in front of a window.

As AI strides on, it inevitably finds its way onto our personal devices, with tech giants announcing new features that rely on accessing our private information and media to serve us better. While some might find this useful, others are bound to find it creepy, and one such feature is Microsoft's controversial AI Recall, which takes screenshots of everything you do on a Copilot+ PC so it's easier to trace back your steps and find something specific later. After being announced last year, and then witnessing a few delays, Recall is finally rolling out to a broader group of Windows 11.

Microsoft recently announced Recall is coming to Windows 11 with the latest Release channel update with build 26100.3902 (KB5055627). The feature's availability in the Windows 11 Release Preview channel, which succeeds the Beta channel in the Windows Insider program, means it is in the initial phases of being available to a wider audience of folks who own Copilot+ PC. This category of PCs currently includes a whole wide range of laptops with specialized hardware in the form of a neural processing unit (NPU) dedicatedly for running AI tasks, though we might see desktops joining the club soon.

Read more
Windows 11 and 10 users find new inetpub folder after April update
Shutdown menu in Windows 11.

Windows 11 and 10 users have reported a mysterious 'inetpub' folder after installing Microsoft's April 2025 updates, as Bleeping Computer reports. Although the folder is typically associated with the Internet Information Services (IIS) web server, it's now appearing on systems without it installed. Microsoft has confirmed that the behavior is intentional but has not fully explained why.

The unexpected folder is empty, and you can find it in the root of the C: drive even if you don't have IIS installed. If you had IIS installed (web server platform by Microsoft), it would use the inetpub folder to save logs, website content, and server-related files. So, it's weird you have one without the other after installing Windows 11 KB5055523 update or Windows 10 KB5055518. The SYSTEM account owns the new inetpub folder, meaning an elevated process made it.

Read more
I hope these 3 long-lost Microsoft Windows 8 features stay gone forever
Windows 8 Start screen

If you used a Windows computer in the early 2010s, chances are you experienced Windows 8. Whether it was a good experience is another matter entirely, though. If you ask me, it was a bit of a disaster.

For me, updating to Windows 8 was an unexpected jumpscare. Maybe you had a similar experience; perhaps you just updated your computer one day to discover that the beloved Start Menu vanished without warning. In its place, you saw a full-screen tile interface that probably made you feel like you were using a phone rather than a desktop.

Read more