As far as Windows has come in the nearly two decades of this century, there are still many who hark back to some of the style choices prevalent in its earliest days. That is, they miss Windows XP. But what if their eternal longings could be met? One YouTuber has put together a short video mockup of what a 2018 version of Windows XP might look like, complete with modern features, placed over the older operating system’s classic style.
In the video, made by “Avdan,” we see an operating system with the clean look and “fluent design” choices of Microsoft’s more modern operating systems like Window 10, but with color palettes and layouts more akin to Windows XP. It even comes complete with the original backdrops and login screens and brings back the Microsoft “Rover” pixellated dog character to preside over search results.
Fans of “Windows XP 2018 edition” have been highlighting their favorite elements. OnMSFT particularly likes the reimagined Start menu, which includes live tiles, but in a much more simplified, XP-style. We liked how it blends the transparent user interface elements of Windows 10 with the color palette of the original XP.
The whole video has gone down so well that many commenters have raised the question of whether Microsoft could release a new theme for Windows 10 which would allow such an art style and layout type to be used with Windows 10.
This isn’t the first concept of a potential alternative modern Windows that Avdan has put together. Just a few months ago, Avdan released a video of a conceptual “Windows 11” which looks even cleaner than the retro-future XP idea does. It too borrows elements from Windows 10, but streamlines the user-interface and introduces visual elements to enhance features like weather reports that can cross between interfaces and windows.
Although we can’t promise that you’ll find one that will make your Windows 10 PC look and feel like Windows XP or the mythical Windows 11, Microsoft does have some themes available in its store — some free, some requiring payment. For more on Windows themes and how to install them on your Windows 10 machine, check out our guide to Windows customization.
