2 weeks Ago By Darren Allan
Windows 11 has not gone down well with the computing public for one reason or another - from system requirements, through to bewildering interface changes (steps backward in places), ad pushing, and other niggles besides - and we've just caught a glimpse of what we could have had instead. Well, kind of - if Microsoft had sat down and properly thought out making a desktop operating system which is clean and streamlined, free of bloat and, yes, dare we say it, with AI pushed more to the side. BetaNews spotted that a well-known concept creator, AR 4789 on YouTube, put together a video clip showing off a mock-up of a fictional Windows 12.
1. (It's not Windows 12, as AR 4789 already did a concept for that, so this is a refinement on that previous take). And a seriously impressive concept clip it is - watch the video yourself above, it's well worth spending a few minutes doing so (maybe fast forward the setup bits, though that's quite snazzy itself, in fairness, allowing you to play a mini-game while Windows installs).
Overall, the Windows environment presented is smart-looking and modern, but minimalist, clean and consistent. Windows 11 may look modern, by and large, but it overdoes the clutter in many respects - and as for consistency, well, we only have to mention the legacy Control Panel in that regard. (Yeah, okay, we know that lingers on for a reason, but still, it's horribly jarring at times to encounter ancient UI elements that date back decades).
AI doesn't show up much at all in the video, as already noted, but we do get a glimpse of Copilot. Other points that stand out to us include the taskbar being split off at the top, with some nifty design elements therein, but mostly it's the lack of clutter, notably in terms of thinly veiled adverts. That said, AR 4789 has kept a recommendations section in the Start menu, Settings app, and in the search panel (alongside some suggested searches too).
That's perhaps a nod to realism in that there's no way Microsoft is ever going to shed all recommendations from Windows (and to be fair, when pointing out sensible things in context - as opposed to just mindlessly promoting apps - some people may find them useful). AR 4789 doesn't overdo the emphasis on the recommendations front, though, thankfully. We're really liking some of the design ideas here, and the comments on YouTube are pretty telling - some folks are seriously in love with this Windows 12 concept, and we can see why.
Sleek and streamlined elements abound, like the highlights presented when a thumbnail image is selected (Image Credit: AR 4789 on YouTube) Is Microsoft taking note? Well, we hope so, because for Windows 12 - or whatever next-gen Windows is called - we'd like to see some of these influences brought to bear. AI will inevitably feature more heavily in Microsoft's next OS, you can bank on that, but still - if someone at the software giant takes at least some inspiration from the design concepts presented here, we'll all be the better for it. At the very least, let's hope that part of the plan for Windows next-generation doesn't involve stripping out perfectly good parts of the basic interface (never combine, taskbar drag and drop, etc) for no apparent reason, as it did with Windows 11.
(And not all of that essential functionality has been put back in even today, it should be noted)..
