Microsoft recently revealed its upcoming operating system, Windows 8.1, which is expected to come soon to PCs and tablets. However, even before Windows 8.1 has released, we get a glimpse of what the home screen of the next-generation operating system - Windows 9 - may look like.
A Windows 9 concept has now emerged online and the designer of the mock up image of Windows 9 home screen says "So here we are, back to Start... Some elements I've borrowed from Windows Phone 8, like the app menu below and the status bar above (though, that's been one of the things that has been consistent between all my other mockups.) The Charms Bar, although a neat idea, I've never really cared for."
The designer also says, "Those commands could just live in the app menu for a specific application anyway. But really, the main focus of these mockups is to make the Modern UI (with the direction Microsoft's taken 'Metro', I think it's safe to call it 'Modern') a little more friendly for touch and mouse. The biggest thing is giving the user some type of visual of what they can click or do. Windows Phone's flavor of Metro was great because the UI always gave the user a hint, like there's more information to see. Windows 8's flavor of Metro (now Modern) is a little... less obvious."
The Windows 9 concept brings some aspects from the Windows Phone platform and at the same time adopts a much simpler and cleaner appearance.
The Live Tiles are also included in the concept with the same pre-defined sizes brought by Windows 8.1 too. However, the current time, sound and battery level are placed at the top right corner of the screen, just the way it's found on Windows Phones.
Microsoft had totally re-designed Windows 8 from its previous versions and the company thought that the operating system would revolutionize the way people work on their PCs. But Windows 8 failed to appeal to many customers. With the launch of Wndows 8.1, Microsoft is trying to fix things which went wrong with Windows 8.
The official press announcement of Windows 8.1 reveals that the company will not only respond to customer feedback, but it will also add new features and functionality that advance the touch experience and mobile computing's potential of Windows based devices. The company hopes to deliver improvements and enhancements in Windows 8.1.
It seems too early to imagine the features of Windows 9. For now we will have to contend with Microsoft launching Windows 8.1.
