A look at the evolution of the Windows 8 Start screen

The Windows 8 Start screen was the biggest change to Windows since Windows 95, and that was a large deal at the fourth dimension. The Start screen was a make new experience and design for Windows that put Microsoft's OS above all other touch-based OS experiences. Unfortunately, the Start screen was not a pop addition among Windows users, and as such fabricated Windows eight a flop for Microsoft.

Windows 8 pre-announcement (2010)

Microsoft started working on Windows 8 in 2022, not too long after it finalized development on Windows seven. From the very beginning, it was clear that Microsoft was interested in doing something radical and different; an entirely new and immersive user experience designed primarily for use with touch. Microsoft called this new feel the "Immersive Trounce" during development, which ended upwards being officially called the Offset screen or Metro/Modern UI.

There are a few noteworthy differences between Microsoft's original pattern ideas and the final product. When development offset began, the Start screen was going to be a far more noisy experience using a design linguistic communication non as unproblematic or clean as the Metro/Mod UI found in the Windows viii RTM. Tiles looked and behaved more like widgets, and featured 2 sizes: a larger size and a smaller size. The larger tiles spanned three smaller tiles and featured alive info in a smaller rectangle within the widget.

Microsoft was likewise interested in edifice a universally available "dock" that could be accessed via a swipe-in gesture from the right, no affair what the user was doing. When Microsoft first started work on Windows 8, this dock was going to include several different options and functions accessible to the user. Information technology was a utility bill of fare that had eight different buttons, including a dedicated Start push button at the superlative.

Past the time Microsoft had started developing the "dock," a few things had already changed. It no longer looked similar a dock, featuring a white design that spanned the entire height of the screen, and information technology also had fewer options. Instead of eight different options, it had been simplified to but half dozen: a Start push, app switcher button, search button, share button, devices button, and settings button.

Windows 8 first unveiling (2011)

Microsoft unveiled its new blueprint publicly in May 2022, announcing that this new UI would be part of the "next-generation" of Windows. At the fourth dimension, Microsoft didn't have an official name for it. This was the first time the public saw this new pattern, and reactions were mixed. This was the get-go time Microsoft had confirmed that the Beginning screen would be replacing the Commencement menu outright.

A few things had changed betwixt the time since the conceptual stages and initial evolution piece of work, and the demo that was beingness showcased on stage. The First screen had advanced quite a bit in design; existence cleaned up and featuring a far more simplistic and fluid design that more closely mimicked that of the Windows Telephone Start screen. There were still but two tile sizes, simply the larger tile now spanned across two smaller tiles instead of 3.

The alive element of the tiles had also changed. The smaller tile sizes now also included "live" info, and the larger tile size had been changed and so that the entire tile was live. The Start screen'due south background had also been simplified, replacing the underwater art design with a regal gradient that better showcased Microsoft's new design language.

Bigger changes came in the form of the swipe-in menu, which still didn't have a proper noun. The carte had yet again changed, now featuring just v options instead of vi and a darker blueprint. The layout of the options was also different, with the Offset button at present in the middle of the carte du jour rather than at the top. Microsoft decided to drib the dedicated app switcher push button in favor of using a gesture-based app switching module. Users could now swipe in from the left of the screen to switch between apps.

The build of Windows that Microsoft used to demo the new Start screen looked incredibly polished. Many praised Microsoft for the cute design it had adopted for its new immersive experience, merely many were however rather skeptical of the upcoming changes to Windows. The media were unsure if putting a touch-first UI onto a platform that'southward in-use mostly with mice and keyboards was going to sit well with users.

Windows viii Previews (2011 and 2022)

In September 2022, Microsoft released the first public preview build of Windows viii for developers, which encouraged said developers to commencement building their own immersive apps that would soon be available in a dedicated Windows Shop launching alongside Windows 8. The build released to the public was a little further along than the experience shown off earlier in the yr.

In the Developer Preview, Microsoft had changed the groundwork of Offset to a greenish color, while as well adding a foursquare-pattern that gave the Offset screen a minor parallax issue when swiping in the First screen. Outside of being able to move around and resize tiles, the Start screen wasn't customizable. Multiple tiles could be selected at once by swiping down on them.

The Start screen itself was express to up to five rows of tiles in a group. Regardless of screen size, 5 was the maximum. This caused some odd spacing bug when using a large brandish, making the Outset experience feel empty at the top and bottom of the brandish.

Some other interesting addition was that the swipe-in menu now had an official name: the Charms Bar. The Charms Bar hadn't changed at all since it was officially unveiled, but users did notice that there was a separate Charms Bar pattern for mice and keyboard users. Instead of using the actual bar blueprint, mice users could motion their cursor into the bottom left of the screen to bring up a smaller menu that made more sense for mice users.

In the Windows 8 Consumer Preview released in January 2022, the Start screen had come forth further. Now almost feature-complete, users could customize the Start screen in more detail. In that location were several colour options to choose from, in improver to a few new background patterns. Microsoft had besides removed the infamous Start push from the taskbar on the desktop, replacing information technology with a hidden "thumbnail" of the Start screen that would show up if yous place your cursor in the bottom left of the screen.

Microsoft likewise removed the defended mouse version of the Charms Bar. Mice users at present used the aforementioned UI to access the Charms Bar that touch users did, but instead of swiping in from the right, mice users merely placed their cursor in the bottom or summit right corners of the screen. At this point, information technology was clear that Microsoft was leveraging corner and edge-based gestures in Windows eight.

Other noteworthy changes included a brand new Windows logo found in the Charms Bar, featuring a more squared, simplistic appearance keeping in line with the new Windows 8 blueprint. There was also a new app opening animation, which continued the app tile to the actual animation, making the app opening experience experience like 1 fluid gesture.

In May 2022, Microsoft released the tertiary and terminal preview build of Windows 8 to the public, known every bit the Release Preview. This build was more than or less identical to the RTM of Windows viii, albeit with a few pocket-size UI changes. The Start screen now showcased up to six rows of tiles instead of v, reducing the wasted space issue on larger displays.

At that place were also more than Start screen customization options, including more than colors and background patterns. Microsoft had besides updated the Windows Aero theme on the desktop, giving information technology a more "Metro" like advent while still maintaining the blurred transparency effect.

Windows 8 RTM (August 2022)

Microsoft made a few changes to the design of the Windows desktop in the Windows 8 RTM. The Aero and window transparency had been gutted, replaced with a simplistic, flatter, opaque window border and non-blurred taskbar. This was the final piece of the Metro/Modern UI puzzle, aligning both the desktop environment and Start screen environment with a like design language.

The problem was that the Start screen or "Immersive Shell" felt entirely separate from the desktop environment, which is actually what Microsoft wanted. In Microsoft's ideal world, users would merely remain in the new immersive experience, only accessing the desktop to use a legacy plan or access the Windows Explorer.

Users ended up feeling dislocated when being thrown between the desktop and immersive experiences, forth with the hidden features and functions that were simply accessible when placing your cursor in a corner or swiping in from i of the edges. The desktop didn't acknowledge the new immersive experience, and the immersive experience didn't acknowledge the desktop. Information technology quickly became apparent that users were not enjoying the disjointed Windows 8 experience.

Windows 8.1 (Baronial 2022)

A year subsequently, Microsoft released a major update to Windows 8 for free. The update was called Windows eight.1 and was essentially an entirely new version of Windows, released in a much shorter time frame. It improved upon a number of the Windows 8 immersive experience behaviors and attempted to integrate the Kickoff screen feel with the desktop more closely.

Microsoft finally understood that expecting users to remain fully in the immersive feel was unrealistic, with most users still treating the Starting time screen as a Start card. And so to better this feel, Microsoft made a few small but important changes that better positioned the Commencement screen for what it was.

In Windows eight.1, Microsoft re-added the Start button to the taskbar, making it easier for users to switch betwixt the Showtime screen and desktop environment. Information technology also added an option that immune users to boot into the desktop past default, rather than into the Start screen. This was a big modify, as it meant Microsoft was no longer expecting users to remain in the immersive beat to do everything.

On the Start screen itself, Microsoft added two new Alive tile sizes: an even larger one and an even smaller one. There were at present a total of 4 tile sizes. Microsoft also added a new background option that used your desktop wallpaper.

Microsoft changed how touch users selected multiple tiles on Start. Instead of swiping down, users now could at present tap and concur on a tile to become the same result, similar to how other touch-based OSes do information technology. Mice users now had a dedicated context menu when correct-clicking in First, too, which fabricated more sense for that input method.

The biggest change was the improver of a dedicated Apps List, which up until Windows 8.one wasn't really a thing. Windows 8.0 had an Apps List, but it was only accessible via the Search charm. In Windows viii.i, Microsoft even allowed users to set the Apps List as default when pressing the Start button.

Windows viii.1 Update 1 (2014)

In 2022, Microsoft released a minor update to Windows 8.1 that farther improved upon the behaviors of the immersive Showtime experience and the desktop, bringing more desktop functions into the new immersive beat out. For example, the taskbar was now accessible from within whatever immersive app by moving your cursor to the bottom of the display, and the taskbar at present showed open immersive apps alongside legacy desktop apps. Immersive apps now as well had a championship bar that would show up if y'all moved your cursor to the top of the display. This gave the user an easy manner of minimizing or endmost an immersive app if they didn't accept a device with a touchscreen.

The Windows 8.1 Update in 2022 was the penultimate version of Windows viii that found a happy medium between the new immersive trounce and the old legacy desktop. Users using Windows eight.1 Update were non thrown betwixt two different experiences, because Microsoft had better integrated the old with the new. The taskbar was now universally accessible once more, as mice users would expect. Touch users were non burdened with quondam legacy UI's if they didn't want to exist, as users were even so able to remain entirely within the immersive vanquish if they wished.

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