2 min

Microsoft has been gradually updating and unifying Windows 11 features. Some of these have been overhauled in terms of the look while others are essentially the same with smooth edges. Some of the changes include a changed volume indicator and updated system icons for the Notepad, Paint, and Calculator apps.

The next app that could get changed is the task manager, which has stayed the same since Windows 8 came out. An engineering student by the name of Gustave Monce spotted the new Task Manager design hiding in a current preview build of Windows 11.

Changed visuals

The news was reported by The Verge, and the FireCube Studios Twitter account posted instructions for enabling it yourself. The app’s basic structure can be seen in the build. Like the apps we have seen in Windows 11, the hidden task manager uses the Mica theme and has support for dark mode.

Current versions of the TM have a horizontal row of tabs which have been substituted for a vertical stack of navigating buttons that share the same visuals as modern Windows Security and Settings apps.

The text labels also collapse into a vertical stack of buttons when resizing the window.

It may not be ready yet

From the screenshots posted by users with a functioning version of the new Task Manager, it doesn’t seem like the app was improved overall, just overhauled to look like other current Windows 11.

The vertical buttons mirror the current Task Manager while the monitoring process and resource usage display look the same. Since it is not yet widely available, the app is likely a work in progress with more changes to be made before a formal introduction.

If the changes are preserved as is or added to before a formal release, this will be the first visual overhaul of the app since 2012.