Windows 10 Fall Creators Update: Microsoft shows off Fluent Design

The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is being released today, bringing with it Microsoft's new Fluent Design system.

Ahead of the next major Windows 10 feature release, Microsoft has posted a video teasing some of the first Fluent Design brush strokes it's applied to Windows 10.

Also: Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is here: Should you upgrade now?

The video offers a flash of various components and apps that have been redesigned with translucent blur, light, and other effects that aim to give Windows 10 more texture, depth and visual responsiveness to inputs. Microsoft's Fluent Design roll out will gradually take shape, beginning with its own apps and elements like the Start Menu, Action Center and notifications; the new design will also come to its apps for Android and iOS.

More Fluent Design changes are expected in the version following the Fall Creators Update, which Microsoft has already started testing with Windows Insiders that are on the Redstone 4 preview.

The video shows how the calculator app responds to a stylus with lighting effects on buttons touched by the stylus' virtual pointer. It offers a glimpse of the responsiveness to inputs in the Groove Music app, Print 3D, Outlook, and other apps.

The design changes aren't drastic and might not even be noticed by many users, but should have a wide impact as third-party developers adopt Microsoft's Fluent Design tools to present their apps in the same way.

Besides design tweaks, the Fall Creators Update will introduce a wide variety of new features, such as OneDrive Files on Demand, which is now built into Windows and doesn't copy the files locally. There are also several improvements to Edge, such as managing saved Favorites, and a shortcut to emojis. Cortana's settings are also now accessible within Settings, and the assistant displays answers in slide-out window from the Start menu.

As the Fall Creators Update rolls out, it should give more Windows 10 users the chance to try Microsoft's Continue on PC feature which is bundled in its new Edge apps for iOS and Android. The feature makes it easier to share a web site, app, photo, and other information from a phone to a Windows 10 PCs.

Microsoft had hoped to deliver the Timeline by the Fall Creators Update but has since deferred it, likely to the the Redstone 4 release. Timeline shows users activities they've done in the past, that they can navigate back to through cards.

More on Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

• What is Windows 10 Fall Creators Update? Everything you need to know about Microsoft's big upgrade
• How to get the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update early
• How to delay upgrading to the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update
• Windows 10 Fall Creators Update SDK is available: Promises better looking, easier-to-use apps
• See Windows 10's new look: Microsoft's Fluent Design System in action
• Video: Top features in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update
• What to expect from the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (ZDNet)