Windows 10 Fluent Design: Microsoft's new-look Mail, Calendar now open to all

Video: Windows to get new look with Fluent Design System

Microsoft is rolling out a new version of the Mail and Calendar apps for Windows 10 with a design refresh shaped by Fluent Design.

Microsoft has been testing the new-look apps with Windows Insiders for the past few weeks and now is ready to share them with all Windows 10 users in the coming weeks.

The company is taking things slowly with its new design language, gradually introducing elements like the Reveal highlighting effect and its translucent Acrylic material to the Windows GUI and its own apps.

This process includes testing changes with Insiders that would probably go unnoticed by most users, such as softening the circular light effect that appears when users press on a button and tweaking the Acrylic blur effect.

In this update, users will see the Reveal lighting effect as they mouse over the Accounts and New Mail buttons in the menu. As Windows Central notes, the update also brings a modern borderless user interface to Mail.

While Microsoft wants Windows fans and developers to know about Fluent Design, it intends the changes to be unobtrusive to the general public.

As a result, there's no mention of the design system in the release notes. Microsoft simply says the October update for Mail and Calendar "have a refreshing new visual design and background photo."

The other feature update is that users can now select from hundreds of colors for calendars in a drop-down menu.

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According to Microsoft, users will start to see the design changes in the next few weeks.

Microsoft kicked off its Fluent Design rollout with the just-released Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, which includes new visual effects for the Start Menu, Action Center, and notifications.

The company will continue to add new touches in the next release of Windows 10 known as the Redstone 4 release.

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