Microsoft has given us a sneak peek into the UI re-design for its Paint and Photo apps. These apps forgo the current Ribbon style UI, which was introduced with Windows 7, replacing it with the new fluent design language seen in Windows 11.
Microsoft plans to replace all of the apps built into Windows with this new fluent design language, including apps you wouldn't think of like Notepad. Microsoft's goal with the new UI changes is to bring uniformity to Windows 11, to ensure that all of the apps built into Windows 11 feel and look the same.
The new design aesthetic for the Microsoft Paint app is apparent from the current Windows 10 version. All the icons have been refreshed to feature a circular design with a black and white color theme to match Windows 11's aesthetic.
The disappearance of ribbons is also apparent, with the File, View, Save, and arrow buttons featuring a more plain but modern theme with no visible edges or boxes around the text and icons.
Changes to Microsoft's Photos app are more significant compared to the Paint app. The static bar on top of the image is gone, replaced by a floating bar with all your tools such as magnify, delete, favorites, crop, and more.
Microsoft has also gotten rid of the "Edit & Create" and "Share" wording, replacing those with icons, giving Photos a more linear theme.
Another feature that's new to Photos is the gallery at the bottom of the image. Before, you had to go back to your Photos collection to see all your images, but now you can preview multiple images at a time from the gallery while looking at your main image in full screen.
Microsoft's Photo and Paint apps are the first we've seen to get the new UI elements. Soon, we'll see this new fluent design language extend all the way down to all of Microsoft's built-in apps.
