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Our Experts Windows 11 has been out on the market for over four years now, and, despite Microsoft's continued efforts at modernizing legacy elements of the operating system, tons of archaic Windows 95-era UI elements still call themselves home on the platform in 2026. In fact, the problem of old-school interface paradigms nestled within contemporary Windows is so pronounced, that my list of surfaces Microsoft desperately needs to rejuvenate hardly scratches the surface. Not only do these older UI elements stick out like a sore thumb with their lack of Fluent 2 Design System and WinUI 3 theming, but they also oftentimes fail to respect dark mode, and they aren't very touch-friendly, either. As ever, it's third-party developers that have been picking up the slack where Microsoft simply hasn't. There are a ton of genuinely excellent Fluent-style applications available to choose from on the Microsoft Store, and they offer us a glimpse of what could be if Redmond were to seriously reinvest in the consistency of Windows' end-user experience.
Published: January 22, 2026 5:45 pm
Source: Pocket-lint — Read original