Microsoft Shows Off Fluent Design Start Menu in Latest Windows 10 Preview Build

 Microsoft has released a new Windows 10 Insider Preview Build that shows off the future design for upcoming builds. The new Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17004 has been released for Windows Insiders in the Fast ring who have opted in to "Skip Ahead only."

The Build 17004 shows off glimpses of Fluent Design that is said to be part of the next Windows 10 version - codenamed Redstone 4 - and won't arrive with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

"As we progress into the next feature update, you'll begin to see more and more elements of Fluent Design light up. We love the enthusiasm we've seen for Fluent Design, and with today's build you'll notice that Reveal is now visible on Start in All apps," said Dona Sarkar, Software Engineer, Windows and Devices Group in announcement blog.

Windows Insiders in the Fast ring who have opted in to Skip Ahead only will be able to notice the new Fluent Design elements in the Start menu. Users can also notice Reveal, which is a Fluent Design System component that adds light to the app. Currently, there are two main visual components to Reveal: the hover Reveal behaviour, and the border Reveal behaviour. Fluent Design includes elements like acrylic, where surfaces behind primary app content are solid and opaque backgrounds.

The Build 17004, in general, brings tons of improvements for Microsoft Edge including fixing an issue where typing a web address into the address bar from the New Tab and Start Page would sometimes clear the text and not result in any page navigation; fixing an issue where the tab previews for PDFs were black with a white bar on each side; fixed an issue where the first time users pressed Ctrl + F to open Search, the search box doesn't get focus, and fixed an issue where users might be unable to type in the address bar after clicking on CTRL+F text field among others fixes.

Windows Central has a hands-on video where the Reveal feature can be seen live. Microsoft also promises that there will be more Fluent Design features introduced in future updates.

Next month, Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will be rolled out to customers on October 17 and will include improved privacy options.