Microsoft teased a design overhaul that is coming to the Windows 11 File Explorer app in a future update at its Build developer conference this week.
The new File Explorer design is based on WinUI 3 and will modernize the app’s folders, sidebar, address bar, and search bar to be more in tune with the overall Windows 11 style. This will bring to File Explorer a look and feel with more rounded and blurred designs, as well as mouse and touch optimizations, Windows Central noted.
Today, we announce new AI experiences and tools for #Windows11 to empower developers. Pumped to introduce you to Windows Copilot and Dev Home. #MSBuild https://t.co/MkqiKKtuFg pic.twitter.com/pf1H3o1tyW
— Panos Panay (@panos_panay) May 23, 2023
Microsoft initially made small updates to File Explorer in Windows 11 and continually so in 2022, adding such features as tabs. Still, the legacy design of the app remained from years ago. The updated app is featured in a reel alongside functionalities for Microsoft’s Copilot app, in which you can see the notable differences in the File Explorer design, such as the action buttons being located below the address bar.
The brand is also said to be working on a Gallery feature that will get the same update to the WinUI 3 modern design as File Explorer.
Windows Insiders are currently testing other app updates, such as pane view, but not the updated File Explorer design. This is a feature that connects to Microsoft 365 and “shows recent activity on shared files, and even provides contextual information like where the file came from,” such as email or chat, according to Windows Central.
Since the File Explorer design update was inadvertently shown, users might have to wait a little longer for Insider testing and a general rollout.
Still, this update is sure to excite Windows enthusiasts who have long desired a new look for the File Explorer app. Many expected to have to wait until Windows 12 to see a real change. One such Microsoft fan earlier this month showcased his own concept of the upcoming Windows 12 system with a redesigned File Explorer featuring unique functions to match the updated look.
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Touchscreen laptops have been around for years. You can get them in all sizes and shapes. Just not from Apple. For years, the Cupertino giant has treated the idea of a touchscreen MacBook the way I treat a meeting that could have been an email: with open contempt. However, Wednesday looks like the day the company could finally change its mind.
The latest Apple invite puts the “Pro and Tell” showcase in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on October 28, 2026. Instead of a regular live-streamed keynote, it is an invitation-only, hands-on event for a handful of press and creators (similar to what the company did for the MacBook Neo earlier this year).
Two residents of Chicago have filed a lawsuit in the US over claims that robots run by Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics captured their facial and hand measurements without consent, bringing renewed attention to the food delivery robots. The cases raise a troubling question: If a robot delivers food to your door, can it also be gathering sensitive information about you?
According to a report by The Associated Press, the proposed class-action lawsuits were filed in Cook County on Oct. 9 and allege violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. The complaints claim that the robots’ cameras and LiDAR sensors captured information on customers’ faces and hands as they approached the machines to pick up their orders. Both have denied the allegations.