#Upcoming Windows 10 Update Replaces 26-Year-Old Icons – Review Geek

One of the strangest parts of Windows 10 is its mismatched icons, an issue that’s most obvious when you open the Device Manager or try to customize a File Explorer shortcut. But a new Windows 10 preview build reveals that Microsoft is finally updating icons leftover from the Windows 95 era, including the floppy drive, hibernation mode, and memory icons.

Microsoft is working on a Windows 10 design overhaul to make the OS more modern, visually consistent, and touch-friendly. Code named “Sun Valley,” the redesign project includes all-new icons for folders and other common elements. Several of these changes are visible in the Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21343, though they aren’t available in standard versions of Windows just yet.

First reported by Windows Latest, a newly-released version of Windows 10 Insider Preview Build refreshes most of the Windows 95-era icons. These 26-year-old icons are part of shell32.dll, a dynamic link library that has controlled some elements of Windows’ GUI for over two decades.

While Microsoft has made an effort to keep commonly-used icons like the folder and recycling bin up to date, the company simply hasn’t bothered replacing its less-useful icons, like the floppy drive. Still, these old icons pop up in several areas of Windows 10, like the Device Manager, and are often utilized by old apps. Giving them a facelift will make Windows 10 more consistent, even if the average person never encounters a hibernation mode icon.

Rumors suggest that the “Sun Valley” redesign will debut in October with the Windows 10 21H2 update. But Microsoft hasn’t replaced all of the icons in current Insider Preview builds—Windows Latest reports that the classic WinDirStat “tree” icon still stands strong … for now.

Source: Windows Latest