If you are a part of the Dev Channel under the Windows 11 beta testing program of Windows Insiders’, you might have encountered a tiny change in the Windows 11 Settings app.
This change is being beta tested and, thus, available for a minor subset of the users. The feature is animated icons on the navigation bar (located on the right side) of the Windows 11 Settings app. Albeit a tiny change, it is being tested and might roll out soon.
The Windows 11 Settings app icons get an animated makeover
Go to the Settings app of your Windows 11 PC/laptop and you will see a navigation bar on the left followed by a myriad of options on the side. Although under usual circumstances, the Settings app looks the same.
However, Microsoft is currently testing out animated icons for that same navigation bar on the left of the Settings UI that users can trigger whenever they hover their cursors on it.
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Dubbed by Microsoft as “delightful unexpected moments of joy”, this is a tiny nudge to the OS that some users recently spotted as part of the Windows Insiders program.
For the unversed, the icons are static and there’s no animation to them whatsoever. However, after this new feature is done with the A/B testing, it will be released to the general public.
Here, the icons will show a quick animation wherever you scroll or hover on the icons. For instance, hover on the ‘System’ option and you will see a glare going on and off in animation.
The Windows Update icon tends to rotate when you hover over it. Similarly, you can see tiny animations on each option as part of the upcoming update.
According to XDA Developers, it is not clear whether the feature will roll out on the final versions of Windows 11 or not so we will have to wait for more information to arrive.