Next Windows 10 Update Will Be Big, Hopefully Not As Shocking As Windows 8

According to a job listing released over the weekend, Microsoft is planning a "sweeping visual rejuvenation of Windows experiences." The last time we heard Microsoft speak about changes of this magnitude, it was before the switch from Windows 7 to Windows 8. One would hope that this next set of sweeping changes would be more accountable to the users that wish for incremental changes, rather than one foul swoop – but we shall see!

Per the job listing posted by Microsoft, they're looking for software engineers for their Windows Core User Experiences team. Prospective engineers would work with Microsoft's "key platform, Surface, and OEM partners to orchestrate and deliver a sweeping visual rejuvenation of Windows experiences to signal to our customers that Windows is BACK."

UPDATE: As noted by The Verge, references to the "sweeping visual rejuvenation" were removed on January 4, 2021, after the phrase found significant traction on social media platforms.

This situation is undoubtedly linked to Microsoft's bit chat back in October of 2020. There, Microsoft's Panos Panay suggested to IT pros: "I want you to feel pressure from your customer saying 'give me the next one! Give me Windows! Give it to me!"

Rumors continue to suggest that the big changes in store will most likely appear in the fourth quarter of the year, 2021. That's still quite a while away – but it might well sneak up on us if we're not careful.

This week also delivered a peek at the future of Microsoft's own main email system, Outlook. The new Outlook app for Windows and Mac will be "powered by the web" according to Windows Central. Almost as if the past couple of decades never happened, it would seem that future versions of Outlook will finally, at long last, "embrace the web" – since, you know, it's a fairly "universal platform" as such.