Microsoft is working on many major and minor improvements to Windows 11 as part of Sun Valley 2 (version 22H2). The company isn’t necessarily making everything public, but as we get closer to the update’s release, Microsoft has started hinting at what might ship to consumers in the fall.
Microsoft is apparently working on a new Task Manager built on top of the existing Win32 framework, but has WinUI 3.0 design components. This includes Mica effects from Windows 11, Acrylic from Fluent Design, and other design enhancements. In addition, it also supports dark mode.
The Task Manager update removes the classic tabbed interface in favor of a sidebar that houses options like Processes, Performance, Application History, Startup, Users, Details, Services, and a new option called ‘Settings’ that lets you toggle between dark and light mode. windows 11
On the Windows Insider Podcast, Microsoft teased a colorful new design for Task Manager, as the app has now been updated to support system accent colors.
Windows currently allows you to customize the appearance of the operating system with accent colors for many surfaces like the Start menu, taskbar, title bars, etc. However, if you select an accent color for the system, you’ll probably notice that it doesn’t. It does not apply to legacy areas like Task Manager.
It is not an error. This is expected design behavior on Windows.
Microsoft is now adding system accent color support to Windows 11 Task Manager as the company continues to work on more aesthetic improvements.
In other words, the accent color that can be seen in the Start menu or taskbar now goes to Task Manager. The company plans to release the design to beta testers in the coming days and will likely continue to work on Task Manager before the release of Windows 11 version 22H2.
As you can see from the screenshot above, system accent color support works on both light and dark.
More features in Task Manager in Windows 11
Microsoft is also working on a useful app and battery health feature for Task Manager, and the feature is apparently hidden in preview builds.
Health feature is still broken and not working in current preview builds
However, based on references in preview builds, Task Manager could offer a useful way to look at your device’s battery usage and how it’s optimized or how apps are running.
It’s worth noting that Microsoft hasn’t announced these features for Task Manager and we don’t know if these improvements will be included in production builds later this year.