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Windows 8 101: Metro UI – Release Date: October 26th

by Mihai on July 29, 2012

WIndows 8 Release Date

About a week ago we’ve reported that the Windows 8 release date has been officially announced, confirming the October time-slot we were banging on about earlier this year.

That being said I think it’s time to take a look at some of the more interesting features surrounding the upcoming Windows 8, and in this case we’re going to talk mainly about the Metro UI.

Join us after the break for a quick rundown on what to expect and for a neat video preview of this particular user interface.

Windows 8 101: Metro UI - Release Date: October 26th

Windows 8 101: Metro UI

In case you’re not so up to date with what Windows 8 will have in store and if you don’t really know what the Metro UI is all about, the short story is that it’s a new user interface added on top of the more conventional Windows interface.

The Metro UI is more focused on bringing an enhanced user experience to tablet and notebook users, but it can be used on a desktop as well.

Long story short, it features a design similar to Windows Phone 7, mainly because the “home screen” will be made out of tiles. These tiles can be fully customizable and will act as shortcuts to different apps like Windows Store for example.

However, the Metro UI is not merely a “skin”. It aims on delivering a whole new experience by making use of unique twitter and RSS feed apps that bring news directly on the “home” screen, animated weather applications and a completely redesigned control panel menu just to name a few.

There are some things that must be pointed out however. First of all, the Metro UI is not mandatory in Windows 8 and one can easily switch between the standard UI and Metro. Nevertheless, at least in the Windows 8 Beta, once the computer boots it will automatically start in Metro UI.

Second, this new UI brings another version of Internet Explorer 10, one more suited for tablet/notebook use. Again, the user can easily switch between the usual user interface and the Metro one.

Well, I won’t spoil the fun for you, so we’ll let the video below do the talking. Enjoy but keep in mind that the version shown below is the beta one so, naturally, there are a few issues and bugs.