Microsoft Acknowledges Windows 11’s Darker Blue Shade in Disk Space Bars, Stunned by Backlash Over Minor Accessibility Tweak

Windows 11 users have long noticed minor UI adjustments, including the darker shade of blue in File Explorer’s disk space bars and progress indicators. However, Microsoft has remained silent on the change—until now. Microsoft has now officially commented on this.

While the change has been in place in beta for weeks, the recent Canary build release also gained this minor tweak. The discussion gained traction when a user on X (formerly Twitter) posted, “The new blue is now in canary.”

Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc, Senior Program Manager for Windows, responded with clarification: “This was a small change we made for accessibility and I’m stunned at how many folks are upset about this really minor tweak.”

Despite the tweak being small, the reactions were strong. While some users welcomed the change as a visual improvement, others were frustrated, questioning why the update doesn’t align with system-wide accent colors instead of defaulting to blue.

One user suggested: “It would be even cooler if the color change matched the accent theme rather than just the blue alone.”

Meanwhile, another reacted with disbelief, asking: “Am I insane or did Windows 11 recently change their color scheme? The MSI installer progress bars and Explorer drive fill bars are darker.”