Microsoft may introduce animating navigation icons on Windows 11 Settings page

When Microsoft released Windows 11, the company demoed the use of “Motion” in the operating system. So far, we have seen some implementation of it in Windows 11, but it seems to mark its impression in more places in the OS. As spotted by Microsoft watcher Rafael Rivera, Microsoft is now testing animating navigation icons on the Settings page. The new animation highlights the reactive nature of Motion in Windows.

For those who don’t know, “Motion” animates and responds to user interaction. When elements change position and size, users will be guided to follow the change in state that took place. As Microsoft puts it, “Motion” is “reactive, direct, and context appropriate.” You can see some implementation of the reactive animation in some places of Windows 11, but Microsoft is perhaps thinking of taking it to the next level by introducing the same design principles to the navigation icons on the Settings page.

The change in the behavior of navigation icons was spotted in the latest Dev Channel Windows 11 Insider update, Build 25188, which came out yesterday. If you are running the latest Dev Insider build, you may not see it. This is because the software giant seems to be A/B testing it with only select users. Rivera has not disclosed many details, but it is also possible that the new animation in the navigation icons is hidden in the operating system. Either way, it clearly shows that Microsoft wants to introduce the change to the operating system sometime in the future. Below is the demo of how the behavior of navigation icons changes when users interact with them.

https://twitter.com/WithinRafael/status/1562660124245667841?s=20&t=QAIEIklnzxR-bg0bPYuNEA

If you are running Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25188, you may get success in getting cool animations after installing ViveTool GUI on your PC. Apart from the new reactive animations on the Settings page, you can enable any hidden Windows feature after installing the ViveTool software on your PC. You can download the ViveTool software here from GitHub.

Do you like the new animation in the navigation icons? Share your thoughts in the comments below.