Fan-made Windows concepts are always fun to look at as they often offer a drastically different version than what the official one is. Part of the charm of such concepts is that they highlight what the fans of that product deeply desire to have. As such, at Neowin, we cover some of these interesting ideas as our community consists mainly of Windows enthusiasts who generally love going through the abstracts presented.
Recently, YouTuber AR 4789, who is a prolific Windows concept creator, published a concept on the alleged next Windows, "Windows 12," imagining it as a revolutionary operating system from Microsoft in their video named "Windows 12 - The Revolutionary."
Another interesting abstract was presented before, where Windows XP was showcased in the style of Windows 11. The same creator has again gone retro, though not as far back, as they have published a new video about Windows 7.
The general public sentiment around Windows 7 has mostly been positive. It took the best of Windows Vista while also addressing its shortcomings and criticisms. And even in 2024, Windows 7 is far from dead as it holds on to about 3% of the market per the latest Statcounter data.
The concept has an interesting touch as it includes the popular and beloved Windows Experience Index, a free hardware performance tool that, while basic, gave users an idea about how their overall system was and which component was the weak link. Sadly, Microsoft removed it on a Windows 8.1 Preview.
There is an error in the above screenshot (purposely, perhaps) as it highlights the highest score (of 9.9) instead of highlighting the least.
Moving on, the video starts with the OOBE (out-of-box experience), and it contains the all-too-familiar window prompting users to connect to the internet, like on Windows 11.
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After that, we are greeted by the Windows desktop with the Start menu and Widgets, each of them having mixed the classic Windows 7 GUI style with a touch of modernity.
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Finally, we have the File Explorer and a hint of the Settings app that shows some of the personalization options:
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The changes made in this concept are rather subtle (especially when compared to something older like XP), and it kind of shows how good Windows 7 really was for its time that even today, we have hardly made much progress in the GUI department.
You can watch the full video above.