Microsoft gave Task Manager a significant update in Windows 11 preview builds with a refreshed user experience, menus in the panel on the left instead of tabs, dark mode, Efficiency mode, new icons, and more.
Now, it seems that another user experience change in development is different colors for Task Manager. For the past several iterations, the Task Manager has used a mustard or yellowish heat map to show resource utilization per service.
However, Microsoft is now working on integrating Windows 11 accent colors with the heat map as seen in the screenshot from the company"s Windows Insiders latest webcast:
The Task Manager will respect accent colors as well as the overall theme of the OS, such as light or dark.
This is primarily designed to be a cosmetic change to enable Windows 11 apps to be more consistent with the overall design of the OS. It will also allow users to personalize the OS according to their liking, with the changes being propagated to Task Manager.
Microsoft has emphasized that the build shown in its webcast is not the one that will be flighted to Insiders - we do expect a build this week - but it has noted that Task Manager personalization will land in a "future build". People who appreciate the new colors in Task Manager will have their fingers crossed that this future build is the next one, ideally coming this week.