Microsoft's Project NEON, which has never been officially announced, is an effort to overhaul the visual appearance of the Windows 10 UI. Specifically, the changes add a translucency effect to existing core apps, and sources familiar with the project tell us the goal is to prep the OS for a holographic and mixed reality world.
Tonight, the People app for Windows 10 on PC was updated to version 10.2.1211 up from 10.2.1071. The update coincides with the Fast Ring update on May 4 to build 16188, which features a massive changelog of new features and tweaks.
The new People app has the same functionality, but the whole thing is translucent letting the background desktop peek through. Similar changes have come to the Groove music apps and a few others, but never have we seen this much translucency.
Our hot take on it the change is we're in love with the look and our hunch is you'll want it too.
We first reported on NEON way exclusively back in November 2016. Since then, we have seen it arrive in the Start Menu, Groove Music, Movies & TV, and more.
The update has not hit all our Fast Ring PCs just yet, meaning this could be part of some A/B testing before a broader rollout. Nor have we seen an update for Mobile either.
Windows 10 Redstone 3: Everything we know so far
Microsoft will likely talk more about NEON next week at Build 2017 in Redmond. The company is expected to keep tweaking the Windows 10 UI and core apps with the changes leading up to Redstone 3 this fall. Third party apps are already doing it themselves, but formal guidance on the UI from Microsoft should be coming soon.
Thanks, Jesse C., for the tip!
