Is this the new Windows 11 Dark Mode?

A Leaked Screenshot Of Windows 11 Dark Mode
(Image credit: ALumia_Italia)

New screenshots online appear to give a more detailed look at Windows 11 Dark Mode, including Start Menu, Notifications, File Explorer, and more. 

The screenshots, courtesy of ALumia_Italia on Twitter, purportedly came from a "Microsoft employee who leaks internal stuff for fun" and show the various UI elements of the newly announced operating system.

The successor to Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system is still a few months away from general release, so assuming the screenshots are legit (always an open question with Twitter leaks), they may not be representative of the final look of the new OS's UI and Dark Mode theme. 

Microsoft has confirmed that there will be a Dark Mode in Windows 11, and with its beta release available to Windows Insiders as of today, we'll get a better look at Windows 11 Dark Mode pretty soon.

Windows 11 Dark Mode screenshots look a lot like Windows 10

While some of us have gotten a chance to play around with the leaked early build of Windows 11 earlier this month – strictly for journalism purposes, honestly – we haven't really dug into the nuts and bolts of the OS in a big way. It's an early build that is subject to change, especially around UI elements that are easier to adjust based on user feedback during beta testing, so nothing about the leaked build should be taken as settled.

The screenshots posted on Twitter definitely look like the build Microsoft showed off during its announcement event and you can definitely see that there are new features and UI elements to the OS, but there is something about Windows 11 Dark Mode that sucks the personality out of the lighter-themed Windows 11 that we saw during its reveal. 

Not everybody was thrilled by the new look of Windows 11 though, so Windows 11 Dark Mode could be a happy median for some since it really does soften the stylistic differences between the two different operating systems. Whether you like it or not, though, is obviously a matter of personal taste.

John Loeffler
Components Editor

John (He/Him) is the Components Editor here at TechRadar and he is also a programmer, gamer, activist, and Brooklyn College alum currently living in Brooklyn, NY. 


Named by the CTA as a CES 2020 Media Trailblazer for his science and technology reporting, John specializes in all areas of computer science, including industry news, hardware reviews, PC gaming, as well as general science writing and the social impact of the tech industry.


You can find him online on Threads @johnloeffler.


Currently playing: Baldur's Gate 3 (just like everyone else).