Microsoft is finally allowing Windows 11 to use clean icons for apps on the desktop if they were downloaded from the Store. Previously, when you pinned a packaged app (UWP/MSIX), Windows used a coloured icon format, which resulted in a desktop with accent-themed boxes around the app icons. This is no longer the case.
As shown in the above screenshot, the Windows 11 desktop doesn’t look tidy when you create dozens of shortcuts of Store-based apps. This includes Outlook (web), which is also a packaged Store app.
I understand the logic originates from Windows 8, but since Windows 8 didn’t have a desktop, users didn’t notice it until Windows 10 shipped. This isn’t exactly a “bug” because that’s basically how Windows has always handled app shortcuts for the Store.
You can easily spot these apps if the icons are different than normal desktop shortcuts, coloured square backgrounds, and low quality. However, in newer builds, it’s all good, and you can see the result in the below screenshot I made:
In our tests, Windows Latest noticed that these shortcuts no longer have a coloured background and look like any other shortcut. Microsoft has also confirmed the nifty update in a blog post.
“Updated the logic for apps pinned to the desktop, so that packaged apps no longer show an accent colored backplate (for example, if you were to drag and drop Snipping Tool from the apps list in Start to the desktop). In doing this, the icons should be bigger and easier to see now,” Microsoft noted in a blog post spotted by Windows Latest.
Clean shortcuts will begin rolling out to everyone on Windows 11 23H2 and even 24H2 in the coming weeks. Once you have the update, icons will look sharper, cleaner and in line with other shortcuts on the desktop, but Microsoft warns that you’ll need to delete the existing shortcuts and create fresh ones to see the changes.
What else is coming to Windows 11?
A nice About page inside Settings > System is finally being tested. As Windows Latest previously reported, Microsoft is adding cards to the Settings page, so you can quickly understand the PC specs, but it’s not just about cards.
In newer builds, Microsoft is testing a new dedicated FAQ section that answers your questions, such as “8GB of RAM enough for playing games”? “Do I need GPU to play modern games?” and the list goes on.
These questions are tailored to the hardware specs and vary by device. However, what’s important to understand about the new FAQ sections is that they’re built for beginners, not power users, so do not expect “expert” level answers or questions.
As mentioned, the FAQ section and new desktop shortcuts treatment will begin rolling out to everyone in a few weeks.
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