Windows Blue will reportedly keep Metro UI

Windows 8 is yet to spread as completely and successfully as its predecessors, but one thing is for certain–the Metro UI is here to stay. According to reports in the media, it looks like the tile-based UI will remain an integral part of the future version of the OS. This new OS has been codenamed Microsoft Blue and will retain the UI.

A PCBeta poster claiming to be an alpha tester for “Windows 9 Dev” offered some hands-on details on Windows Blue. The operating system is rumoured to be part of Microsoft’s efforts to provide yearly, affordably-priced Windows updates. Users got an early taste of Microsoft’s upcoming plans when it was announced that they could upgrade from Windows 7, XP and Vista to Windows 8 for a mere $40. This is rumoured to be a part of Microsoft's new plan to release yearly, affordable Windows updates to their OS. Not surprisingly, this seems to be modelled on Apple’s iOS updates.

Metro UI is here to stay! (Image credit: All Things D)

Windows Blue is not only set to retain the Metro UI but will also incorporate the resizable Windows Phone 8 tiles that allow more scope for customisation and lead to a more dynamic UI on tablets and PCs.

BGR reports that the PCBeta tester mentioned that a new kernel (6.3) will be used, which should give the entire OS more polish.

Microsoft took a huge leap of faith when it released Windows 8 with a completely refurbished user interface that had a flat, typographically heavy design. Even though the initial sales do not seem to be matching up to Microsoft aspirations and users are taking their own sweet time to embrace the new design, the future seems bright for Microsoft thanks to some really good marketing strategies.

It should be noted that Microsoft has had to face issues over the use of the name Metro in the past. In August, Microsoft released documents that replaced the word Metro UI or Metro with Modern UI or Modern user interface. One example of such a change is “Windows 8 is Windows re-imagined. Join this session to learn about the new platform for building Modern UI-style applications. You’ll get a deeper understanding of the platform design tenets, the programming language choices, and integration points with the operating system and across Modern UI-style apps. We’ll also demo the Windows Store and the many different ways to monetize your application, including subscriptions, trial apps, advertisement, and in-app purchases.”

Microsoft had claimed that ‘Metro’ was just a code name for the interface used by developers, and generic use of the code by the public was never intended. However, as per a report by ZDNet, this switch was made owing to a naming dispute with its European partner, Metro Group. The fact that Microsoft went with a name as boring as Modern UI supports the idea that it might have been caught off-guard by the naming dispute.