Windows 12 concept video shows how Microsoft's next OS might look - and it's surprisingly slick

Ever wondered how Windows 12 might look? Of course, we don't know for sure that's what it'll be called, but whatever Microsoft names its next-gen OS, we've just been treated to a concept video of how it might turn out.

Watched it yet? It's the clip just above this paragraph - credit to The Register for spotting it - so give the video a whirl, and come back when you're done. Otherwise you won't know what we're banging on about in the following paragraphs (more so than normal).

The concept design (note: it has nothing to do with Microsoft) presented by 'AR 4789' is very smart and we like the more streamlined feel to the desktop and core elements of the interface. It's much like the modern design of Windows 11, but a bit neater, bolder, and cleaner (though still very obsessed with those rounded corners).

We can see Microsoft going for this kind of aesthetic with next-gen Windows, in all honesty - except for moving that taskbar up top. Right now, a big bugbear with many Windows 11 users is that you can't shift the taskbar away from the bottom of the screen (to the top, or sides, as is possible with Windows 10). So maybe this is a subtle nudge to show Microsoft the way in this respect.

As for the elements of the interface themselves, they're borrowed from Windows 11 and test builds of the OS in the main, which of course makes sense. In theory, test versions of Windows 11 right now represent what we'll see in the new version of Windows later this year, which was previously rumored to be Windows 12 (or next-gen Windows).

Of late, however, the rumors have turned towards this year seeing a Windows 11 24H2 update, rather than an all-new OS as such. But still, this is what the concept video maker has got to work from nonetheless in terms of what we expect to get from Windows in the near future.

What AR 4789 doesn't really go into is AI features for Windows 12. Copilot doesn't even appear (a missed chance to have a plane graphic flying around the desktop, frankly), and the AI functionality included is just wallpaper stuff. (We've already heard about the latter on the rumor mill - we could get parallax style fancy AI-powered backgrounds that 'pop' out of the screen, as it were).

Of course, there will be a lot more AI involved in next-gen Windows, but exactly where it will be applied is anyone's guess. It's entirely possible that the eventual aim will be for AI to shape the interface of the desktop OS based on your usage patterns, in one way or another.

If this video rings a bell, it's probably because AR 4789 put together another clip on YouTube a couple of weeks back which showed off Windows XP 2024 - a look at the much-loved operating system of yesteryear in a modern format. (That particular nostalgia trip is right here, if you're curious).