Last Updated on October 12, 2021 by Mathew Diekhake

Apart from getting the features and navigation right, there isn’t much else you can do to a modern operating system other than making sure the graphics upon that navigation are as good as they can be. It is no surprise then that both Apple and Microsoft put a lot of effort into the appearance of the icons you get around the operating system. For Apple, this is on full display immediately from the Dock, which is located at the bottom of the screen, and in our opinion, is definitely part of the attraction when using macOS.

Windows 10 doesn’t have a Dock like macOS does—instead, it prefers to keep the desktop and taskbar mostly clean and uncluttered—but it doesn’t take long after clicking on the famous Windows Start menu before the icons are on full display; and these Windows 10 icons, along with the general UI appearance, are how you immediately know older versions of Windows such as the popular Windows 7 are officially outdated.

That being said, when Windows 10 was first released, it offered a mixture of icons—from Windows XP, Windows 2000, and even dating back as far as Windows 95! When you have icons dating that far back, there are going to be problems with getting those icons to mesh with one another because over time, what is graphically “in-style” changes to a large degree. Subsequently, it only made sense for Microsoft to work on an entirely new icons package for future versions of Windows 10; icons that would all be designed at the same time so not only would they suit each other but so they would also suit the operating system that surrounds them.

The first updated apps to roll out to Windows 10 users are the Mail and Calendar icons. This is likely because they’re viewed the most since they appear at the top of the Start menu and have the largest icons. Expect the rest of the icons to roll out to future builds of Windows 10 very soon.

Sticky Notes is a desktop notes application included in Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. It was present in Windows Vista as a gadget for the Windows Sidebar, and originated in Windows XP Tablet Edition in 2002. The program allows users to take notes using post-it note–like windows on their desktop. According to a Microsoft employee, there were eight million monthly Sticky Notes users as of April 2016

Sticky Notes New icons

A Sticky Notes app with new Fluent Design of Windows 10, Which also allows you to pin the notes in Compact Overlay mode so you can keep using other apps but notes can still say on your screen ( picture in picture mode ), and also built in search filtering of your notes.

How the rest of the fluent design system apps, installed Windows apps, and provisioned Windows apps icons appear:

Windows Alarms & Clock

Microsoft Windows 10 Fluent Design: Alarm icon

Windows Calculator

Microsoft Windows 10 Fluent Design: Calculator icon

Calendar

Microsoft Windows 10 Fluent Design: Calendar icon

Windows Camera

Microsoft Windows 10 Fluent Design: Camera icon

Feedback Hub

Microsoft Windows 10 Fluent Design: Feedback Hub icon

File Explorer

Microsoft Windows 10 Fluent Design: File Explorer icon

Groove Music

Mail

Windows Maps

Movies & TV

Mobile Plans

MSN Weather

Microsoft Sway

MS Office Icons


Paint 3D

People

Microsoft Photos App (November, 2019)

Older Microsoft Photos App (256 Colors)

Microsoft Planner

Solitaire Collection

Snip & Sketch

Microsoft Stream

Microsoft Tips

Microsoft Whiteboard

Mail and Calendar Apps for Android

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