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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- You don't person to beryllium stuck with the Windows 11 UI.
- These 3 options tin crook Windows 11 into thing else.
- Two of these options are free, and the different is affordable.
I remember, mode backmost erstwhile I worked for a institution that required the usage of Windows, I discovered alternate idiosyncratic interfaces that could astatine slightest marque Windows look a spot much breathtaking and, well, similar Linux.
Flash guardant to today, and I thought I'd spot if immoderate of those bully aged alternate Windows shells were inactive around. Although those UIs I retrieve utilizing nary longer exist, I did find 3 that are not lone inactive disposable but tin assistance springiness the Windows UI a facelift.
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Of these 3 shells, lone 1 dramatically changes the mode Windows 11 looks and feels, portion 1 of them works a spot much subtly, and the different is adjacent much subtle. But adjacent with the changes, you tin get Windows 11 to look a spot little quadrate and clunky… if that's up your alley.
1. Seelen-UI
I covered Seelen-UI successful extent backmost successful 2025 and recovered it to beryllium a existent enactment of caller air. With this alternate shell, you tin customize Windows to beauteous overmuch look nevertheless you want. You tin determination panels, alteration transparencies, change the menu, taxable the UI, and truthful overmuch more. In conscionable a fewer speedy seconds, I was capable to tweak the Windows 11 desktop to lucifer MacOS oregon conscionable astir immoderate fixed Linux desktop.
I find Seelen-UI to beryllium the easiest mode to person a customized Windows 11 desktop, but I don't deliberation this is conscionable for aesthetics. Seelen-UI besides makes it imaginable to eke retired a spot much ratio from Windows, with a much-improved UI.
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With Seelen-UI, you tin besides adhd tiling windows into the mix, bask a immense array of customizations, usage an integrated media module, and use antithetic themes, layouts, and icons.
Seelen-UI is reasonably straightforward to use, and (even better), it's free.
What much tin you inquire for? Well, Seelen-UI allows you to get precise granular with your customizations, and determination are besides plugins you tin install, specified arsenic Fancy Taskbar and (Almost) Liquid Glass.
I would say, of each the alternate Windows shells I've ever tried, Seelen-UI is by acold the best.
2. Cairo Desktop
Cairo is reasonably flexible, truthful you tin person a desktop that resembles thing altogether different.
Cairo Desktop comes successful a adjacent 2nd for my favourite alternate Windows 11 desktop. Cairo Desktop is dynamic, gives you a much businesslike programs menu, eliminates ads, supports folder stacks, and allows you to signifier your commencement paper however you privation it. You tin rapidly unfastened important folder locations, make stacks connected the paper bar, and browse from your desktop.
What does that adjacent mean?
Essentially, Cairo Desktop serves arsenic an interactive record browser. Double-click a folder to navigate without adjacent having to unfastened a record manager. You besides get a dynamic desktop overlay, without having to fell oregon interrupt your work.
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Another useful diagnostic is the quality to add/remove/manage the apps recovered successful your desktop menu. You tin adjacent adhd categories to the paper and displacement them astir arsenic needed. This is simply a large mode to adhd adjacent much ratio to your Windows workflow.
From my perspective, Cairo is acold much businesslike than thing Microsoft has ever produced.
3. Start11
Start11 lone affects the paper and taskbar.
Start11 truly conscionable affects the Windows Start menu. This alternate was created by Windowblinds, which happens to person been 1 of my favourite alternate Windows shells from backmost successful the day.
Start11 is overmuch much subtle than the different 2 options, but if you already similar the Windows 11 UI, you tin springiness it a fewer personalized tweaks with this app.
You tin take from a enactment of Start Menu styles, including Windows 7, Modern, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows App, Windows Pro, and Windows Launcher. Each enactment tin beryllium further customized to springiness it a unsocial look and feel.
The customizations bash not extremity with the commencement menu, but besides let you to tweak the panel.
If you've ever wanted to springiness your accepted Windows 11 UI a spot of a facelift, Start11 is what you want.
The lone caveat to Start11 is that it's not free. You tin effort Start11 with a 30-day trial, but aft that, it's either $10 annually oregon a $20 one-time fee.
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