Before the General Release of Windows 11: Uncovering Windows 10’s Prototype UI Revisions

Almost a year before the official launch of Windows 11, back in October 2020, there was a rumor suggesting that Microsoft was working on a user interface (UI) revision for Windows 10. At that time, hardly anyone expected it to be the next major Windows version, as Microsoft had confirmed in 2015 that Windows 10 would be the final version of Windows.

The initial Cobalt build of Windows 10, version 21262, was leaked onto the internet through the DuoWOA Telegram group earlier this month. Cobalt eventually turned into Windows 11 version 21H2. In other words, even before the existence of Windows 11 was acknowledged, Microsoft embedded elements of Windows 11 into a Windows 10 build.

Screenshots of the ARM64 version of build 21262 running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Development Kit were shared in the group and subsequently sent to the BetaWiki website. The BetaWiki site notes that the core and HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) binary files in this special build were swapped with those from the relevant components of Windows 11.

Furthermore, a desktop screenshot was also shared. Interestingly, the Spartan Edge icon is visible in the build. Project Spartan was introduced by Microsoft in January 2015, and a month later, in February, the company elaborated on its benefits in a Q&A session.

Spartan eventually evolved into Edge and was also the name of the underlying rendering engine. A few years later, in 2019, Spartan Edge was succeeded by Chromium Edge starting from Windows 10 build 18362.266.

Finally, among other things, the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 processor, taskbar showing CPU usage, and Task Manager are visible. Interestingly, the design of the Settings app icon, which later appeared in Windows 11 and was subsequently redesigned in Windows 10, stands out.