14 DAY TRIAL // The Windows 10 Start menu comes with a neat blur effect that makes it look really good on the overhauled desktop, and the very same effect is also used in the action center for the very same purpose.
A few months ago, the blur effect was implemented by Microsoft in the taskbar too, but shortly after that, the company removed it for no clear reason.
But in a recent post on reddit, a Microsoft Windows engineer explains that the taskbar blur had to be removed for performance reasons, adding that this little effect hat a big impact on system performance. So it’s better without it, especially on slower computers, where every little thing makes a difference.
“We originally shipped taskbar blur in one of the flights, but unfortunately it had to be removed for performance reasons. Needless to say this is still feedback that's being tracked (along with requests for more aero features across the board). The best thing you guys can do for these sorts of requests is find other feedback in the feedback app and +1 it - it really helps in for raising awareness and potentially moving things around in the schedule,” the company engineer goes on to add.
Making Windows 10 blazing fast
Making Windows 10 as fast as possible was a priority for Microsoft, and the operating system indeed feels very responsive most of the time, although some of the animations, such as the one triggered when opening and closing the Start menu, make it feel otherwise.
Windows 10 was designed from the very beginning to be at least as fast as its predecessors, so if the blur effect on the taskbar had an impact on performance, removing it was clearly the only way to go.
As always, it’s only a matter of time until third-party developers create apps that can bring the blur effect on the taskbar, but users are expecting Microsoft to at least offer an option to enable it straight from the OS if their computer can handle it.