These may be some of the first screenshots of the Windows 11 operating system, which is expected to be unveiled at a special event later this month.

The screenshots, first posted on Chinese site Baidu and described as Windows 11 beta by user sdra_owen, claim to show a new app browser window and centralized taskbar design. It's more MacOS-style, dare I say it, than what we're used to with Windows. In reality, though, the image is almost identical to the currently cancelled Windows 10X UI.

Screenshots of an operating system that has not yet been released are usually too easy to fake, especially one that looks almost identical to one of Microsoft's past projects. In fact, the installation date on one of the screenshots is in the future, and the settings window does not match the soft design philosophy seen in the screenshot of the new Start menu. Neither of these factors convince us of the article's authenticity.

Nevertheless, despite my own misgivings, these may still be real, and The Verge's Tom Warren is happy to confirm that, yes, this really is what the UI and taskbar will look like in the next Windows update. And the new version of Microsoft's OS will really be called Windows 11.

Also, Windows Central has previously stated that they expect the centralized taskbar to work in future versions of Windows.

Recent job postings from Microsoft hint at a "multi-year journey" to overhaul Windows 10.

We can't yet be entirely certain that this is what Windows 11 (as it will likely be called) will look like when it launches. That said, I'm not immediately averse to the change, probably because I rarely see the Start menu anyway and the rest of the UI is very similar to Windows 10.

If the rumors are true, this could be the beginning of more iterative updates to the OS as a whole.

The Windows Sun Valley update is still said to be released later this year, but it may be incorporated into Windows 11. There is talk that this major update will have a more floating UI design, which is consistent with what is being leaked today, so I would like to believe that is indeed the case. But the only way to find out for sure is to check out Microsoft's June 24th event, where they'll be showing off the new UI design, and I'm sure you'll be able to see it for yourself.