Gone are the days of Aero glass, Metro is here to stay, both on the start screen and the desktop interface. WinUnleaked showed off the screenshots today, which reveal mostly what we expected, albeit with an extra option.

The screenshots below depict a flatter, cleaner and more colorful interface for the desktop that is consistent across the OS. In the latest builds, you are able to enable an option that lets you keep the taskbar color separate from the window color. Whilst some buttons have been updated, many still feature the Vista-era glossy icons. Hopefully that will change in a later build.

Colors are customizable, as in previous releases, but the default options are all pastel colors, just like the set found in the start screen.

Now that the Release Preview is out the door, it seems that Microsoft is getting extremely close to finishing Windows 8 and is gearing up for release to the public in time for the holiday season. You can view the full resolution screenshots, in all their pastel glory by clicking on the gallery at the end of this article.



Choosing a color - note the new "Use the same color for window borders" option



You can only select to have the taskbar and the windows the same color, otherwise windows remain white

What do you think of the changes? Are they for the better? Let us know in the comments!