Microsoft throws shade at macOS Tahoe’s familiar new vista

If you peeked over the platform wall at WWDC earlier this week and thought that the new “Liquid Glass” look for macOS and iOS seemed a little retro for the Windows faithful, you’re not alone. Social media was immediately awash with nerds comparing the new translucent visuals with Windows Vista from 2006—and Microsoft couldn’t resist joining in.

“Just gonna leave this here,” says the caption on a video posted to the official Windows Instagram account. It follows with screenshots of Vista and some familiar boot-up sounds. “Y’all good??? #Windows #WindowsVista #WindowsAero” is all that’s in the description. As of this writing, just one day after it was posted, the video has over 150,000 likes and 3,700 comments. The post was spotted by Windows Latest.

Long-time Windows fans know that Vista isn’t fondly remembered, nor does it have a sterling reputation. In the 21st century, Windows seems to be taking the Star Trek movie approach of alternating between quality and lack thereof—XP good, Vista bad, Windows 7 good, Windows 8 bad, Windows 10 good, Windows 11… well, maybe we’ll hold judgment until after that big transition coming in October.

But in terms of pure aesthetics and visual design, Vista seems to be undergoing something of a redemption. “Aero Glass” was the much-touted feature that added real-time transparency to the interface, albeit at a serious performance cost. And combined with a lot of faux greenery, the time period’s sleek, transparent, slightly wet look has been retroactively christened “Frutiger Aero.”

There seems to be something of a nostalgia kick for the look at the moment, so maybe Apple is hopping on the train. Or maybe Apple’s designers have approached the new look independently. Either way, it’s a small and very rare chance for Microsoft to garner a bit of social clout… which I suppose it could use right now.