Microsoft has quietly issued a major update to the OneDrive app on Windows 11 that adopts the look and feel of that platform. I had no idea this was coming, and to my knowledge, Microsoft never tested this new OneDrive app with Insiders. But it looks like I have a book chapter to update this week.

And thanks to Neowin for the tip: I checked the PC I’m currently using in my home office, and I do have the update. So let’s take a quick look.

At first, it’s not clear that anything has changed: when you click the OneDrive icon in the notification area, you get the same UI as before.

But you can see the new interface by selecting Help & Settings > Settings. Instead of the old Control Panel-like interface, there’s a new Windows 11-style window with a familiar navigation bar on the left.

Sub-windows are modernized too: for example, the previous Manage Backup window has been replaced by a newer design that is clearer and, as important, also has new features: you can now backup/sync your Music and Videos folders to OneDrive as well! Nice.

Granted, not everything has been fully updated. The “Choose folders” interface is the same as before, though it does at least support dark mode. (I can’t recall if it did before.)

And I believe that this more granular Notifications interface is new. Unless I’m mistaken, you could only globally enable or disable notifications before. Now you can choose.

Overall, I like the new app quite a bit, in large part because it is a step forward in addressing one of the big issues with Windows 11, its user interface inconsistencies. I may still publish an editorial called “Skin Deep” about this, but the basic issue is that the new Windows 11-style interfaces are all just on the top surface of the UI: as you dig deeper, you find many older interfaces from Windows 10 (Reset this PC), Windows 8 (USB Autoplay), and older versions of Windows (Control Panel). But this OneDrive update looks good, and it looks natural in Windows 11.

Thanks to the myriad of ways in which Microsoft can update Windows now, it’s not yet clear how this update appears on your PC. I will investigate.