Microsoft of today isn't known for taking chances, but it wasn't always like that. In 2012, the company released Windows 8, designed to be tablet-friendly, but it landed awkwardly in the market. So much so that a year later, Windows 8.1 was released to wipe out the memory of the earlier version, and made things a little more usable for desktop PC users.

The bold colors. The tile-based Start menu filled the screen, covering the apps you had already opened. Metro apps that felt exciting, mixed with the old UI of apps that never got updated. Tablet-optimized apps being used alongside a UI from earlier versions of Windows that didn't work with a touchscreen. Windows 8.1 had all of these things and more, and promised a future where the operating system was interesting again. Still, Microsoft listened to the loud subset of users and eventually released the pablum that is Windows 10.

I knew about all the issues, and I didn't care. I loved Windows 8.1, the bold, brash departure from how Microsoft usually built its desktop environments. It introduced a ton of cool features under the hood too, things that are a mainstay of the computing landscape, and while Microsoft didn't get things right, we wouldn't have the smooth experience we have on Windows 11 without those missteps.

Trying to capture the tablet market was a non-starter

But it meant Microsoft was forced to optimize for lower-end hardware

Windows 8 (and, by extension, 8.1) was Microsoft's attempt to stop Apple from eating its lunch. By this, I mean the iPad, which was gaining market share at the expense of low-end PCs and laptops. Now, Microsoft had tried to capture the mobile market for years, first by scaling down its desktop OS for smaller screens, realizing that didn't work, and then creating the Metro UI.

With Windows 8, it did the opposite, scaling up the mobile Metro UI for larger screens. It was such a not-like-Microsoft move that it confused the heck out of pretty much everyone in tech, and that was before we'd gotten hands-on with how the new operating system worked. That also meant optimizing Windows for low-powered devices, a drastic change from how earlier versions of Windows were scaled.

But the core idea was simple: make a tablet that's as powerful as a desktop PC for creating content. The iPad was very good at consuming content, but struggled with productivity tasks, something that it still does today, thanks to the restrictions of iPadOS and its file system. Microsoft wanted Windows tablets to become, if not the main PC, the first thing you'd think to reach for when you needed to travel or get some work done away from your desk.

It was a decade before its time

It's already a struggle to keep free space on my laptop now, even with one or two terabytes of SSD storage. But in 2013, I had 500GB of HDD in my laptop, and the struggle was even more apparent. One of the best features Windows 8.1 introduced is on-demand OneDrive storage, so files can take up space in the cloud rather than on my local hard drive unless I need them. Every other major cloud storage provider now does this as well, and it's such a blessing not to have to worry about juggling file storage.

The ability to snap apps side-by-side was also an invention of Windows 8.1. It didn't work all that well because it only supported Metro apps at the time, but has grown into the snap system that we all appreciate in Windows 11. And Windows 8.1 was the first free feature update that made significant changes to how Windows functioned. Service Packs used to change some things before this, but they never really changed Windows' look or how it felt overall.

Windows RT

I never had a Windows RT tablet running on an Arm processor, but I wanted one. The idea of running full desktop-quality apps on a tablet was too good not to try, especially for a kid who grew up immersed in the future-scapes of sci-fi. It didn't quite pan out because Arm processors weren't powerful enough at the time and the cut-down versions of apps created for Windows RT were similarly undercooked, but we wouldn't have Microsoft Surface devices powered by Arm today if Microsoft hadn't tried, and we might not have Apple Macs running Arm processors either.

Touchscreens weren't even mainstream (yet)

But I loved tapping my way around my laptop

Before getting a touchscreen laptop with Windows 8 installed, I was using Linux Mint or Windows XP on a computer that, frankly, had seen better days. The touchpad barely worked, so having a touchscreen display on my laptop felt like the future in more ways than one. I loved it, despite its issues, and the weird slide-to-shutdown motion that Windows made you do. I loved Live Tiles for showing me information without opening the app. I loved how responsive it was, and I particularly loved that I could have the same OS experience on my phone as on my desktop (RIP Nokia Lumia).

Windows 8.1 brought back the desktop and relegated the Start menu to hiding behind a button on the taskbar once again, and while it was more usable, it no longer felt like the future I'd seen. But I could ignore the desktop, mostly, and I lived in the tile-based Start menu. It felt new, it felt exciting, it felt like the first time I got a smartphone without physical buttons, and I was all-in.

Windows Phone was one of Microsoft's finest moments

The decision to scale up the Windows Phone Metro UI for Windows 8 and 8.1 was a genius move that everyone seemed to hate at the time. Traditional PC users hated it because it didn't behave like Windows, while newcomers disliked having to leave the tiles to complete some tasks.

These are valid criticsms, but not reasons to move away from the bold ideas in Windows 8 and 8.1. Microsoft listened to the wrong set of users —worried about losing market share —and toned things down for Windows 10 and 11. I wanted them to go bolder, bigger, brasher, and I'm disappointed they didn't even try.

I loved Windows 8.1 and want the tile-based desktop back

While the UI was polarizing, I was firmly in the love camp. I had a Lumia and later a Microsoft Kin, I loved the tiles, loved being able to rearrange my screen, and having a unified experience across the devices I used most. I still think it needs to come back for handheld gaming consoles, and probably for Surface tablets as well, but who knows what Microsoft will do next.