Windows 11s big Start menu revamp is real Microsoft has shared a first look at the redesign, and Im very glad to see it

Date:
Wed, 07 May 2025 14:35:57 +0000

Description:
Fed up with Windows 11s Start menu? Microsoft has confirmed that a redesign
is coming, and it looks promising even at this early stage.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Microsof t has revealed fresh changes for normal Windows 11 devices, alongside all the revelations just made about Copilot+ PCs This includes a big move with redesigning the Start menu which was previously leaked in testing Hopefully the choice to drop the recommendations section from the Start menu, as seen
in that leak, will be kept in

Microsoft has confirmed that a major redesign of the Windows 11 Start menu is coming, along with some other useful-sounding tweaks.

In case you missed it, theres just been a major reveal about all the goodies inbound for Copilot+ PCs including an AI agent embedded in the Settings app
, to sort out changes for you but there were also revelations regarding normal Windows 11 PCs (you know, the kind that almost everyone still uses).

The revamped Start menu is not a surprise, as a leaker previously uncovered the work hidden in test builds . However, with Microsoft now officially revealing it, we know itll be live and being tested in Windows 11 preview builds soon.

The idea is to take the Start menu and turn it into a single scrollable
panel, with pinned apps at the top, recommendations underneath, and the full exhaustive list of apps installed on your PC under that at the bottom. The current layout has that full list of apps split off into a separate panel (which you switch to with a button click).

Consolidating all this into one section makes sense to me, and the menu will wider to help accommodate the extra content.

On top of this, Microsoft has been doing some tinkering with the layout choices for the full list of apps to enable them to fit the available space better. Thats already underway in testing , allowing you to organize the app list in a more compact manner using categories as one option.

Microsoft notes that : The new all apps category view automatically sorts based on the apps and categories you use most, so you can quickly access all your favorites.

Aside from the work on the Start menu, Microsoft is also introducing AI actions in File Explorer. This means that when you're working with File Explorer the folders on your desktop youll get AI-related actions on the right-click menu. So, for example, an image file might have an AI ability pertaining to the Photos app as a shortcut.

This is essentially a vanilla take on Click to Do , which is the more in-depth context-sensitive system of AI functionality incorporated with Copilot+ PCs (which have a fair few extra AI capabilities, of course, and
that number is slowly increasing as we've seen).

Windows 11s Notepad app is also getting beefed up, with AI features that
allow for generating text or summarizing an article. Some more formatting options are arriving, too, in the form of headings and support for lists,
plus bolding and italics.

These appear to have been drafted across thanks to the demise of WordPad , with Notepad slowly getting more features added to offer a workable alternative in Windows 11. (Although some folks dont want Notepad to be bloated with this stuff, it must be remembered).

All the above is inbound for Windows 11 testers soon, and Microsoft says
these features should arrive at some point this month. It may still be a good while before they filter through to release versions of the OS, mind you especially that Start menu overhaul, which is obviously a sizeable undertaking. That could be destined for Windows 11 25H2, which Microsoft is rumored to be working on now . (Image credit: Microsoft) Analysis: a good Start but I hope Microsoft retains a key option leaked in testing

Its good to see that this new layout for the Start menu is coming into play, because, as I remarked when it was first sighted hidden in test builds, I think its a laudable transformation for this crucial part of the Windows 11 interface (ignoring that awful green color scheme visited upon the desktop in Microsofts teaser, I should add).

Some of my praise, mind you, was based on the fact that the leak also highlighted a new option to get rid of the recommendations panel entirely in the Start menu. Now, Microsoft certainly doesnt mention that here, but the company wouldnt go into any nitty-gritty details in a brief first reveal like this.

So Im hoping that this option will still be available when this new layout officially comes to Windows 11 test builds and it makes sense that it would be, because, as noted, space is at a premium here, and dumping that section
of the panel would be handy in that respect. The choice to ditch recommendations is also an ability that many Windows 11 users have been keen to see implemented (and thats an understatement).

For those worried about the overall size of the Start menu with the offshoot Phone Link side panel also being present on the right-hand side, as you can see in Microsofts above screenshot of the new UI it doesnt hog the whole desktop anymore, as it seemed to do when a leaker fudged it to appear in a Windows 11 test build recently.

All in all, the redesigned Start menu is shaping up well. Lets just keep our fingers crossed that the choice of jettisoning the recommendations section isnt something that Microsoft has had a rethink about. You might also like... Been hiding from Windows 11 24H2 due to the fuss about all the bugs? Theres nowhere to run now as Microsofts made the update compulsory Microsoft looks
to be making a big change to how you install and log in to Windows 11 and Im not happy about it at all Windows 11 fully streamlined in just two clicks? Talon utility promises to rip all the bloatware out of Microsofts OS in a hassle-free way



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/windows-11s-big-start-menu-revamp- is-real-microsoft-has-shared-a-first-look-at-the-redesign-and-im-very-glad-to- see-it


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