With the release of the January cumulative update, Windows 11's newly designed Start menu has entered a wider push stage, and more devices will receive this change. For users who have not seen the update yet, Microsoft recommends turning on the "Get the latest updates" switch in "Windows Update" to speed up the delivery of the new Start menu. Microsoft said that this revision has been gradually opened to more users since last week and is expected to cover a wider installation base in the coming days to weeks.
According to reports, Microsoft has been polishing this version of the Start menu for nearly a year. After rejecting dozens of more radical design proposals, it finally selected the current version. Microsoft emphasizes that there is no "tremendous" change in the overall structure of the new Start menu and the existing Windows 11 Start menu. If users don't like the current generation of Start menu, there is a high probability that they will not fall in love with this adjustment.
When elaborating on the design ideas, Microsoft said that the starting point of this revision is to "maintain the original intention of the Start menu" and make it more suitable for the current use environment with faster pace and noisier information. Microsoft said that its team carefully read a large number of user opinions in the feedback center and came to several conclusions: On the one hand, the Start menu must be faster, because this is where users "start everything" in Windows 11; on the other hand, it must be more "personalized" and "calm", which is one of the reasons why recommended content is turned on by default.
Microsoft emphasized that the new start menu has formed a clear hierarchical structure in layout: the search bar is at the top, fixed shortcut icons are below it, recommended content is next, and other entrances are at the end. The purpose of the search bar at the top is to allow users to type directly and quickly jump to the target application, file or picture. Below the search bar is the user-fixed application icon area, while the most controversial "recommended" information flow remains. Microsoft explained that the recommendation module was added to provide users with "smarter suggestions."
Microsoft said that the recommended content will be learned and adjusted in real time based on the user's actual usage, and it also provides a turn-off option. If the user feels that such prompts are useless, they can choose to hide them. In the current version, users can disable recommended items in the Start menu by going to "Settings > Personalization > Start" and turning off the "Show recommended files in Start menu, Show recently used files in File Explorer, and Show items in Jump List" switches.
The way the application list is presented is also a major focus of this adjustment. Microsoft said that based on feedback, users want to more easily discover and find installed applications, so the company has moved all applications originally located in the "All Apps" list to the main interface of the Start menu. Microsoft also admitted that the new application list design is, to a certain extent, hoping to make the Start menu more "mobile phone-like" - which is why some interfaces similar to the category grid view are reminiscent of mobile systems such as iOS.
According to the official statement, "All Apps" has been promoted to the top entry of the Start Menu, and three view modes are provided, including an interface presented in the form of a classified grid that prioritizes users' most commonly used applications to reduce the need for long scrolling to find applications. Microsoft summed up the experience difference brought about by this change as "no more marathon scrolling."
In addition to fine-tuning the layout of the Start menu itself, Microsoft has also adjusted the panel shape related to mobile phone-related functions. The Phone Link panel is now designed as an optional small side panel that slides out from the edge of the screen when needed and retracts completely when not needed to minimize interference with the main interface. Microsoft describes it in internal documents as "a slim phone sidebar that slides in from the edge and is always there when you use it."
However, for users who don’t like this revision, an unfriendly reality is that the system level no longer provides a native option to return to the old version of the Start menu. Currently, the only way to go back is to use third-party open source tools to manually turn off the new start menu related functions. The report pointed out that such tools are likely to become invalid as the system evolves in the future, so retaining the old Start menu experience is not a long-term solution.