Windows 11 Testers Get Hands-On Experience with Enhanced Start Menu Features

Microsoft has introduced for Windows 11 testers the opportunity to experience a redesigned, larger Start Menu featuring a scrollable interface, new layouts, and increased customization options.

The initial version of the revamped Start Menu started appearing in Windows 11 builds back in April, with an official announcement made in May. Now, it is available for testing through the Dev Channel.

The Start Menu is now scrollable, which means that all applications are accessible in a single view, eliminating the need to navigate to a second page. Users can also disable the recommended section to display more of their own apps and choose between two new layouts: categories and grid. The category view groups applications by default, while the grid arranges them alphabetically.

Additionally, Microsoft has expanded the Start Menu. «On larger devices, users can see eight columns of pinned apps, six recommendations, and four category columns. Smaller devices display six columns of pinned apps, four recommendations, and three category columns,» the Windows Insider team notes.

To hide recommendations, users can turn off the following toggles in Settings > Personalization > Start: «Show recently added apps,» «Show recommended files in the Start menu,» and «Show websites from browsing history.»

Finally, a new mobile device button has been added to the Start Menu, allowing users to expand or collapse the Phone Link interface.

Windows 11 users can also select which lock screen widgets they wish to display.

Moreover, the latest Dev Channel build includes an updated Gamepad keyboard feature, enabling users to log into their PCs using a PIN via a controller.

In other news, users on the social platform X have discovered that the Start Menu button in Windows 11 is a poorly optimized React Native application. Each time the Start button is clicked, it can place a significant load (between 30% to 70%, depending on the PC’s configuration) on at least one CPU core.