Microsoft improves Windows 11 Start menu, with no new ads in sight and
theres a bonus for the lock screen in latest preview

Date:
Tue, 27 Aug 2024 11:57:55 +0000

Description:
A new option for a Category view in the Start menus list of apps is a welcome change, if it emerges from testing.

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Windows 11 has a new preview build, and it comes with a few notable changes
to the interface for the better, thankfully, with no new adverts or promos anywhere to be seen.

Microsoft just introduced Windows 11 build 22635 (KB5041876) in the Beta channel, and the most interesting change is a hidden one, as flagged up by regular leaker PhantomOfEarth on X (who regularly uncovers features that
arent live in testing yet by enabling them via a Windows configuration tool). Category view for Start > All apps has been updated in 22635.4082 - tooltips containing app names are now displayed on hover, and the categories
themselves are different. https://t.co/ljO2tW4XvL pic.twitter.com/LVu3RHy4Ye August 26, 2024

As you can see in the above post, the Start menus (hidden) All apps category view now has not just icons representing all the apps shown in each category, but tooltips for their names when you hover the cursor over them.

The categories are mentioned in a follow-up tweet, as they have now been changed to mirror the same categories used in the Microsoft Store, the leaker observes based on a clue unearthed when rifling through Windows 11s Start
menu assets. It looks like category view will group apps using the same categories used by the Microsoft Store. They are numbered in this build. You can see which apps go where in "C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.Core_cw5n1h2txyewy\StartMenu\As sets\AllAppCategoryMappings.json" pic.twitter.com/ztA3TjVavV August 26, 2024

Elsewhere in build 22635, as Microsoft explains in the usual blog post , theres been some work on the lock screen , whereby media controls are now shown at the bottom of the screen when audio content is being played. This comes complete with a blur effect on the visuals thats a nice touch, PhantomOfEarth notes elsewhere.

On top of that, Microsoft has modified another tweak made in testing in the past, namely the introduction of notification suggestions, whereby Windows 11 will suggest turning off notification toasts from any given app if you dont interact with them for some time. This preview build witnesses the ability to turn off those suggestions (as opposed to the notifications themselves, we should clarify).

Theres the usual bunch of fixes here too, including resolutions for crashes with File Explorer and the Start menu. (Image credit: Ollyy / Shutterstock) Analysis: More choice is always good

Its good to see that work is progressing nicely on the new category view in the All apps panel. As weve discussed before, this is a refreshing change of layout from the default list of apps in the Start menu, a clunky affair thats simply presented in alphabetical order (leaving you with a lot of scrolling
to do, potentially, if you have lots of software installed).

Those who feel the category layout is perhaps more cluttered to look at, and prefer the list view as they feel its more streamlined, will be able to stick with it, by the way. A choice is set to be offered including the default
list, this new category view, and another grid view which is also in preview (if the latter two options ever emerge from testing, that is they may not, only time will tell).

For us, we feel that pinpointing apps using organized categories could be pretty handy, though its not surprising to see Microsoft adopt the categories used in its store here -hopefully, thats not a sign that the store is going
to be promoted somehow in this fresh take on the interface.

The way things are going, we assume this functionality will be live in a preview build before too long, but its probably too late to make the cut for Windows 11 24H2 at this stage. You might also like... Windows 10 may get one of the worst features added to Windows 11s Start menu Watch out: soon some older PCs will lose Windows 11 support Dont make these 5 big mistakes when using Windows 11



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsoft-improves-windows-11-star t-menu-with-no-new-ads-in-sight-and-theres-a-bonus-for-the-lock-screen-in-late st-preview


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