Windows 11s new Start menu falls short in one key area and its making people angry

Date:
Wed, 18 Jun 2025 10:52:36 +0000

Description:
Windows 11s new Start menu misses a trick (or two) with customization, but Im hoping Microsoft will change its tune here.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Microsof t has a Start menu redesign in testing This introduces new layouts for the list of all apps One of those layouts is a category view, and weve had confirmation from Microsoft that it wont be possible to customize this to
your liking

Weve just learned more about how Microsofts revamped Start menu will work
when it arrives in Windows 11, and not everyone is happy about the new info aired here.

Windows Latest reports on an element of customization that falls short of what some Windows 11 users were hoping for, and it pertains to one of the new layouts being introduced for the list of apps.

As you may recall, with the redesigned Start menu which is in test builds of Windows 11 now the long list of apps installed on the PC can be set to a couple of more compact alternative layouts, one of which is a grid and the other a category view.

Its the latter were interested in here, whereby apps are grouped into different categories such as Games, Productivity, Creativity, Social, Utilities and so forth. Each of these categories has a box in which up to
four icons for the most commonly-used apps appear, and the full roster of
apps is found within if you open the category all of which allows for an easier way to locate the app youre looking for, rather than scrolling through a lengthy alphabetical list.

So, whats the beef thats been raised here? Windows Latest has received confirmation from Microsoft that it wont be possible to create your own category types.

Windows 11 will, of course, make the decisions on how to categorize apps and where they belong, but there are some interesting, and less than ideal, nuances picked up by Windows Latest here.

Any app that Windows 11 isnt sure about will go in the Other category, for
one thing. Also, if there arent three apps for any given category because
you dont have enough creativity apps installed on your machine, say then a stray creativity app (like Paint) will be dumped in Other. Analysis: improved customization could still be offered with any luck (Image credit: MAYA LAB / Shutterstock)

If Microsoft gave folks the ability to make their own category folders, they could have a few alternative dumping grounds to Other categories named so that the user could better remember what apps they contain.

However, with Windows 11 overseeing category allocation, it seems like Microsoft wants to keep a tight rein on the groups that are present in this part of the interface. Sadly, it isnt possible to move an app from one category to another, either (as Windows Latest has highlighted in the past), should you disagree with where its been placed and this latter ability is a more telling shortcoming here.

The new Start menu remains in testing, so Microsoft may make changes before
it arrives in the finished version of Windows 11. Thats entirely possible, especially seeing as Microsoft has (again) been stressing how its listening
to user feedback in order to better inform Windows 11s design, the Start menu overhaul included .

So, simply being able to drag and drop icons between these categories is something we can hope for, in order to reclassify any given app its a pretty basic piece of functionality, after all. We may eventually get to define our own categories, too, but for now it appears that Microsoft is taking a rather rigid approach to customization with this part of the menu.

Expect this Start menu makeover to be one of the central pillars of Windows
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/windows-11s-new-start-menu-falls-s hort-in-one-key-area-and-its-making-people-angry


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