Microsoft is messing around with Windows 11’s Start menu again (but for a good reason)

The redesigned Start menu in Windows 11 has been some of the controversial modifications coming to the brand new working system, however Microsoft isn’t accomplished tweaking it.

The newest insider construct of Windows 11, which may be put in by individuals who have signed as much as assist take a look at out the working system earlier than its launch on October 5, makes a small – however helpful – tweak to the Start menu, by including ‘Sign-in options’ above the ability choices.

Being capable of shortly change the way you signal into Windows 11 is actually useful, so we’re glad to see Microsoft experimenting with simpler entry.

Even if you happen to’re testing out Windows 11, chances are you'll not see this variation simply but as the brand new construct, 22458, is presently solely out for individuals on the Dev Channel. This is for individuals testing very early variations of Windows 11, primarily to see if their apps are appropriate. Most individuals will most likely be utilizing the beta channel as a substitute, which provides older, however extra secure, Windows 11 preview builds. If this variation proves profitable then it might be a few weeks earlier than we see it within the beta channel.

Other modifications

As Windows Central experiences, this new construct consists of a number of bug fixes as nicely, together with a fixing a Start menu bug that affected its efficiency. Here’s the total listing of fixes from Microsoft’s changelog:

Fixed an underlying concern that was impacting Start reliability.
Folders with # in folder title can now be added to indexing.
Addressed a difficulty that was inflicting Settings to crash typically when making an attempt to open the Display web page.
Clicking “More about refresh rate” in Advanced Display Settings now opens the help web page it’s purported to.
Fixed a difficulty the place the Location web page in Settings wasn’t exhibiting warning textual content explaining why the situation providers setting was greyed out if it was greyed out.
Changes made to preferences underneath Manage App Execution Alias in Settings ought to now be preserved.
Fixed a couple of typos within the output of dll (Issue #206).
Mitigated a difficulty that would make sure video games unexpectedly crash when utilizing ALT + Enter (i.e., swap between full display and windowed) throughout with Auto HDR enabled.
Addressed a difficulty that was inflicting textual content truncation within the Encrypting File System window in sure instances.
Fixed a uncommon state of affairs that would end in an uninstalled in-box app unexpectedly reappearing after reboot.
Appx commandlets ought to now work with PowerShell 7.0+ printui.dll

This construct additionally consists of a new Tips app, which Microsoft says comes with over 100 suggestions “to help you get started on Windows 11 and learn new things—discover keyboard shortcuts, find ways to optimize your PC, dive into productivity tips for Office, power up your gaming on Windows, and much more.”

While this new app may assist individuals get used to Windows 11, there’s additionally concern that it may imply Windows 11 additionally will get extra annoying pop-ups. Let’s hope that’s not the case.

Analysis: Room for enchancment

As we talked about, Microsoft’s tweaks to Windows 11’s Start menu have supplied to be reasonably controversial. Moving it to the middle of the display has annoyed a lot of individuals, who're used to it being I the far-left of the taskbar. Pinning and shifting apps have additionally been restricted.

As Microsoft discovered with Windows 8, the place it dropped the Start menu altogether, a lot of Windows customers care deeply concerning the Start menu. As the title suggests, for many individuals it’s the very first thing they use when on their PC, so any modifications need to be fastidiously considered. After all, after the backlash Windows 8 acquired, the Start menu was again in Windows 10.

Part of the explanation why Microsoft has made Windows 11 out there early to insiders is to get suggestions, and if the issues concerning the Windows 11 Start menu are quite a few sufficient, it may result in Microsoft rethinking its plans.

This newest tweak additionally exhibits that Microsoft isn’t completed with the Start menu, and is making an attempt out new issues, even with the ultimate launch of Windows 11 coming in a few weeks. This is good information, because it exhibits the corporate is pleased to maintain engaged on the Start menu, and can hopefully discover a strategy to make it enchantment to as many customers as doable.