When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Windows 11 is getting a new Start menu, here is how it was made, including prototypes Taras Buria Neowin @TarasBuria · May 9, 2025 14:20 EDT Did you hear the news that Windows 11 is getting a shiny new Start menu? Earlier this week, alongside the announcement of the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop, Microsoft revealed the much-reworked Start menu, plus some new features (some of which are slightly delayed). Now, in a new blog post on the Microsoft Design website, Microsoft revealed how it came to the new Start menu that will soon be available for Windows 11 users. Microsoft says it followed the following four "guiding stars" to make the new Start menu: Apps, at a glance: all your apps, including pinned, installed, and freshly discovered, should be "right there." Make it yours: the menu should reflect your preferences and workflow, showing what matters the most to you. Accelerate the day: speed things up by eliminating unnecessary clicks. Honor the icon: keep the menu familiar while also offering some new stuff. The design team prototyped a bunch of designs. Here are some of them with some interesting ideas, including a unique take on app categorization, a segmented Start menu, widgets in the Start menu (remember live tiles?), some seriously radical notions, and more: Microsoft adds that over 300 Windows 11 users helped the company in their studies, and some even joined live co-creation calls. As a result, the company implemented the following changes: What users asked What Microsoft made Easier app discovery A single-view Start menu with your pins at the top, recommendations in the middle, and dynamic app categories or the list of all apps below. No more switching between different views. Smarter suggestions Windows 11 now learns your preferences for more useful recommendations. Plus, the recommended section could be fully turned off (one of the most popular requests from users) More control You can select what you want to see more of: pins or recommendations. Clear mobile separation A separate pane for all Phone Link-related content. Here is the final result in action: The company also notes that the goal was to ensure the Start menu looks good and is well-optimized for devices ranging from a small Surface Go to massive 49-inch ultrawide displays. Microsoft does not say when the new Start menu will be publicly available for testing (not to mention the public release), but you can already toggle it on using feature IDs in recent Windows 11 preview builds. What do you think about the Start menu redesign? Do you like how Microsoft addressed popular criticism? Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed