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Microsoft is preparing to revamp the Windows 11 Start menu with a broader layout, enhanced customization, and AI-powered integrations, while also sharing a trove of previously shelved design concepts that hint at far more radical directions it considered.
The redesigned menu expands horizontally to accommodate up to eight app icons per row without splitting into multiple pages, while retaining a single, continuous scroll for “All Apps.” Users can now pin more shortcuts in a single view, reducing taps to launch frequently used applications.
Responding to longstanding feedback, Microsoft adds a toggle to hide the Recommended section, allowing the Start menu to display only user-pinned items if desired. Power users have long decried the feed as clutter; this change grants them uncluttered access to their app grid.
A dedicated Phone Companion pane embeds into the Start menu’s right side, surfacing synced smartphone content without launching a separate Phone Link app. Microsoft’s Copilot AI agent is poised to extend into the Start menu, promising context-aware app suggestions and file retrieval based on user behavior. Early builds showcase AI-driven “For You” sections that proactively surface Teams meetings, recent documents, and even recommended web videos.
The refreshed Start menu is now available to Windows Insiders in the Dev and Canary channels and is slated for general release in Windows 11 version 24H2 later this month. Users on production builds should expect a phased rollout in the first half of 2026 as part of Microsoft’s regular cumulative updates.
