The big picture: If there’s one thing Microsoft loves to tinker with, it’s the Start menu. After years of experimentation, the company still hasn’t settled on a final design for Windows 11. Microsoft continues to play around with different layouts and is even testing new “companion” panels in different configurations.
Another possible change involves new layouts for the All Apps section of the Start menu, including a category view. Instead of listing installed apps alphabetically, Microsoft seems to be testing an iOS/iPadOS-style system that automatically groups apps into categories like Productivity, Photo & Video, Entertainment, etc.
Windows Latest has shared a glimpse of what this might look like. The shared screenshot shows a grid of rectangular tiles, each representing a different category. Each category displays four apps, with the option to expand and show more. Additionally, a new companion widget floats to the right.
An earlier build from July showed only the basic structure of these categories, with each category displaying colored blocks instead of actual apps. The new build improves on this, although implementation appears to be a work in progress. While you can now see actual app icons in the blocks, the subcategory functionality for displaying more apps doesn’t seem to be working properly yet, the release said.
Beyond the iOS-like app categories, we previously covered an experimental, more traditional “All Apps” grid layout that groups apps alphabetically by the first letter of their name, similar to the app drawer on Android. This grid layout seems to be more advanced, with Windows Latest describing it as “in a much more functional state” than the categorical view.
These potential new layouts could be a welcome change from the current default “All Apps” setting, which frankly wastes too much space. Both the category and grid designs are intended to make navigation easier and help users find what they need faster. We speculate that both options could be included in the final version, with Windows letting users choose between them.
Of course, it’s normal for Windows to constantly tinker with the Start menu. Microsoft has been making changes to this central navigation component since Windows 8 introduced the tile-based Start screen design. Windows 11 has rolled back some of those radical changes, but as this latest experiment shows, Microsoft could be gearing up for another major UI overhaul.
