Windows 10 Anniversary Update Start Menu Tweaks Previewed By Microsoft

Microsoft is making some changes to the Start Menu in Windows 10, which you'll get to see in full force when it rolls out its Windows 10 Anniversary update sometime this summer. In the meantime, Jen Gentleman, a software engineer and community champ at Microsoft, gave anxious users a sneak peek by posting an animated GIF of the new Start Menu on Twitter. There's also a short Sway presentation that Microsoft put together.

If you're a fan of the Start Menu, don't worry, Microsoft isn't doing anything all that drastic to it. Barring a user revolt, following the update, clicking on the Start Menu will bring up the All Apps view by default. As it's currently configured in Windows 10, you have to bring up the Start Menu and then click on the All Apps option to see the same thing.

There may be other changes that Microsoft ultimately decides to implement between now and when the Windows 10 Anniversary update rolls out. That will partly depend on the feedback Microsoft receives, as it's fielding input from users through a short survey. The fourth and final question on the survey lets you tell Microsoft what you think it can do to make the Start Menu better, giving you 1,000 words to work with.

Microsoft is likely to tread carefully here. Looking back, there were two main reasons why Windows 8 never resonated with masses the Windows 10 is doing now. The first is that Microsoft tried force feeding users a tablet-friendly UI in the form of Metro. And the second reason was Microsoft's stubborn insistence on not including a Start Menu in Windows 8. Microsoft eventually threw users a bone by bringing back the Start button, but not the full fledged menu you see in Windows 10.

The reception to Windows 10 has been mostly positive. During its recent Build conference for developers, Microsoft updated the number of active Windows 10 installs, saying the number now sits at over 270 million devices. Given the early and sustained (up to this point) success, we'd be surprised if Microsoft did anything drastic to the Start Menu.