Microsoft is “exploring” a new design in the Windows 10 Start menu that will see the company focus on its dynamic thumbnails. The potential changes were revealed in a Windows Insider podcast today and are designed to “visually differentiate the Start menu from something chaotic to something more uniform.” Microsoft is looking to reduce the color of the tiled interface blocks in the Start menu to simplify it and make it easier to find applications.
The software maker has been using Live Tiles in the Windows 10 Start menu since its launch almost five years ago, providing animated and reverse icons similar to Windows Phone. Microsoft has already removed Live Tiles from its Windows 10X Start menu for dual screens, but the company says the colorful tiled interface will not disappear in the main desktop operating system despite this new design direction.
“Live Tiles will not go away, we haven’t announced anything like it,” said Brandon LeBlanc, senior program manager on the Windows Insider team. “Those who love their Live Tiles can continue to do so.”
Despite these assurances, it appears that Live Tiles will be completely removed at some point in the future. Not all of Microsoft’s built-in Windows 10 apps support them, and developer support hasn’t been strong either. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans say The edge that a final decision on Live Tiles in Windows 10 has not yet been made despite rumors, and that feedback from the change in Windows 10X will determine their future.
The new Windows 10X Start menu is very different from the existing Windows 10 desktop menu. It includes apps you can pin and a list of recent documents, and looks more like a task launcher than what currently exists. The design of the Windows 10 Start menu was recently finalized after Microsoft started deploying new Windows 10 colored icons. The new icons collide somewhat with the colored background of the Start menu tiles, and this small update design clearly aims to solve this problem.