Microsoft Moves to Expand Windows 11’s Start Menu Redesign, Revealing Why It’s Changed Again

Microsoft has overhauled Windows 11’s Start menu for the first time since its 2021 launch, rolling out through the November 2025 Patch Tuesday update. Years of user frustration with its rigid, stripped-down design forced the company’s hand. The redesign introduces a unified scrollable pane, three customizable views, and Phone Link integration — fundamentally rebuilding the menu’s DNA as it honors its Windows 95 roots. There’s considerably more to unpack beneath the surface.

Microsoft is finally overhauling the Windows 11 Start menu — the first major redesign since the operating system launched in 2021. The update, rolling out through the November 2025 Patch Tuesday KB5068861 update, targets Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2, with a gradual expansion to all users regardless of version.

When Windows 11 arrived four years ago, it introduced a centred taskbar, static icons replacing Live Tiles, and a stripped-down Recommended section that users couldn’t resize or remove. The response was predictable frustration. Customisation enthusiasts felt locked out of their own desktops, and many Windows 10 users simply refused to migrate. Microsoft eventually heard that feedback.

The redesigned Start menu is bigger, smarter, and considerably more adaptable. It adjusts automatically to screen resolution and display size, which sounds simple but makes a genuine difference across devices. Gone is the separate All Apps page. Instead, everything lives inside a single, scrollable pane — pins, recommended items, and a full app library unified in one place.

Think of it less like rearranging furniture and more like finally knocking down a wall that never should have been there.

This isn’t a settings tweak. It’s Microsoft finally admitting the original blueprint had a flaw worth fixing.

Three views give users real control: Category automatically groups apps by type, similar to the iPhone App Library; List returns the familiar alphabetical rundown reminiscent of the legacy Start menu; and Grid displays apps in clean, alphabetical icon rows. Switching between them happens directly within the main menu without digging through settings. That alone should quiet the most vocal critics.

Microsoft additionally added Phone Link integration through an expandable side panel beside the search box, tightening the connection between Windows and users’ mobile devices. The search box, profile menu, power options, and folder access all remain intact. Users can also add system folder shortcuts near the Power button, offering quicker access to frequently used locations like Settings and File Explorer.

For Copilot+ PC owners, the update layers in additional features — Click to Do enhancements, on-screen text translation, unit conversions, Semantic Windows Search, and freeform and rectangle selection tools. These roll out gradually alongside the broader Start menu changes.

The redesign was first tested with Insiders earlier in 2025 through the Dev Channel before the wider release, a cautious approach that reflects Microsoft’s awareness of how sharply users react to Start menu changes. This is, after all, an interface with roots stretching back to Windows 95 — nearly three decades of muscle memory at stake. That iconic menu launched on August 24, 1995, replacing the Program Manager and introducing the cascading format that shaped how generations of users navigate their computers.

Whether this redesign succeeds where the 2021 version fell short depends largely on adoption. The changes are clearly engineered to win back Windows 10 holdouts who found the original Windows 11 experience too rigid and too unfamiliar.

With a scrollable layout, multiple view options, and better mobile integration, Microsoft is making a reasonable case. The Start menu has been a point of shared frustration for years. This update feels like the company is finally listening to its own community.

Final Thoughts

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