Windows 11 has a rare Start menu change inbound, possibly - one that might make you smile

Windows 11 could get a change to the Start menu which would make it easier to deal with your apps, rather than having them in a long list that you're forced to scroll through.

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Windows 11's Start menu being improved? It could happen, despite all the pushing for adverts of late (Image Credit: Microsoft)

In case you didn't guess, we're talking about the All Apps section of the Start menu in Windows 11, which is currently laid out in a clunky list format - but all that could change if clues in testing are anything to go by.

You may recall that Microsoft is testing a grid layout instead of the current scroll-athon of a list, and also that a new category view was spotted in testing quite recently.

Well, it appears the latter has progressed further down the line in preview, as Windows Latest reports that in the new beta build of Windows 11, the category functionality is more fleshed out (though note it's still hidden, and not formally being tested - yet).

Instead of being implemented as a makeshift piece of interface with colored blocks representing app icons, the application icons are now in place.

As Windows Latest points out, the category view presents apps - in categories, obviously (such as entertainment, or navigation and maps) - as a bank of four. However, when there are more apps that need to be listed, four mini-icons can be used in place of one, so if needed, up to 16 apps can be highlighted upfront in any given category.

Whether Microsoft will change this implementation, we don't know - we can't even be sure this Start menu tweak will go into testing (formally in a preview build, that is). It's one to keep an eye on, though, as it's definitely a better way of organizing the list of apps in the menu (as is the grid view, for that matter).