Windows 11 22H2 isn’t a big release, but it comes with plenty
of minor improvements, especially for features like Settings
and Start Menu. While the
Settings app is getting Microsoft accounts integration, the
Start menu is getting features which were removed in the
original release.
In Windows 11, one of the biggest design overhauls is the Start
menu. By default, the Start menu is now placed in the center of
the taskbar. The operating system has been redesigned to put
everything at the center of your screen, unlike the old days of
Windows, when it was possible to move the taskbar to top or
left/right and everything was aligned left by default.
Windows 11’s Start menu comes with simple icons. On the other
hand, Windows 10 uses dynamic live tiles and it also allows
users to group tiles to further customise the Start menu. The
new Start doesn’t come with any option to customize the layout
as these features have been removed with Windows 11.
Start menu is getting folders support
If you are coming from Windows 10 or even Windows 8, you’ll
notice a big change to the Start menu.
When you open the Start menu on Windows 11, you will notice
icons instead of the live tiles. Unlike live tiles, which are
used to display live and animated updates like the News and
Weather apps, these icons are static and they can display
what they are.
With Windows 11 22H2, Microsoft is adding back some much-needed
features to the Start. The first new addition is support for
app folders and they much do pretty much what you’d expect –
group apps to space save and organize Start.
You’ll be able to create folders within the Start by dragging
and dropping one app icon onto another. A folder will be
created and name these folders too. For example, you can put
apps like Amazon Prime and Netflix in a folder called
“Entertainment”.
New layouts for Start
By default, the Start menu shows three rows of icons and
recommended activities.
Windows 11 22H2 comes with two new layouts for the Start.
In version 22H2, you can choose between the “More pins” or
“More recommendations” option to show an extra row of either
pins or recommendations.
New gestures for the Start menu
For tablet users, Microsoft is working on two new touch
gestures:
- Swipe to invoke and dismiss Start: You can now do a
four-finger swipe from the middle of the taskbar to open the
Start menu. You can swipe back down to close it. - You can now swipe right to left from Pinned to get to All
apps in the Start menu. You can also swipe left to right to get
back to Pinned.
It goes without saying live tiles on the Start menu offer a lot
of ways to customize the experience. Unfortunately, live tiles
are never returning to the OS as the company has given up on
tiles.
Windows 11 22H2 is expected to launch in October 2022 and
Microsoft has confirmed Build 22621 as the RTM (feature-locked
version) of the update.
