There’s evidence that Microsoft is working on a category view for the Start menu, which sorts all of your apps under specific umbrellas. It was spotted as part of the latest Windows 11 Beta build, but you won’t find this feature as part of the patch notes. This is because Microsoft is still working on the feature, so it’s not officially released. Regardless, you can still force the feature to appear by tweaking your system using ViveTool.
The new feature was spotted by PhantomOfEarth, who has done an excellent job sleuthing out these hidden treasures. This time, they spotted the categories view in the Start menu and provided instructions on how to enable it, albeit in a half-finished form.
Windows 11's Start Menu Evolution
In recent times, it feels like Microsoft has been inundating users with the good and the bad. On one hand, you have cool features like category view that make the Start menu a lot more useful. On the other, the company has also been stuffing Windows 11’s Start menu with ads, which has ticked off a lot of users. And with apps like Start11 and StartAllBack providing users with an excellent alternative, the Redmond giant really needs to deliver more hits than misses if it wants people to use its stock option.
The category view aims to bring a more organized and user-friendly approach to navigating through applications. By grouping apps under specific categories, users can find what they need more quickly and efficiently. This could be particularly beneficial for those who have a plethora of applications installed and find themselves scrolling endlessly through the current Start menu layout.
However, the introduction of ads within the Start menu has been a point of contention among users. Many feel that the inclusion of advertisements detracts from the overall user experience, making the interface feel cluttered and commercialized. This has led some to seek out third-party alternatives like Start11 and StartAllBack, which offer a more streamlined and ad-free experience.
As Microsoft continues to develop and refine Windows 11, it will be interesting to see how they balance these new features with user feedback. The category view in the Start menu is a promising addition, but its success will largely depend on how well it is received by the user base and whether it can coexist with other elements like ads without causing frustration.
For now, those eager to try out the category view can follow PhantomOfEarth's instructions to enable it using ViveTool. While it may not be perfect yet, it offers a glimpse into what could be a significant improvement in how we interact with our applications on Windows 11.
