Windows 10: Transparency on the Start menu is coming soon

Start menu with transparency in Windows 10

At the January press event, Microsoft unveiled quite a number of features and enhancements coming to Windows 10. Many of these new features are part of the latest Windows 10 build 9926, but Microsoft made it clear that many of the features shown during the presentation are from different unfinished builds.

During the demo, head of Xbox, Phil Spencer was using a different Windows 10 preview build to show off the new Xbox features coming to the operating system, and it unveiled an updated Start menu with transparency, which adds a little more personality to the menu. However, like in Windows 8.0, transparency for the Start menu is not a current feature in Windows 10 build 9926.

Now, watching the press event, we can see that it’s a feature Microsoft is working on and it might arrive in later builds, as the software maker mentioned that many of the features shown during the presentation are scheduled to arrive in the next 3-4-5 months.

I can only assume that it will be an optional feature within the Start menu options, similar to the Start screen background option in Windows 8.1.

Not only that, but you’ll also notice that the expand menu button, part of Continuum, is different than the one within build 9926.

While Microsoft opted to remove Aero Glass in Windows 8.1, users preserved some of the transparency in the taskbar, but this is going away in Windows 10. However, as we can see, transparency will not be completely gone in Windows 10. Microsoft is planning to add transparency to the Start menu, as it did with the Start screen in Windows 8.1. Windows Phone also includes some transparency and the February System Update for Xbox One will include transparent tiles in the dashboard.

Via Neowin

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.