Windows 11’s new Start menu finally gives users the control they wanted

• Windows 11 build 26300.8553 introduces a redesigned Start menu with significantly more customization options.
• Users can independently show or hide the Pinned, Recent, and All apps sections, including creating an empty Start menu.
• The redesign adds small, large, and automatic size options, plus controls to hide the account name and profile picture.
• Microsoft is also exploring performance improvements through Low Latency Profile technology, while a native WinUI 3 Start menu remains in development.

Microsoft is testing a redesigned Start menu for Windows 11 via Insider builds in the Experimental channel, and for the first time since the operating system launched in 2021, the company appears ready to admit that users wanted more control, not less.

The update is currently rolling out to testers in the Experimental channel with build 26300.8553, and early hands-on testing shows a Start menu that can be customized far beyond anything available in the current version of Windows 11.

This isn’t about customization, it’s about trust

When Windows 11 debuted, the company made a controversial decision. It removed many of the customization features that had defined the Start menu for decades. Live Tiles disappeared. Layout options were reduced. Resizing became restricted. Users were left with a fixed experience that often felt designed around Microsoft’s vision rather than their own workflows.

That decision created a bigger problem than a missing feature would have. The Start menu stopped feeling personal.

For many users, the Start menu is the first thing they interact with every day. It’s the hub for launching apps, finding files, and navigating the operating system. When the software giant reduced customization, it also reduced a sense of ownership. However, the new redesign finally reverses that approach.

Microsoft is removing rules instead of adding features

What stands out about this update is not any single addition. It’s the freedom to decide what belongs in the Start menu.

When you open Settings > Personalization > Start, you can independently show or hide the “Pinned,” “Recent,” and “All” apps sections.

You can even show an empty Start menu by disabling all sections.

They can reduce the menu size. They can remove profile information. They can create layouts that prioritize app launching, recent files, or neither.

On paper, these changes may seem small, but in practice, they transform the experience.

Someone who only launches a handful of applications can keep a clean grid of pinned apps. A power user can jump directly into the full application list. Others can focus on recently opened files. The Start menu adapts to the user instead of forcing the user to adapt to Windows 11.

Furthermore, the new Start menu includes the option to hide the account name and profile picture in Start, as well as a redesigned Settings page with new customization controls.

Performance remains the unfinished story

The redesign arrives as the company also experiments with performance improvements, including its new Low Latency Profile technology.

Early reports suggest the Start menu feels more responsive, but smoother animations do not solve the underlying problem. The current Start experience still carries years of baggage from Microsoft’s modern Windows architecture.

The bigger development is the company’s ongoing effort to rebuild more system components using native technologies such as WinUI 3. A native Start menu could ultimately deliver the responsiveness users expect without relying on additional processor optimization techniques.

Why this update feels different

For years, Microsoft treated criticism of the Start menu as a design debate, even though users wanted something simpler. Choice.

The redesigned Start menu does not bring back every feature from Windows 10, and it still lacks freeform resizing. However, it acknowledges something Microsoft has resisted for much of the Windows 11 era. Different people use their computers in different ways.

Related

How to enable new Start menu size and customization settings on Windows 11

After nearly five years of Windows 11, Microsoft is finally making the Start menu feel like it belongs to the user again.

Pureinfotech’s Take

I think the most important part of this update isn’t the new settings page or the ability to hide sections. It’s that Microsoft is finally giving users control over how the Start menu works. Since Windows 11 launched, the company has consistently pushed a more opinionated interface design, often at the expense of flexibility.

The new design feels like an acknowledgment that users don’t all interact with their computers the same way.

The new controls won’t satisfy everyone. Freeform resizing, like on Windows 10, is still missing, and performance remains a bigger concern than customization. However, after years of feedback about wasted space and limited options, Microsoft appears to be moving in the right direction.

For the first time in a long while, the Start menu feels like it’s adapting to the user instead of asking the user to adapt to it.