Windows 10 updates show there's life beyond the hamburger

Aug 26, 2015 08:10 GMT  ·  By

One of the most controversial changes that Microsoft made in Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile is the addition of the hamburger menu, which was first used by Android and is now available in almost every single app in Redmond's new operating system.

Users have been criticizing Microsoft for months, simply because it decided to go for a symbol that previously debuted in Android, and many believe that Windows has lost its identity with such a feature, but in fact, the hamburger proves to be a really helpful addition to most apps.

The pivot menu, on the other hand, has been around for a while on Windows platforms and it's one of the reasons so many people believed that there was no chance for the hamburger to resist for long. But it turns out that Microsoft is looking to find a way for the hamburger and the pivot to coexist in peace, and recent Windows 10 app updates reveal the first steps in this direction.

Pivot in Get Started app

An update for the Get Started app that was released today comes with the traditional pivot menu, which is now available alongside the hamburger. The pivot is there only to let you access the “About” section of the app, so it doesn't have an important role for the moment, but future updates could bring more changes in this regard.

Unsurprisingly, bringing both the hamburger and the pivot menus in Windows 10 apps is a very popular feature request, so with these updates, Microsoft might be showing once again that it's really listening to suggestions.

For instance, a request posted on UserVoice to combine the hamburger menu with pivot has nearly 12,000 votes since February 20, 2015, when it was first posted, and several others based on the same idea also have hundreds of upvotes too.

Of course, everyone's expecting to see the pivot come back in more Windows 10 apps, so keep an eye on future updates to find out if any changes in this regard are being added.

After the update, the pivot menu shows up in the top right corner
After the update, the pivot menu shows up in the top right corner

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Before the update, the Get Started app had no pivot
After the update, the pivot menu shows up in the top right corner
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