14 DAY TRIAL // The new Start menu bundled with Windows 11 isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, as it drops popular features like live tiles. Instead, it comes with a more static approach inspired by Windows 10X, with Microsoft only rolling our rather subtle polishing lately.
Needless to say, users are still hoping for bigger Start menu improvements, and fortunately, third-party solutions out there come to the rescue this time.
Start11, which is currently one of the most advanced Start menu customization solutions out there, has recently been updated to version 1.1, therefore getting a bunch of very welcome improvements.
One of them is support for folders, something that Microsoft theoretically supported in Windows 10 when it allowed users to create live tile groups. The folders are gone officially in Windows 11, but Start11 brings them back in a very modern UI.
“In v1.1, both Windows 10 and Windows 11 users can easily create a folder directly within the Start menu by holding down the shift key and dragging one icon over another. The new right-click icon submenu makes it easy to change the appearance of app icons in the Start menu, too,” Stardock, Start11’s parent company, explains in an announcement.
First Windows 11 feature update due in the summer
Furthermore, the new version of Start11 introduces a new right-click icon submenu, as well as support for importing existing Windows 10 menu layouts.
Without a doubt, the popularity of such software shows that Microsoft must continue its work on polishing the Windows 11 Start menu, though right now, the company doesn’t necessarily seem to be very committed to improving the experience on this front.
The next Windows 11 feature update is scheduled to land in the summer, but right now, no major Start menu improvements are being tested as part of the Windows Insider program.