Windows 10’s default Start menu is a cluttered mess, but it’s about to get better in the Windows 10’s next version. That release is codenamed 19H1, and will be released sometime around April 2019.
Just look at that new Start menu in Insider build. The Start menu now has a simple one column layout with much fewer tiles pinned by default and much less junk. You can also uninstall many of these apps completely in the new update.
This is just for new Windows 10 PCs, new user accounts on existing PCs, and fresh installs of Windows 10. Microsoft will leave your current Start menu layout alone “because they want everything to be exactly as you left it before you did the update.”
If you’re wondering whether the new layout is really that much more simplified well yes, yes it is. Here’s the default Start menu layout for a new user back in the April 2018 Update:
This isn’t the only new feature in the latest insider build, which is packed with cool stuff. We love the new Windows Sandbox feature, which will let you safely run Windows applications without worrying about malware or junk files that will get scattered across your system.
Other new features include support for kaomoji, like in the emoji picker, a new design for the Clipboard History feature, and “critical troubleshooting” that happens automatically in the background to fix system configuration errors. You can now set a default task manager tab, the Settings app has a new heading design, and “friendly dates” make file modification dates easier to read in File Explorer.
On the security front, there’s a better history view in the Windows Security app, “Tamper Protection” to protect against changes to important Windows security settings, and the ability to sign into Windows 10 using a Microsoft account without a password.
Check out Microsoft’s blog post for a complete list of what’s new and changed in the latest update