Today, Microsoft leaked what could be a new Windows Start menu. The company accidentally shared a Windows 10 internal build (18947) with its Insider Program. The most striking change is a completely redesigned Start menu that swaps live tiles for a grid of app icons.

The redesigned Start menu also has a search bar at the top that lets you search both apps and the web. It has an area of “suggested apps,” which might recommend apps based on other programs you’re running or frequently used apps, and it supports dark mode. But beware that the menu design is still clearly unfinished, as it was not meant for public viewing.

Microsoft today accidentally released an internal-only version of Windows 10 to testers, revealing a new Start menu design. The software giant distributed Windows 10 build 18947, meant for internal Xbox development, to Windows Insider testers using 32-bit devices. It’s an internal-only build from the company’s canary branch, and yet Microsoft published it to all Windows 10 testers whether they’re in release preview, fast ring, or even slow ring testing. The build is no longer available.

Thankfully, it was only released to 32-bit systems, which aren’t widely used, but it’s an embarrassing mistake for Microsoft’s Windows 10 testing efforts. This internal build appears to include a new Start menu design, that’s very early in testing, without Microsoft’s Live Tiles. It’s something Microsoft is testing internally for Windows Lite, but it’s not clear whether Windows 10 will fully drop Live Tiles in the Start menu anytime soon. This new build also included a GIF search tool within the emoji picker for Windows 10.

Posted on: July 26, 2019, by : Bhavin Thakkar