Windows 11 Insider Preview: The Redesigned Scrollable Start Menu & Cross-Device Features

The evolution of the Windows Start Menu has long been a touchstone for Microsoft’s engagement with its user base, reflecting both shifting paradigms in interface design and persistent user demand for greater customization and efficiency. With the rollout of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5641 (KB5060824) to the Dev Channel this week, Microsoft is taking another significant step forward. This update introduces a fundamentally reimagined Start Menu, featuring a genuinely scrollable interface and a suite of view options designed to cater to diverse device types and user workflows. It also furthers the promise of seamless cross-device integration—a vision that has been slowly coming into focus across recent Windows 11 releases.

Reinventing the Start Menu: What’s New?​

Central to the latest Insider Preview is the introduction of a scrollable Start Menu, a long-requested upgrade that addresses user feedback about discoverability, accessibility, and usability. Instead of being confined to static panels or forced paging, users can now easily scroll through an extended list of apps. The new ‘All’ option at the top streamlines the process: one click brings up a comprehensive, scroll-friendly inventory, dramatically improving navigation especially for users with substantial app libraries.

Two Distinct View Modes: Category and Grid​

Breaking new ground, Microsoft is providing two new organizational paradigms for the Start Menu. The Category view intelligently groups apps—not just alphabetically, but by their function or publisher, provided there are at least three in a grouping. This logic extends usability: productivity apps, browsers, utilities, and entertainment software can now be surfaced and accessed with minimal effort. For outlier apps that don’t fit, they default to an “Other” bucket, ensuring nothing is hidden or lost.
On the other hand, Grid View echoes the simplicity of the traditional List View but with a twist: it leverages more horizontal space, providing a panoramic, alphabetized spread of apps. For users who value speed and visual scanning, especially on wide-screen monitors, Grid View could accelerate interaction and ease the hunt for rarely-used programs.
Importantly, Windows 11 now remembers the last view setting used—Category or Grid—delivering a persistent, user-controlled environment with every Start Menu launch. This attention to individual workflow preferences signals a deeper commitment to personalization, a recurring user demand from Windows 10 and earlier.

Dynamic Adaptation for Different Devices​

Another major advancement in Build 26200.5641 is the adaptive resizing of the Start Menu in response to device form factor and screen size. Microsoft lays out a matrix of changes:

• Larger Devices: The Start Menu can display up to eight columns of pinned apps, six recommendations, and four columns for categorized apps.
• Smaller Devices: Expect six columns of pinned apps, four recommendations, and three columns in categories.

This scaling ensures that neither desktop users nor those on smaller laptops, tablets, or hybrid devices experience wasted space or overcrowded menus. Users with fewer pinned items will see the Pinned section automatically shrink to a single row, with a setting available to expand it if desired. This flexibility is critical for optimizing productivity, particularly as Windows 11 runs across an ever-wider spectrum of device sizes and input methods.

Potential Benefits​

• Enhanced usability for power users with extensive app libraries.
• Consistent experience across device types, ideal for “work anywhere” professionals.
• Customization that balances simplicity and depth—users can dial up or tone down the menu’s density as needed.

Cross-Device Integration: Expanding Horizons​

The update also builds upon Microsoft’s cross-device strategy, with tangible steps toward integrating Android and iOS devices more deeply into the Windows ecosystem. A new button beside the Search box allows users to expand or collapse mobile content directly within the Start Menu. This feature supports both platforms in most markets and is slated for expansion into the European Economic Area later this year.
This initiative aligns with a growing body of features—such as Phone Link, shared clipboard, and notification sync—that aim to blur the lines between desktop and mobile. In practical terms, users can expect faster, more seamless access to their mobile notifications, messages, and apps from within the familiar Start Menu canvas.

Strengths and Strategic Implications​

Microsoft’s approach here appears twofold: first, to keep pace with user expectations in the post-PC era where cross-device continuity is a baseline, and second, to differentiate Windows further from macOS and ChromeOS. With Apple’s tight integration between macOS and iOS, and Google’s Chromebook-Android synergy, Microsoft’s strategy is vital to both retention and expansion.

User Experience: Initial Reactions and Analysis​

Initial feedback from Insider Preview participants has leaned positive, with testers praising the scrollable interface, reduced friction in app discovery, and power of the new view options. The Start Menu’s adaptive design finds favor especially among users operating across multiple devices—those moving between large desktop monitors and compact laptops can now maintain a familiar, efficient workflow.
However, a number of potential risks and points of friction emerge from the design:

• Learning curve: Users entrenched in old menu layouts may require time (and guidance) to fully leverage Category and Grid Views.
• Performance on legacy hardware: Preview builds often encounter edge-case bugs or lag, particularly when new UI elements tax older GPUs or underpowered CPUs. Microsoft claims improved performance, but users should be cautious until these claims are independently verified in production environments.
• Accessibility: While Microsoft’s track record on accessibility is strong, any major UI overhaul brings potential pitfalls for users who rely on screen readers or other assistive technologies. Ensuring these enhancements reach every user is essential.

How the Changes Stack Up: Comparing with Previous Builds​

Historically, the Windows Start Menu has undergone dramatic shifts:

• Windows 8: The controversial full-screen “Metro” Start got heavy pushback.
• Windows 10: A return to form with the hybrid Live Tiles menu.
• Early Windows 11: A simplified, floating Menu focused on aesthetics, but sometimes at the expense of deep customization and discoverability.

The new scrollable interface and view options represent a measured synthesis—the flexibility and order of older systems, combined with the clean, modern look expected of Windows 11. By giving users ever more granular control, Microsoft shows it has absorbed past lessons, particularly around balancing design minimalism with genuine utility.

Technical Verifications and Claims​

Microsoft’s own release notes confirm the core features: the scrollable Start Menu, Category and Grid Views, device-adaptive menus, and improved cross-device support. Independent coverage from technology outlets, including Gadgets360 and Windows Central, independently corroborates these features and provide early impressions that align with Microsoft’s documentation. Reports from Windows Insider forums further substantiate the adaptability claims, with users confirming the dynamic column layouts and the remembered view preference.
It’s worth noting that minor differences in functionality have been observed between devices and regions, particularly with the mobile integration features. European Economic Area rollout for mobile expansion, as noted, has not yet occurred as of this writing—a fact that is clearly detailed in Microsoft’s roadmap and blog posts.

Guidance for Insider Preview Testers​

For those eager to explore these new features, the Insider Preview Dev Channel is the proving ground. Testers are reminded that:

• Backup is essential—Preview builds, by nature, can be unstable or result in compatibility issues with critical software.
• Feedback is valued—The Windows Feedback Hub is monitored closely by Microsoft. Early input shapes future iterations and polishes rough edges.
• Feature availability can vary—As with many recent Windows 11 updates, Microsoft sometimes staggers rollouts, using A/B testing to evaluate feature uptake and satisfaction before wider distribution.

Strategic Outlook: Windows 11’s Trajectory​

Looking ahead, it’s clear that Microsoft is committed to evolving its user interface iteratively rather than via disruptive overhauls. The latest Start Menu changes point to a philosophy grounded in flexibility, backward compatibility, and cross-platform integration. As work and life blend ever further—across devices, locations, and operating systems—the OS experiences that thrive will be those that offer frictionless, user-tuned engagement.
The Start Menu may once have been a simple launcher, but in the current landscape, it is an interface for identity, productivity, and cohesion. Its continued evolution will likely remain a central pillar in Microsoft’s strategy to hold (and expand) its dominance in the PC ecosystem, while also courting users in an increasingly mobile-centric world.

The Bottom Line​

The new Start Menu in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5641 represents more than a cosmetic overhaul. It’s a signal of Microsoft’s willingness to adapt, respond to feedback, and invest in the kinds of feature richness demanded by a maturing, discerning user base. The seamless scrollable experience, thoughtful view options, and cross-device integrations reveal a platform that is growing smarter, more responsive, and—above all—more attuned to how people actually work and play today.
However, as with any pre-release feature, widespread enthusiasm should be balanced with caution. Performance in the real world, accessibility standards, and edge-case compatibility are areas to watch closely as the build transitions from Insider Preview to the general Windows 11 population.
For now, Windows aficionados and productivity power-users have new reasons to be excited—and, in time, we will see if these innovations hold up as the next standard in desktop design, or if further tweaks are demanded by the community. As always, active participation in the Insider Program remains the surest way for users to shape the evolution of Windows—one build, and one scrollable menu, at a time.

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Source: Gadgets 360 Latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Lets You Try the New Start Menu