Windows 11 Start Menu Redesign with Category and Grid Views in Canary Build 27965

Microsoft’s latest Insider flight delivers one of the clearest usability overhauls Windows 11 has seen in years: a single, scrollable Start menu with new Category and Grid views, tighter Phone Link integration, an in-box command-line editor called Edit, and a packaging change for legacy .NET that will matter to IT teams. These changes arrived in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27965 in the Canary channel and are being rolled out in stages — a deliberate mix of visible UX improvements and quieter platform-level shifts that deserve attention from everyday users, power users, and administrators alike.

Background​

Why this matters now​

Microsoft has been iterating on the Windows 11 Start experience for more than a year, moving from isolated panes toward a more flexible, app‑centric launcher. The company’s current approach packages much of the work into servicing branches and then flips features on with staged enablement and server-side gating; that’s why some devices see these changes earlier than others. Build 27965 continues that pattern, serving as an experimental testbed in the Canary channel for ideas likely to evolve before reaching Beta and broader releases.

What Build 27965 contains (at a glance)​

• A redesigned Start menu that consolidates Pinned, Recommended, and All apps into a single, vertically scrollable surface.
• Two new “All” views for installed apps: Category (default) and Grid, plus retention of the classic List view.
• Start that adapts to screen size with defined column defaults for larger and smaller displays.
• Phone Link content accessible directly from Start via a new mobile device button; regional rollout details note a later arrival in the European Economic Area.
• Edit — a lightweight, modeless command‑line text editor available in Terminal and via package managers like winget.
• A change to how .NET Framework 3.5 is delivered: no longer a Windows Feature on Demand (FoD); Microsoft provides a standalone installer for legacy scenarios.

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Overview of the redesigned Start menu​

A single, scrollable surface — what changed​

Start now presents Pinned apps at the top, Recommended items in the middle, and installed apps grouped in a new “All” area further down — all on one continuous vertical canvas. The old workflow that required opening a separate All Apps page is gone in this build; instead, you scroll. For users with many installed programs this reduces clicks and context switching, offering a more app‑launch–centric workflow.
Practical impact:

• Faster discovery for large app catalogs.
• A consistent, phone-like mental model for launchers: one surface to scroll and search.
• Easier use with high‑DPI and ultrawide screens because Start now makes better use of vertical and horizontal real estate.

Category view: intelligent grouping — convenience and caveats​

The new Category view is the default “All” experience. The OS automatically groups apps into buckets (for example, Productivity, Games, Creativity, Communication, Other) when at least three apps fit a category. Frequently used apps within each category “bubble up” to the top of that bucket, speeding access to commonly launched tools.
Strengths:

• Helpful when you think in tasks rather than app names (e.g., “open all my productivity apps”).
• Reduces long alphabetical lists into meaningful clusters.

Caveats:

• Categories are generated by the OS and cannot currently be manually created, renamed, or reordered; this lack of manual control will frustrate power users and enterprise admins who require deterministic layouts for managed fleets.

Grid view: denser alphabetic scanning​

Grid view preserves alphabetical ordering but uses more horizontal space to show tiles in rows, reducing vertical scrolling. It’s a middle ground for visual scan‑first users who dislike long vertical lists but prefer deterministic, letter‑based organization. The OS remembers the last view you used and preserves it across sessions.

Responsive layout: explicit column defaults​

Microsoft made Start responsive to screen size with concrete defaults that were published for Insider testers: on larger screens Start can show up to 8 columns of pinned apps, 6 recommendations, and 4 category columns; on smaller screens the defaults drop to 6 pinned columns, 4 recommendations, and 3 category columns. Sections (Pinned, Recommended) collapse or expand based on content — for example, a Pinned area with few items will shrink to a single row. These are practical values to expect when testing the experience.

Personalization and controls​

New toggles under Settings > Personalization > Start let users hide or show:

• Show recently added apps
• Show recommended files in Start
• Show websites from browsing history
• Show recommendations for tips and app suggestions

Turning off these options collapses the Recommended area and focuses Start on pinned and installed apps. There’s also a “Show all pins by default” behavior to surface more pinned apps without an extra click. These controls directly respond to long‑standing user requests to reduce in‑Start promotional and recommendation content.

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Phone Link integration: faster cross‑device access — with geographic caveats​

A compact Phone Link panel can be expanded or collapsed from Start using a new mobile device button near the search box. This embeds basic phone content — battery, messages, notifications, photos — directly into Start for quick glances and small interactions. Microsoft says the cross‑device functionality is generally available in most markets, with availability in the European Economic Area scheduled for later in 2025. The staged rollout means some users will see the feature earlier than others.
Practical notes:

• The Phone Link panel can be toggled off; admins should verify policy controls for managed devices if blocking of Phone Link is required.
• Because rollout is phased, not all Insiders (even in the Canary channel) will see the button immediately.

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Edit — Microsoft’s new lightweight CLI editor​

What Edit is and why it matters​

Microsoft has introduced a small, modeless, terminal‑friendly text editor called Edit. It’s intentionally low‑friction: menu options have visible key bindings, it supports multiple file tabs and Ctrl+P navigation, regex-enabled find & replace, word wrap, and clipboard integration. The editor fills a practical gap left since 64‑bit Windows lacked a built‑in command‑line text editor comparable to the old MS‑DOS EDIT. Edit is open source, distributed via GitHub and available through winget. Build 27965 installs Edit automatically for Canary testers.
Why this is useful:

• Fast in-place edits in Terminal, especially on servers and in recovery scenarios.
• A reasonable default for casual edits when heavier editors are unnecessary or unavailable.

Limitations:

• Edit is intentionally simple; it’s not intended to replace full-featured GUI editors or extensible terminal editors like Vim/Neovim for power users.

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.NET Framework 3.5: packaging change and implications​

What changed​

Starting with Build 27965, .NET Framework 3.5 is no longer shipped as a Windows Feature on Demand (FoD) component. Microsoft is encouraging migration to modern .NET versions but provides a standalone .NET Framework 3.5 installer for legacy business‑critical apps that still depend on the runtime. This is an operational packaging change with direct implications for imaging and offline installs.

Why IT should care​

• Imaging and deployment: Offline images and sealed images that once included .NET 3.5 as a manageable FoD will now need the standalone installer added to deployment repositories and offline sources.
• Compatibility testing: Legacy LOB applications should be validated against modern .NET runtimes where feasible, but when migration isn’t possible, ensure the standalone installer is accessible and tested in your deployment process.
• Update automation: Scripts and configuration management tooling that assumed FoD behavior will need adjustment to either install the standalone package or maintain a stable update process for .NET 3.5 dependencies.

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Fixes, known issues and cautionary points​

Selected fixes in the flight​

Microsoft documented several bug fixes in this Canary flight, including:

• Improvements to taskbar auto‑hide behavior.
• Fixes for playback and rendering issues that caused video frames to appear red in some apps.
• Resolved playback issues for protected content in certain Blu‑ray, DVD, and digital TV applications.

Notable remaining issues​

The build also lists outstanding problems that testers should expect, including:

• File Explorer crashes in certain scenarios.
• File transfer failures to a network drive.
• Crashes in Settings when checking storage information.
• Missing media controls on the lock screen for some users.
• Issues with sleep and shutdown behavior affecting a subset of devices.

These known issues underscore the Canary channel’s experimental nature: it’s a place to test ideas, not a production channel.

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Critical analysis — strengths, risks, and unanswered questions​

Strengths and notable improvements​

• Practical UX gains: Consolidating All apps into a scrollable surface removes a persistent friction point and mirrors the intuitive behavior of mobile app launchers. The new Category and Grid views add useful options for different mental models and workflows.
• Screen‑aware design: Explicitly adapting the Start layout to screen size is a pragmatic answer to high‑DPI and ultrawide display use cases, delivering useful defaults (8/6/4 columns on large screens).
• Power to the user: The inclusion of explicit toggles to silence recommended content is a long‑requested fix that reduces in‑Start promotions and privacy surface area.
• Small, useful tooling: Edit is an elegant, low‑friction improvement for terminal workflows and quick edits when GUI editors are unavailable.

Risks and gaps​

• Rollout inconsistency: Server-side gating means inconsistent experiences across a single user’s devices; that can increase helpdesk noise and confusion for IT organizations.
• Enterprise manageability: Lack of APIs or MDM/GPO hooks for category creation, ordering, or policy-driven Start layouts is a major gap for enterprise deployments — organizations that rely on predictable end-user surfaces will need better controls.
• Accessibility concerns: Any dramatic layout change requires careful, published guidance about keyboard focus, Narrator order, and other assistive technology behavior. The new responsive columns and collapsing sections can change navigation order and should be validated by Microsoft and third‑party accessibility testers.
• Stability vs. novelty: Canary is a testing ground; the presence of significant known issues (Explorer crashes, file transfer problems, power regressions) is a concrete reminder that early adoption carries operational risk.

Unverifiable or unclear claims​

Microsoft’s notes say Phone Link in the Start menu will appear later in 2025 for the EEA and be “generally available” in most markets; however, there is no precise date published, and the staged nature of the rollout means the timing is subject to change. Treat the “later in 2025” timeline as approximate until Microsoft publishes a firm schedule.

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Practical recommendations​

For everyday users and enthusiasts​

• If you’re curious, join the Windows Insider program and choose the Canary channel only on non‑critical machines.
• Test Category and Grid views to find your preferred workflow; Start will remember the last view you choose.
• Use Settings > Personalization > Start to turn off recommendations if you prefer a minimal launcher.

For power users and developers​

• Try Edit in Terminal (type edit <filename>) for fast edits; install via winget or GitHub if you’re not on an Insider build.
• If you rely on Start layout automation or GUI scripts, test them carefully — responsive columns and the new All views may change UI coordinates and automation reliability.

For IT teams and administrators​

• Do not deploy Canary builds to production. Use lab devices for validation.
• Inventory your estate for .NET Framework 3.5 dependencies. Prepare the standalone .NET 3.5 installer for inclusion in imaging repositories and offline deployment shares. Test legacy apps with modern .NET versions where possible.
• Review helpdesk documentation: the Start redesign will change common support flows (how users find and pin apps), and the staged rollout may cause inconsistencies across user machines.
• Watch for policy and MDM updates. If deterministic Start layouts matter, engage with Microsoft through Windows Insiders for Business channels and track policy additions that enable enterprise control over categories and pinning behavior.

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Technical checklist for imaging and automation teams​

• Identify applications that require .NET Framework 3.5.
• Add the standalone .NET 3.5 installer to your offline image repository and test unattended installs.
• Update deployment scripts that previously assumed .NET 3.5 was available as a Feature on Demand.
• Validate UI automation scripts that interact with Start or File Explorer; adjust timeout and search logic because responsive Start may alter element positions and counts.

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Final verdict​

Build 27965 is a thoughtful, pragmatic evolution of the Windows 11 Start experience that addresses long‑standing complaints about discoverability and the intrusive Recommended feed. The blend of Category and Grid views, responsive design, and Phone Link integration shows Microsoft aiming for a more flexible, modern launcher that scales across diverse hardware. Edit is a welcome addition for terminal workflows, and the packaging change for .NET Framework 3.5 raises legitimate operational flags that administrators must address.
That said, this flight is not a finished product. The staged rollout, lack of enterprise-grade Start management controls, and several acknowledged stability issues mean the build is best for testers and lab validation rather than broad enterprise adoption. Users who value consistency or rely on automation should test carefully; administrators should inventory legacy dependencies and prepare updated deployment artifacts for .NET 3.5 scenarios.
The redesign is promising and puts Start back in the spotlight for sensible, user‑facing improvements. The next important signals will be when the changes reach Beta and Release Preview channels along with enterprise management hooks and accessibility validations — until then, this is a productive preview with practical caveats.

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Source: myhostnews.com Windows 11: the Start menu has been completely redesigned for greater convenience