This is what Windows 10’s new Start menu could look like

RIP Live Tiles

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A new leak has appeared online that apparently shows what the newWindows 10Start menu will look like.

We’ve suspected for a while now thatMicrosoftwill beremoving Live Tiles from Windows 10’s Start menu, and the leaked image,posted on Twitter, appears to confirm that.

Live tiles 🔚 pic.twitter.com/RzOnhOIcmwFebruary 29, 2020

Live Tiles are interactive icons for apps that appeared on the Start menu, and were supposed to display additional information, such as any unread emails in the Mail app, for example.

However, few people were fans of the Live Tiles, and many apps stopped updating them, making them essentially useless. This led to speculation that Microsoft would be dropping them altogether in a futureWindows 10update.

If this leaked image is real – and we currently don’t have any evidence that it is – then it looks like Microsoft is indeed killing off Live Tiles, leaving a less cluttered – and some may even say boring – Start menu.

When’s it coming?

So, if real, when can we expect the new Start menu? As theWinCentralwebsite points out, there’s no evidence of the build number that the new Start menu appears in, which makes it hard to guess when it will appear.

The next big update to Windows 10,Windows 10 20H1(also known as Windows 10 version 2004), is already with early testers. Live Tiles remain in the Start menu, so that rules out that update.

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We should also see a Windows 10 20H2 update later in 2020, but Microsoft says that is a minor update, so an overhaul of the Start menu is unlikely to appear then. This means it could be 2021 at the earliest.

So, the look of the Start menu could be further refined in that time. We’d like to see Microsoft strike a better balance, and keep the Start menu looking minimalist without it appearing too dull. Hopefully we’ll get a further look at the new Windows 10 Start menu soon.

Matt is TechRadar’s Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there’s no aspect of technology that Matt isn’t passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he’s reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.

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