Microsoft may be working on a version of Windows 10 that ditches the Live Tiles in the Start menu, based on a leaked internal build of Windows 10.
The Redmond, Washington-based company accidentally pushed an internal-only Windows 10 build, meant for Xbox development, to Windows Insider testers using 32-bit systems. Sporting build number 18947, it’s part of Microsoft’s ‘canary’ branch, but was published to all Windows 10 testers in the release preview, fast ring and slow ring.
On the bright side, it only rolled out to 32-bit systems, which aren’t widely used these days. Regardless, it’s an embarrassing gaffe for Microsoft.
Start. pic.twitter.com/3QvWGPdQW9
— nta~ (@ntauthority) July 24, 2019
The most notable change in the internal build is the lack of Live Tiles in the Start menu, as spotted by NTAuthority on Twitter (@NTAuthority). Microsoft introduced Live Tiles with Windows Phone and Windows 8. However, the switch from the Start menu to the Live Tiles didn’t go over well with desktop users. In Windows 10, Microsoft brought the Start menu back but kept the Live Tiles as part of the system.
The internal build gets rid of the Live Tiles in favour of something a little more like the Start menu in Windows 7, with a search bar, profile picture and a grid of apps, including a row of ‘Suggested’ apps.
Start in tablet mode. Meh. pic.twitter.com/Ou7o7ol5g2
— nta~ (@ntauthority) July 24, 2019
NTAuthority shared a picture of the new Start menu in Windows’ tablet mode as well, which fills the whole display.
It isn’t clear if Windows 10 will adopt this new style of Start menu in the future. While the Live Tile system would undoubtedly benefit from improvements, doing away with it all together for something like this isn’t a great idea. Reactions to the Start menu on Twitter were generally negative, and the new interface looks less functional overall.
GIF search! pic.twitter.com/upz6ltTaM7
— nta~ (@ntauthority) July 24, 2019
The internal build also included a new GIF search tool inside Windows 10’s emoji picker. Hopefully that, at least, makes its way to an official build.
Source: Twitter (@NTAuthority)
Via: The Verge
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