Microsoft brings Start menu controls to Windows 11 beta
Windows 11 Beta build 26220.8925 adds more Start menu customization, while taskbar repositioning remains outside the channel.
By Dominic Okoye · Staff Writer
· 3 min read
Microsoft has pushed more of its Windows 11 Start menu redesign into the Beta channel with Build 26220.8925 for Windows Insiders. The release adds customization controls that many users will notice immediately, but it does not yet include the more consequential ability to move the taskbar to the top or sides of the display.
The build includes small and large Start menu size options, in addition to section-level controls that were already available. Microsoft has also changed the label for the Recommended area to Recent, redesigned the Start menu settings page, and added a setting to hide the user’s name and picture from Start.
Those changes put the Start menu work closer to mainstream release, though Microsoft has not said when the updates will reach all Windows 11 users. The company also has not provided a Beta-channel date for taskbar repositioning, one of the interface capabilities that Windows 10 users had and Windows 11 removed.
The taskbar gap remains
Microsoft said in May that it was working on restoring the option to place the taskbar on different edges of the screen. The company described the ability to move the taskbar to the top or sides as one of the most requested features and said it was bringing the capability to Windows 11.
For now, that work remains limited to experimental builds rather than the Beta channel. That matters because Beta is a step closer to production than the more exploratory testing tracks, and it is where changes usually start to look less like an experiment and more like something Microsoft is preparing to ship broadly.
The missing taskbar option has been a persistent complaint since Windows 11 arrived. Windows 10 allowed users to position the taskbar on any edge of the screen. Microsoft dropped that flexibility in Windows 11 as part of broader code changes, according to the company’s earlier explanations, and users have pushed back since.
Small UI fixes do not answer the bigger Windows 11 complaint
The Start menu updates are practical, but they are modest. Renaming Recommended to Recent and giving users more control over Start menu size addresses everyday friction, yet it does not resolve the broader criticism that Windows 11 removed mature interface choices and has been slow to restore them.
The operating system’s hardware requirements also remain a separate source of pressure. Windows 10’s 64-bit minimum memory requirement was 2GB, while Windows 11 requires at least 4GB. Both figures are minimums, and stripped-down Windows 11 experiments have shown the operating system can be pushed lower, but Microsoft’s official requirements are what matter for supported deployments.
That creates an awkward split for Microsoft. Restoring Windows 10-era interface behavior may reduce some user irritation, especially among power users and IT shops with established workflows. But for many Windows 10 PCs that run acceptably and do not meet Windows 11’s requirements, Start menu refinements and a future movable taskbar do not change the support equation.
Build 26220.8925 shows that Microsoft is still feeding usability changes through its Insider channels. The taskbar change is the one to watch next: its arrival in Beta would be a clearer signal that Microsoft is ready to put one of Windows 11’s more unpopular omissions behind it.
This story draws on original reporting from The Register.
