Windows 11’s New Start Menu – What’s New and How to Try It

Microsoft has officially started testing a brand-new Start menu design in the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27965, available in the Canary Channel. This redesigned Start menu is one of the most noticeable changes coming to Windows 11, focusing on simplicity, better organization, and quick access to your apps.

What’s New in the Windows 11 Start Menu

The new Start menu looks and feels more modern. It brings all your apps into one clean view, removing the need to switch to a separate “All apps” page. Now, you can see everything in a single window and even choose how they’re displayed — by category, in a grid, or as a list. The categorized view is especially useful, helping you quickly find the apps you need without scrolling too much.

Available to Windows Insiders

Right now, this new Start menu is rolling out gradually to users in the Canary Channel. Microsoft is collecting feedback before releasing it to everyone. Depending on user reactions, we may see small tweaks or design changes before it becomes part of the stable version.

Interestingly, some users have discovered that this new Start menu can already be enabled on the Windows 11 25H2  stable release. It’s hidden by default, but you can activate it using a free, open-source tool called ViVeTool. However, since it’s still experimental, it’s recommended to try it in a virtual machine instead of your main PC.

How to Enable It (Optional for Advanced Users)

If you’re curious and want to test the new Start menu on your own system, here’s a quick summary of how it can be done:

1. Download ViVeTool from GitHub.

2. Extract the ZIP file and open the folder.

3. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.

4. Navigate to the ViVeTool folder using the cd command.

5. Run this command vivetool /enable /id:47205210,49221331,49381526,49402389,49820095,55495322,48433719

6. Restart your PC — and you’ll be greeted with the new Start menu.

Again, this method is unofficial and meant only for testing. The official rollout will make it available automatically once Microsoft finalizes the design.

The new Start menu feels bigger, smarter, and more organized. Having all your apps visible at once makes it easier to manage your workflow, especially if you use many programs daily. If feedback remains positive, we might see this updated Start menu in an upcoming major Windows 11 update sooner than expected.

What do you think of the new Start menu? Do you prefer the old compact version or the new all-in-one layout?

I’ve also made a video on this topic — you can watch it below.

Check out my other posts, I post useful tutorials and tech tips, maybe you will find something useful 😉.