Microsoft is reportedly bringing back the full Windows Start Menu with the next OS update.
Windows 8.2, currently known as Windows “Threshold”, should see the Start Menu make a full comeback.
According to Paul Thurrott of Supersite for Windows citing sources in the know, the Start Menu of old will be part of the Windows 8.2 update.
Microsoft reintroduced some of the Start Button functionality with Windows 8.1, but it still isn’t quite the same as we’re all accustomed to.
Thurrott explains that Microsoft will make the full Start Menu available as an option with Windows 8.2.
It may well only be for those devices that are compatible with the full desktop version of Windows though, so some Windows 8 tablet may miss out.
It’s not clear when the Windows 8.2 OS will become available, especially as Microsoft has yet to officially confirm Windows Threshold.
Other features Windows 8.2 should include are the ability to let you run Metro apps in floating windows on the desktop. This is already possible with third-party programs like Modern Mix, but the next Windows OS update should allow you to do this natively.
Threshold will also aim to bring Windows 8, Windows Phone and Xbox One platforms closer together, especially in terms of the user experience and will perhaps be the first step towards a consolidated OS.
Microsoft will also be releasing a wave of Windows 8.1, Xbox One and Windows Phone updates under the Threshold umbrella.
They will ship in three product SKUs – a consumer-focused Windows one, a consumer release based on the x86 codebase for desktops and businesses and IT crowds will get a traditional enterprise SKU.
Windows 8.1 was released on October 18 and aimed to fix the user complaints of Windows 8.
Read more: Windows 8.1 Features – What’s new?
