Microsoft brings Start Menu to Windows RT devices in new update
Muhammad Jarir Kanji / Neowin :
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft has been rebuilding the Start menu all year: the January Windows 10 preview with Cortana and a revamped Start menu made the classic layout the centerpiece of the next OS, and the 'Redstone' update slated for 2016 keeps that iteration cycle running. Today's move extends that work backward, carrying the Start Menu to Windows RT devices that shipped without it.
The significance is retention rather than novelty: rather than leaving RT tablets stranded on the tile-only interface, Microsoft is folding them into the same Start-menu design language it is testing for Windows 10.
First-order effects
- Windows RT device owners get the Start Menu through the update, regaining the traditional app launcher their hardware originally lacked.
Second-order effects
- Bringing RT closer to the Windows 10 experience blunts one of the reasons to replace those devices, easing upgrade pressure at the low end of Microsoft's installed base.
Third-order effects
- If Microsoft keeps unifying the Start experience across old and new builds ahead of Redstone, the Start menu consolidates as the single navigational identity of Windows across device generations.
The trend: Microsoft is treating the Start menu as a continuously updated layer of Windows, iterated across previews and back-ported to older devices rather than redesigned once per release.