Microsoft is planning to bring back the Start menu with the launch of Windows 8.2, otherwise known by its "Threshold" codename internally at Microsoft, WinSuperSite reports.

The return of the Start menu will be the first time since Windows 7.

Released in October, Windows 8.1 brought back the Start button, but not the full features of the Start menu found in previous versions of Windows. The Start menu allows users to organise folders, search and turn off and restart their machine. Essentially, it would negate the need for users to access Windows 8's Metro interface.

WinSuperSite theorises the Start menu may return only in versions of Windows that appear on the desktop, rather than tablets like the Microsoft Surface.

Additionally, Windows 8.2 is said to bring the ability to run Metro app windows on the desktop, treating them like traditional apps. In Windows 8.1 you can with a third-party ModernMix app, but the next version of Windows will let users optionally run Metro apps in floating windows on the desktop without the need for third-party software.

Mary Jo Foley from ZDNet claimed in early December that Microsoft was working on a single unified application store that will work across all of its platforms, mobile, PC and Xbox One, with Windows 8.2.

With the acquisition of Nokia's device business set to be completed in early 2014, this seems an obvious step for a company that is rapidly moving out of just software development in multiple areas.

Windows 8.2 will therefore be made up with three separate updates, one for each system, and ZDNet claims that there are plans to release them in spring 2015 - there's no need to get too excited yet.