Start menu to return with Live Tiles in future Windows 8.1 update

At Microsoft's Build 2014 developer conference in San Francisco, the company not only unveiled Windows 8.1 Update 1 but also revealed some details on a future Windows 8.1 upgrade.

When Microsoft removed the Start menu in Windows 8, many users across the world were upset. Now, roughly two years later, Microsoft has backpedaled a bit by teasing a future version of Windows that includes the traditional Start menu. The Start menu isn't making its triumphant return without any new bells and whistles, though.

Microsoft provided a sneak peak of its prototype Start menu, and, as you can see in the image above, it features a Windows 7-like desktop apps list combined with Windows 8 Start Screen Live Tiles. The Live Tiles, which are clearly Modern UI-style or Metro-influenced, appear embedded in the actual Start menu.

Despite this change, the Start menu will supposedly function like it did prior to Windows 8. Additionally, Microsoft said any universal apps in the apps list will run in their own window, suggesting the company wants to fully backpedal from its Metro interface on desktop. As for when you can expect to see all of these features, that's not clear at this time.

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Microsoft confirmed the Start menu will not land in the Windows 8.1 Update 1 that hits next week but rather a future update. That update hasn't been assigned a specific release date yet.