‘Start button in Windows 8.1 also provides access to new All Apps view’

The start button that will most likely appear in Windows 8.1, also known as Blue, may provide access to a new view in the start screen. This All Apps view would show all applications without the use of tiles.

That reports the usually well-informed Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley based on anonymous sources. In the latest ‘Milestone Builds’ that work towards the public Preview version of Windows 8.1, as rumors have indicated for some time, a start button can be found on the desktop. There is also the option to go directly to the desktop after startup, which skips the start screen.

If the user clicks the start button, which would have the same look as the start button in the charms bar, he will be sent to the start screen. A new view is also available, called All Apps. This shows a list of installed applications without the typical tiles. The user could also sort this list, with the most used apps shown at the top. The All Apps view along with the comeback of the start button should provide users with an “experience” similar to the start button from previous Windows versions.

According to Foley’s sources, Windows 8.1 will also have the ability to display a background image on the Start screen as well. For example, the user would be less ‘deterred’ when he leaves the desktop and enters the app-oriented part of Windows 8.1. Microsoft declined to comment on the information. Starting June 26, the changes will be clearly visible when Microsoft releases the Preview version at the Build 2013 conference.