Test version Windows 10 includes start menu with Live Tiles without background colors

Microsoft has released build version 20161 of the Windows 10 Insider Preview to users in the Dev channel. That version includes a start menu with Live Tiles without background colors, the appearance of which depends on the chosen theme.

Microsoft shows how the new start menu view gives a unified, partially transparent background to the apps tiles and the long list of apps in the side of the start menu. As a result, the icons of the apps should stand out better. The screenshots from Microsoft show the display in light and dark mode, and with a new theme, Pride 2020 Flags.

Those who prefer colorful backgrounds can set this in the Windows 10 Personalization menu, by selecting ‘Show accent color on the following surfaces’ under ‘Start, taskbar, and action center’. Microsoft has shown the simplified view of the start menu several times in recent months.

Also new with build version 20161 is that all open tabs in Edge are visible in the alt+tab overview, not just the active open tab in the browser. Users can set that only the last three or five open tabs are shown in the overview. Furthermore, Microsoft is experimenting with a Programmable Taskbar. Windows 10 adjusts the number of icons on the taskbar to use and shows, for example, the icon for Your Phone by default when a smartphone is connected. This only applies to new accounts: existing views are left untouched by Microsoft.