What you need to know
- Windows 10's live tiles could be removed soon as part of a redesign of the Start Menu.
- A report claims that static icons could replace live tiles in the upcoming Windows 10 20H2 update.
- We first explored if Microsoft was moving away from live tiles last year when a new Start Menu leaked.
The upcoming Windows 10X operating system features a redesigned Start Menu and static icons rather than live tiles. Now, it seems that Windows 10 might receive a redesign in the same direction. A report from Windows Latest states that Microsoft is planning to replace live tiles within the Start Menu. The move would line Windows 10 up with Windows 10X and allow Microsoft to use its redesigned icons in Windows 10's Start Menu.
Windows Latest cites "people familiar with the development" of Windows who stated that "Microsoft is planning to replace live tiles with icons in a future update after Windows 10's 20H2 release." If those reports are accurate, live tiles could be on their way out in 2020 or 2021.
Early last year, our senior editor Zac Bowden asked if Windows 10's live tiles were dead since they hadn't received updates for a significant amount of time. This question gained more fuel when a leaked build from last year showed a Start Menu with static icons rather than live tiles. That leak led our senior editor Zac Bowden to explore why Microsoft was considering pivoting away from live tiles. Now, it seems even more likely that Microsoft will scrap live tiles.
Microsoft recently redesigned its vast library of apps icons. These "icons of the future" extend across platforms and add depth over their flat predecessors. If live tiles are on the way out, Microsoft has prepared for the switch with these new icons that follow Microsoft's Fluent Design language. Some of these icons appear in the preview of Windows 10X, so we could have a glimpse of what Windows 10's Start Menu could look like without live tiles.
