Trusted Reviews is supported by its audience. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

Windows 9 Start Menu demoed in leaked video

The new hybrid Windows 9 Start Menu has been demoed in a leaked video.

Although the Windows 9 Technical Preview hasn’t yet been released to the public, it hasn’t stopped several leaks revealing some of its features ahead of launch.

The latest leak is a video of the long awaited Start Screen in action, demonstrating how it works in the next major Windows operating system.

Microsoft has already quickly demonstrated the hybrid Windows 9 Start Menu, which mixes Metro style Live Tiles with the more traditional and familiar Start menu.

Within the Technical Preview, there’s an account options button at the top for quick access to your profile settings. Next to that there’s a shutdown and restart option.

Down the left hand side, there’s a list of traditional apps, but then on the right hand side there is the new section that contained a selection of Live Tiles.

The right section can be customised by pinning or unpinning apps to it, but can also collapse so you can use the File Explorer.  These Live Tiles can be resized too, to make room for additional apps, or relocating to a more convenient position – as you can with Windows Phone or Windows 8.1.

As you add more apps to this right hand section of the Start Menu, it will expand to accommodate more Live Tiles.

There are options to use this Start Menu as a default instead of the current Windows 8.1 Start Screen and to keep the right hand side updated with recently opened programs.

The video also shows off how the Metro apps can be floated on the desktop. In Windows 9 it looks like they won’t need to be snapped into position or run full screen. Instead they can run in windows on the desktop and be resized.

The Windows 9 Technical Preview is expected to be released before the end of this month or in early October.

Read more: Best monitors 2014

Why trust our journalism?

Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

author icon

Editorial independence

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

author icon

Professional conduct

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.

Trusted Reviews Logo

Sign up to our newsletter

Get the best of Trusted Reviews delivered right to your inbox.

This is a test error message with some extra words