Microsoft is currently exploring enhancements to the Start menu and taskbar in Windows 11, aiming to refine user experience through innovative updates. The latest Insider Preview Beta reveals a notable feature: resizable taskbar icons. This functionality allows icons to shrink as users open more applications, or remain at a smaller size indefinitely, depending on individual preferences.
For those participating in the beta program, adjustments can be made under Taskbar settings > Taskbar behaviors. Users can choose from three options under Show smaller taskbar buttons: Always, Never, or When taskbar is full. The third option cleverly scales down icons, ensuring that all applications remain accessible without the need to navigate to a secondary menu—a feature reminiscent of the macOS dock, where icons diminish in size as more applications are added.
In addition to the taskbar modifications, an update to the Start menu has also been reported by an enthusiastic user known as phantomofearth, who frequently explores Insider builds. This update introduces a larger layout for the Start menu, offering users the flexibility to hide recommended recent apps and display all installed applications directly on the page.
While Microsoft has indicated that users updating to this Insider Build may temporarily lose the newly introduced battery charge status icons from January, the company assures that these will be reinstated for Insiders in the near future.
