How to open the Apps list on Windows 11

Microsoft is not done experimenting with the Start Menu. The Start Menu in Windows 8 was nothing short of a disaster and became one of the worst criticisms of the OS. Microsoft eventually had to ‘fix’ it but Windows 11 has a new Start Menu which is different from the Start Menu in Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7. For users, there will be a learning curve, and possibly some raging.

Apps list on Windows 11

The Start Menu on Windows 11 is different however, it does still have an Apps list i.e. a list of every single app that is installed on the system. Users can click and app to open it. The trick is figuring out how to access the Apps list.

Open Apps list on Windows 11

The Apps list is easy to access but not as easy to find because the new Start Menu Window 11 still shows pinned apps (tiles are no longer a thing).

1. Click the Start or Windows button on the taskbar to open the Start Menu.
2. Click All Apps at the top right corner.
3. You will see the Apps list. Scroll through it and select an app to open.

Apps list speed dial

The Start Menu on Windows 11 is different but it still has features from the Windows 10 Start Menu. The speed dial has carried over. If you click a letter in the apps list e.g., A, you will be taken to the speed dial. Click a different letter e.g. F and you’ll jump to the section of apps that start with the letter F. It makes browsing considerably easier.

Get Windows 10 Start Menu in Windows 11

There is a registry hack that was able to restore the Windows 10 start menu in Windows 11. While it worked at the time, it has been blocked by Microsoft. This isn’t unexpected and you are likely to see this happen with lots of other registry related tweaks that will be discovered while Windows 11 is in beta. 

By the time Windows 11 is made available to the public, it will work very differently than how it does now during its preview stage. 

Conclusion

The Start Menu in Windows 11 is divided into sections with pinned apps appearing at the top in a scrollable. This section is scrollable which means that pinning an app to the Start Menu is going to lose its utility somewhat. When you have one too many apps pinned to the Start menu, they will appear on the next ‘page’ and users will have to scroll to open them. Folders or app groups have been removed as well. Let’s hope the search bar works well enough to rival Spotlight on macOS. If it does, you may find yourself using it to open apps.

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Fatima Wahab

Fatima has been writing for AddictiveTips for six years. She began as a junior writer and has been working as the Editor in Chief since 2014. Fatima gets an adrenaline rush from figuring out how technology works, and how to manipulate it. A well-designed app, something that solves a common everyday problem and looks

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