Microsoft made several desktop-friendly tweaks to Windows 8.1 Update 1 and the much-anticipated return of the Start menu was supposedly slated for Update 2 later this year. According to a ZDNet report, however, the company has decided to hold off on this feature until sometime in 2015.
Update 2 is reportedly still on tap for August this year sans the revamped menu. Instead, Microsoft plans to deliver that feature as part of the next major release of Windows, dubbed Threshold -- a.k.a Windows 9 -- which is currently rumoured to launch roughly a year from now in April 2015.
No reason was given for the delay -- WinSuperSite's Paul Thurrot says this was the original schedule for the Start menu so it’s possible the company simply couldn’t speed up delivery of the feature and not necessarily hit a snag.
Microsoft VP Terry Myerson showed off a mockup of the retooled Start Menu at Build 2014, but he left out specifics in terms of timing. Unlike past iterations the new menu is expected to combine the classic menu UI with a selection of your Live Tiles to the right showing at-a-glance information and updates.
Of course, you don’t need to wait for Microsoft’s official release to get the familiar Start menu experience as there are more than a few from third parties readily available, including Start8, Classic Start 8 and Classic Shell.
