Windows 10 to Soon Get More Promoted Apps in Start Menu

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update is due to arrive in July, and it is expected to come with a host of new improvements and features. The most recent feature that has come to light, is that Microsoft is planning to pin more Promoted apps to the Start menu.

The biggest downer in Windows 10 are the advertisements. And Microsoft is set to increase the Promoted advertisement tiles in the Start Menu to 10. Microsoft confirmed this addition at the WinHEC conference.

To make space for these ads, stock apps that are by default pinned to the Start menu, will be decreased to 12. In the current version, there are 17 static apps and five Promoted apps pinned to the Start menu.

These Promoted apps are basically links to the Windows Store. Once the Start menu is opened, these selected tiles will show ads of apps from the Windows Store. Clicking on these tiles will redirect to the Store, where the user can then download.

Microsoft asserts that this is done to "introduce users and expose them to the Windows Store." The company claims that these tiles show apps that are locally relevant to the user, and can be uninstalled easily (if they already have been installed). Alternatively, the user can easily unpin them as well.

Apart from this feature, Microsoft is introducing a lot of other new features with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. The biggest one is the support for fingerprint readers with Windows 10 Mobile. There will be deeper Cortana integration, removal of Wi-Fi Sense's password sharing feature, extension support for Microsoft Edge browser, and will also introduce the new Windows Ink platform that will support a stylus or pen in Windows 10 apps.