Stardock Releases Start11 v2
- Paul Thurrott
- Oct 26, 2023
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Stardock today announced the release of Start11 v2, a major upgrade to its most popular Windows 11 customization utility.
“Start11 v2, the industry’s most advanced Start menu, is taking a giant leap forward today,” the announcement post notes. “With more than two dozen new features and even more quality-of-life updates, this is the biggest update to any Start product in history.”
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Here’s what’s new:
Three new designs. Start 11 v2 offers a choice of new Start menu designs, including Windows Pro Style (which looks amazing), Windows Launcher Style, and Windows App Style. Each is a really nice advance over the limited stock Start menu in Windows 11, and between them, almost anyone should find a design that meets their needs.
New customization capabilities. Start11 v2 offers new options for customizing, organizing, and launching apps, but you can also tint icons with color themes to create a truly uniform experience. Each design also lets you customize icon sizing, spacing, rows, icon labels (including hiding them), and more.
Taskbar improvements. As with previous Start11 versions, v2 also provides unique Taskbar customization capabilities. You pin files, folders, and drives to the Taskbar in addition to app shortcuts, and access your most important content without opening windows. Folder menus are particularly impressive, as you can avoid the buggy new File Explorer in Windows 11 version 23H2.
Enterprise improvements. Start11 v2 adds to the enterprise features offered in previous versions with kiosk functionality that “locks” apps in Start and login load, which lets IT configure custom configuration files for each user that run at sign-in.
Quality of life improvements. Start11 v2 adds backup and restore functionality for settings and a reset and clear feature to put everything back to its defaults.
Start11 v2 is available now for just $5.99 from the Stardock website—the normal price is $6.99. Because there are so many new features, there’s no upgrade path from previous versions, but I suspect most will see the upside here: It’s a terrific new app from a trusted company.