Extra-large tile spotted in Office 2016 banner

Sep 23, 2015 04:29 GMT  ·  By

A big update for Windows 10 is coming and Microsoft is undoubtedly working on some pretty big changes, such as extension support for Edge, but at the same time, the Windows development team is also preparing some subtle improvements to make it easier to use some built-in features.

The Start menu and the Start screen might soon receive a new live tile, as a new Office 2016 ad is suggesting that Microsoft might be working on an extra-large version.

As you can see in the photo attached to this article and spotted by reddit user dAKirby309, the extra-large tile is clearly noticeable on the Start screen and could be useful when trying to pin the apps we use the most. But on devices with small screens, it could obviously be more difficult to use.

Obviously, we need to take this with a pinch of salt because for the moment, there’s no confirmation that a new live tile is on its way and this Office 2016 ad might only be a concept to emphasize the compatibility of the new productivity suite with Windows 10.

Interactive live tiles

It’s no secret that Microsoft has been testing several improvements for live tiles, but there’s one major concept that everyone’s hoping to get as soon as possible.

Interactive live tiles were supposed to arrive in Windows 10 Mobile and/or Windows 10, but it appears that Microsoft needs more time to get them right and make them available for consumers. Previously, this concept was developed and demoed by the Research unit in 2014, but it turns out that interactive live tiles aren’t yet ready for their grand debut. With Redstone already on the radar, they could appear sometime next year.

Interactive live tiles are a new way to interact with your apps, as they allow users to perform some tasks without actually opening the apps. For instance, when playing music you can play, pause, or stop playback from the live tile, so you don’t have to launch the music app to do that.

For the moment, these tiles are still in concept phase, but look for them in the Redstone update coming in 2016.