The Windows Insider development channel usually hosts the latest and greatest features of Windows 11, but sometimes some of these features are hidden in the code until Microsoft is ready to talk about it. We’ve seen this happen before with tabbed in File Explorer (which has just been officially released for some people) and now it looks like a new search widget is the last hidden secret in Windows (via Neowin ).
This time, it is Rafael Rivera who has found this function yet to speak. It appears to be hidden in compilation 25136, and when enabled, you’ll have a search button at the bottom left of the Windows taskbar. This search button is also right next to the weather icon. Check it out below.
Microsoft is experimenting with a search widget on the taskbar (Windows 11 Build 25136, SearchBoxLowerLeft function, vivetool addconfig 37010913 2) pic.twitter.com/TLu1W3ckZi
– Rafael Rivera (@WithinRafael) June 9, 2022
This isn’t the first time Microsoft has been playing with a Dev Channel search idea. In version 25120, Microsoft tested a search box on the Windows desktop, and this feature is still present today.
However, to be clear, Microsoft mentioned in the change logs of build 25136 that it planned to experiment with dynamic widgets on the taskbar. The search may end up being one of these, but since Microsoft hasn’t officially mentioned it, we can’t be sure.
In the meantime, we think it’s great, because it reminds me a bit of the Windows 10 search box. If you want, you can even activate it with the third-party application, Vivetool.
However, some people may find that there are now too many ways to search for something in Windows 11. What do you think of this feature? Let us know in the comments.
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