Enlarge / Microsoft will allow third-party applications to bundle their own widgets starting later this year.
Microsoft
When Windows 11 removed support for Live Tiles, Microsoft tried to relocate some of this information quickly and visually to a new widget menu on the taskbar next to the Start and Search menus. Our main issue with widgets in our review of Windows 11 was that they were limited to Microsoft applications and services, with no mechanism for third parties to develop their own widgets.
That will change later this year, according to an announcement at the Microsoft Build Developers Conference. Third parties will be able to develop their own Windows 11 widgets “from the end of the year”. This suggests that it will be among the tweaks and new features that will come to Windows 11 22H2, the first major annual operating system update.
Widgets can be packaged as add-ons for traditional Win32 applications and progressive web applications (PWAs), and will use the adaptive card platform that Microsoft created to enable cross-platform widgets and user interface previews.
Current Windows 11 widgets are provided by Microsoft and rely on Microsoft services for information and personalization. Widgets for basic information such as sports results and weather are modestly useful, but those that collect news and other Microsoft Start content are less useful, especially if you’re not signed in with a Microsoft account and the channels aren’t customized.
Of course, just because third parties can support Windows 11 widgets doesn’t mean they can. From Windows Vista and 7 gadgets to the macOS dashboard, desktop operating system widgets have faded many times before. Microsoft will have to convince major developers to get on board to make it different this time around.