14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has released a new Windows 11 preview build to users in the Dev channel, and according to the official changelog, one of the essential improvements is aimed at widgets.
The original version of Windows 11 comes with widgets, a new feature that has since evolved substantially, and the latest Windows 11 preview build further evolves it.
More specifically, Microsoft is implementing additional polishing specifically to work easier with the widget picker and to access the settings in a more convenient way.
“In this update, we have separated the widget picker and Widgets settings to make it easier for you to find and interact with each view. Now, the widget picker is opened by the “+” button and Widgets settings is opened by the “Me” button. We re-used the space the picker used to take in Widget settings to cover the highly requested taskbar settings based on Insider feedback to give you control over how the Widgets entry works on your taskbar,” Microsoft explains.
The company is also offering new toggles to control the Widgets taskbar behavior, so you’ll find three different settings when expanding this screen:
- Control whether the Widgets board opens when you hover over the taskbar icon.
- Control whether Widgets will show notification badging on the taskbar.
- Control whether live Widget content on the taskbar shows more than weather.
“Please note the wording for the toggles in Widget settings is slightly different in this build over what’s shown in the above screenshot. In a future update, the text for the toggles in Widget settings will be updated to reflect what is in the (above) screenshot,” Microsoft says.
The new Widgets improvements are rolling out to insiders in stages, as Microsoft says it wants to collect more feedback before announcing broad availability in the Windows Insider program.