Shortly after announcing Windows 11 last summer, Microsoft said third-party widgets would come to the OS. Although, the company also said that support would not come until a later date. Now with confirmation of support, Microsoft is giving developers the ability to build companion widgets for their PWA and Win32 applications. “We’re energized by the customer feedback on Widgets to date, people are enjoying the quick access to content most important to them in a way that is seamless without breaking their flow,” says Panos Panay, head of devices and Windows at Microsoft. “Beginning later this year you’ll be able to start building Widgets as companion experiences for your Win32 and PWA apps on Windows 11, powered by the Adaptive Cards platform.” Microsoft first started developing widgets back on Windows 10, bringing back an idea that was on Vista.
Coming Soon
Microsoft’s Build 2022 conference is ongoing starting today. Microsoft will likely expand on its plans for widgets through the event. Even so, I don’t expect we will hear much more about third-party support until close to the launch. It will be interesting to see which developers get on board with widgets. Microsoft has often had struggles getting major apps to engage with Windows. Widgets could add plenty of interesting functionality to the OS, but only if developers are participating. Tip of the day: Do you often experience PC freezes or crashs with Blue Screens of Death (BSOD)? Then you should use Windows Memory Diagnostic to test your computers RAM for any problems that might be caused from damaged memory modules. It is a tool built Microsoft which can be launched at startup to run various memory checks.
