Third-party widgets are coming to Windows 11, which could make them useful

When Live Tiles was dropped in Windows 11, Microsoft tried to move some of that quick, easy-to-view information to the new Widgets menu, which sits on the taskbar next to the Start menu and search menu. Our main issue with widgets in our Windows 11 review was that they were limited to Microsoft apps and services and there was no mechanism for third parties to develop their own widgets.

That will change later this year, according to a statement made at the Microsoft Build developer conference. Third parties will be able to develop their own widgets for Windows 11 “starting later this year.”This suggests that it will be among the tweaks and new features coming with Windows 11 22H2, the operating system’s first major annual update.

Widgets can be packaged as companions to both traditional Win32 applications and Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), and they will use the Adaptive Cards framework, created by Microsoft to enable cross-platform widgets and UI previews.

All current Windows 11 widgets are supplied by Microsoft and rely on Microsoft services for information and personalization. Widgets for basic information like sports scores and weather are moderately useful, but those that pull news and other content from Microsoft Start are less useful, especially if you’re not signed in with a Microsoft account and the channels aren’t personalized.

Of course, just because third parties can support Windows 11 widgets doesn’t mean they will. From Windows Vista and 7 gadgets to the macOS dashboard, widgets in desktop operating systems have already failed many times. For things to be different this time around, Microsoft will need to convince major developers to join it.