With the introduction of Windows 11 earlier last year, Microsoft also introduced us to widgets that can be accessed via a dedicated widget panel. However, you only got access to just a limited set of system widgets at the time of launch. This is about to change soon as Microsoft has officially announced support for third-party widgets at its Build 2022 developer conference today. Here are the details.
Third-Party Widgets Coming to Windows 11
It is revealed that Microsoft will open doors for third-party developers to provide widgets to users, and it will start taking shape later this year.
Developers will be able to build widgets for their Win32 and PWA apps, which will be powered by the Adaptive Cards platform, as a companion experience. Adaptive Cards are snippets of content to be rendered on a host application. These lightweight snippets can easily adapt to the host application.
Microsoft’s Panos Panay said, “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. 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.“
To recall, Microsoft was earlier rumored to get support for third-party widgets but this was supposed to come along with the Sun Valley 2 Update. It remains to be seen when the Windows 11 version 22H2 update will be released and whether it will have third-party widgets from some developers in tow. The company has also started testing bringing widgets to the home screen. It brought the search bar widget to Windows 11 home screen with the recent Windows 11 Build 25120.
Talking about the current situation, Windows 11 only includes system widgets of apps such as Calendar, To-do, Outlook, Weather, Gaming, Photos, and more. But now, as we move forward, people will be able to add more apps to the widgets panel, making it actually useful.
Other details on third-party widget support have been still kept behind the veil. Although, we can expect to get more details on this in the near future. Hence, keep visiting Beebom for all such updates, and do share your thoughts on this announcement in the comments below.
