The Microsoft team announced a number of exciting new features for Windows 11 in the context of its annual developer conference.
And one of the novelties focuses on the possibility that Windows 11 supports third-party widgets. Although they have not shared too many details, they have left the door open to developers who wish to join this proposal.
Windows 11 will start supporting widgets for third-party apps
When Microsoft released Windows 11, one of the highlights of the new design had to do with the presence of widgets. The idea was not only to make them look good on the Windows desktop but also to provide relevant information to the user.
If you have taken a look at Windows 11 you will find, for example, widgets for Microsoft To Do and Outlook. And of course, those widgets that provide information regarding the weather, news, topics of interest, etc. Widgets associated with Microsoft services to provide the corresponding information.
So for now, Windows 11 only supports native widgets. And as we have seen, Microsoft’s proposal with its widgets is very limited. However, this may change in the future. The Microsoft team has confirmed that it wants to further enhance this experience by allowing users to use third-party widgets in the future:
[…] people enjoy quick access to the content that matters most to them seamlessly and without interrupting their flow. Starting 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.
So this opens up the possibility for developers to build versions of their services or applications for Win32 and PWA apps. Although they have not shared what the roadmap will be for this dynamic to become a reality, they have made it clear that this possibility is open to developers.
