Microsoft Possibly Planning to Launch Windows Widgets

Back in 2009 when Windows 7 was the coolest operating system in Microsoft’s ecosystem, one of the features that people loved the most was the support for gadgets, something that the company eventually dropped for security reasons.

But as it turns out, the Redmond-based software giant has never abandoned the idea of bringing widgets to the Windows desktop, and now there’s a chance the whole thing would happen with the release of the 21H2 feature update due in the fall.

Microsoft watcher WalkingCat hinted there’s a new OS feature currently being worked on, and it’s called Windows Widgets. At this point, it looks like this feature “is something [that] slides out from the left side of the screen with a swipe gesture.”

If this sounds like something you’ve seen before in Windows, it’s because you really did, because this is exactly how the charms worked in Windows 8.

Coming in Windows 10 version 21H2

And while the charms bar was mostly aimed at touch devices, it was a feature that could grow on you, and I personally loved it once I figured out how to use it more efficiently. At this point, however, it’s not known if Microsoft wants to bring back a feature similar to charms, but there’s a chance widgets would end up becoming a part of the notification center for a more modern experience.

As I said earlier, the new Windows widgets would most likely make it to users with the release of the fall update, also referred to as Sun Valley. This is supposed to be the biggest Windows overhaul since the launch of the operating system in mid-2015, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella himself promised a new experience that will totally blow our minds. We should hear more about what’s coming in Windows 10 Sun Valley as insiders receive early builds of the new update.