Microsoft is planning a major change to widgets on Windows 11

With the launch of Windows 11 in 2021, Microsoft introduced a new feature called the Widgets Panel that hides off screen until the user clicks the Widgets button on the Taskbar or swipes in from the left side of the display. The panel presents users with the latest news from MSN as well as a handful of customizable widgets.

In 2022, Microsoft opened the Widgets Panel up to third-party developers, and since then we've seen both Facebook and Spotify adopt the platform with their own widget experiences. Microsoft has also added several more widgets since launch, including Phone Link, Xbox, Photos, and more.

Now, according to my sources, Microsoft plans to take the widgets experience one step further by allowing users to pin them directly to the desktop, a move that Microsoft hopes will increase engagement with widgets. The experience will work similarly to how Windows Desktop Gadgets used to work on Windows 7, with them being placeable anywhere on the desktop.