Microsoft has rolled out a new preview build of Windows 11 to the Canary channel (which is the first testing point) and is doing work on the widget panel that could be divisive.
This is build 26200 and only a few changes are applied here, two of which concern widgets.
The main focus of innovation here is Microsoft’s new idea allowing developers to send notifications from their widgets to the taskbar button. In other words, when something happens with a widget that you might like to see, it will wave at you from the taskbar to let you know.
Of course, not everyone will want their taskbar widget button to act this way, and luckily Microsoft has included an option to disable this behavior.
It’s also worth noting that this is a limited rollout initially and indeed most people won’t see these widget notifications yet – only those in the European Economic Area (EEA) benefit from This feature is currently being tested. Of course, this deployment could be expanded over time, depending on feedback.
Another tweak related to this in build 26200 is that Microsoft changes said widgets button to make the taskbar icons clearer.
Elsewhere in the taskbar, another icon changes, this time the power saver icon that resides in the system tray (far right). A few months ago this was changed in testing to look different for desktops plugged into a power outlet, but Microsoft has now decided to revert to the old look (a leaf icon) .
Finally, Microsoft notes that there is a strange known issue with this preview build – and others, also in the Dev and Beta channels – whereby Copilot launches automatically after restarting the PC.
The software giant explains that this is not related to the auto-launch behavior at startup that was already tested in pre-release versions, the rollout of which has apparently stopped since March (although we have heard that it has been rebooted elsewhere).
So this is a separate issue and Microsoft says it hopes a fix will be implemented soon. Meanwhile, greater visibility for Copilot is something the company is certainly moving forward with, unsurprisingly.
Analysis: A more dynamic taskbar won’t be everyone’s favorite drink
Are notifications for widgets intrusive? Well, yes, they could certainly be viewed that way, but as noted, as long as the option to disable them is offered, it’s not too bad. If you want them, you can have them – if not, flip that switch. Fair enough.
Many people probably won’t want their widgets to wave at them from the taskbar, every time something new appears with a widget in the panel. However, this taskbar-based hand waving seems to be a direction that Microsoft is exploring further. We also recently saw an idea where the Copilot button performs an animation with its icon to draw your attention to the fact that AI can help you with something you’re doing on the desktop.
Currently this only affects copying text or image files – again, under testing – but in this case there is no way to disable it.
All of this could possibly portend a considerably more lively and lively taskbar in the future, perhaps – and again, that’s not something everyone will appreciate.
If this is the route we take for the taskbar as we head into the next generation of Windows (which could be Windows 12), we hope that Microsoft will also give Windows users enough granular control over features and bar highlight animations so that they can be recalled conveniently.