Windows 10 taskbar to get weather, news widget in major update
Microsoft has said the taskbar widget will roll out to all Windows 10 users later this year
HIGHLIGHTSMicrosoft has said the taskbar widget will roll out to all Windows 10 users later this year
- Microsoft is now adding the taskbar feature to Windows 10 for Insider users.
- Microsoft is likely to roll out the taskbar widget by later this year.
- The widget has both news and weather information in comprehensive manner
Windows 10 is in for a major overhaul. Microsoft is planning to polish Windows 10 further by introducing both big and small changes to different elements. The latest one to see changes is the Windows 10 taskbar. Microsoft is adding the news and weather widgets to the taskbar that will show a comprehensive look at the top headlines from Microsoft News, stocks information, and the weather conditions right from the taskbar. This will eliminate the need for third-party apps or visiting a website to get all that information. The two widgets are now available to testers starting today via Windows Insider.
The taskbar on Windows 10 will have a dedicated portion for the weather, fetching real-time information using the Internet. On clicking this area, a box-shaped widget will pop up showing the feed of content, such as the latest headlines from across beats, information on stocks, and the weather information. Microsoft has said it is aggregating information from over 4,500 sources, which the company is curating with the help of artificial intelligence. The news information in the widget will also learn over time what news is relevant when you like or dismiss a news headline.
Microsoft has said the new taskbar feature will require the Chromium-based Edge browser to be installed on the PC. This means that if a Windows 10 user does not install the browser, the taskbar feature might not be available. Also, any news link that a user clicks in the widget will open in the Edge browser. At the moment, it is not certain if Microsoft will allow switching the default browser for opening these links to Google Chrome or any other. The news will be presented in the reading view by default.
But if a Windows 10 user does not want to keep this feature, Microsoft will give the option to disable the taskbar. The company is also saying the taskbar feature will be rid of any advertisements. This would also mean that Microsoft will not collect information to serve advertisements to you via the widget. Moreover, it is not immediately clear if this widget will also be available in the Control Center that is available by clicking on the tool at the bottom.
The new widget is available on the Windows 10 available to Insider testers through the developers channel. But it will roll out via the stable update to Windows 10 users later this year. Microsoft will roll out the widget feature only to Windows 10 users in India, US, Canada, UK, and Australia. Rest of the markets are unlikely to get this widget, at least not until Microsoft decides otherwise.