Microsoft has recently begun testing a new feature for the Windows 11 Start menu that could potentially introduce a floating panel filled with “companion” widgets. This discovery was made by Windows watcher Albacore in the latest test versions of Windows 11 that have been made available to the public. While Microsoft has not officially announced this new feature, the “Start menu Companions” seem to be a way for developers to expand the functionality of the Windows 11 Start menu with widget-like features housed in a floating island that can be docked next to the Start menu.
It appears that developers will have the ability to create apps that offer widget-like information through adaptive cards, which are a platform-agnostic method for displaying UI blocks of information. These companions will be customizable in the primary Windows 11 Settings section, allowing users to install multiple companions and toggle their activation on or off. Albacore noted that these companions seem to have a heavy focus on web-based functionality, similar to the widgets found within Windows 11.
If Microsoft chooses to move forward with the implementation of this new Start menu feature, it could serve as a solution to the absence of Live Tiles, which were removed in Windows 10X and Windows 11. Live Tiles, originally introduced in Windows 8, provided animated and interactive icons that offered widget-like information directly on the Start menu. However, these Live Tiles were not widely adopted by app developers, contributing to their removal from the more recent Windows operating systems.
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