Microsoft
has
quietly
started
testing
an
intriguing
change
to
the
Windows
11
Start
menu
that
could
introduce
a
floating
panel
full
of
“companion”
widgets.
Windows
watcher
Albacore
discovered
the
new
Start
menu
feature
in
the
latest
test
versions
of
Windows
11
that
Microsoft
has
released
publicly.
While
Microsoft
has
not
yet
announced
this
feature,
the
“Start
menu
Companions”
appear
to
be
a
way
to
allow
developers
to
extend
the
Windows
11
Start
menu
with
widget-like
functionality
that
lives
inside
a
floating
island
that
can
be
docked
next
to
the
Start
menu.
It
looks
like
developers
will
be
able
to
build
apps
that
provide
widget-like
information
through
adaptive
cards
—
a
platform-agnostic
way
of
displaying
UI
blocks
of
information.
These
companions
will
be
configurable
in
the
main
Windows
11
Settings
section,
with
the
ability
to
install
multiple
companions
and
toggles
to
enable
or
disable
them.
Albacore
mentions
that
these
companions
seem
to
be
very
web-centric,
much
like
the
widgets
inside
Windows
11.
If
Microsoft
decides
to
proceed
with
this
Start
menu
feature,
it
could
be
the
answer
to
the
loss
of
the
Live
Tiles
that
were
removed
in
Windows
10X
and
Windows
11.
Live
Tiles,
the
animated
and
flipping
icons
from
the
Windows
Phone
days,
offered
widget-like
information
on
the
Start
menu
but
weren’t
widely
supported
by
app
developers.
Microsoft
first
introduced
them
in
Windows
8,
back
when
the
company
was
trying
to
bridge
the
gap
with
its
Windows
Phone
OS.
Live
Tiles
were
designed
to
be
“glance
and
go,”
so
you
could
quickly
look
at
a
phone
or
Start
menu
and
see
the
information
you
needed.
Original author: Tom Warren
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