Microsoft is about to revive an old feature that disappeared in Windows 10. The latest beta of Windows 11 Insider added a complementary panel with widgets to the start menu. This feature provides additional application information, similar to what we saw one day in Live Tiles.
The new feature was discovered by Albacorea Windows enthusiast who He posted some screenshots on his X account. According to the user, Windows 11 build 26212 integrates a feature called Start Menu Companions which consists of a panel with widgets located on the side of the start menu.
The “companions” are a fusion of Live Tiles with the Widgets that we used in old versions of Windows and They serve to display additional information to your applications. The screenshots include a widget with the weather status and another with financial information.
Because this is a test function, it still There is no information about this feature.. Microsoft has not detailed it in the update notes on the Windows Insider blogalthough the Personalization menu within the operating system settings offers some striking information.
Microsoft refers to the companions of the start menu as live tiles (animated tiles) based on Adaptive Cards. The latter are UI fragments that applications and services can exchange openly, regardless of the platform.
Judging from the image, This function will be optional and we can disable it from Windows 11 settings.
Start Menu Companions is Microsoft’s new idea for enhance one of the most criticized features of Windows 11: the start menu.
The original Live Tiles were a striking option, however, the developers never took advantage of them and disappeared during the lifetime of Windows 10. Curiously, Microsoft wants to revive this feature and mix it with another that also passed away: Windows 7 widgets.
The companions of the start menu, like all the new features of Windows 11, They can be enabled from the menu Personalization within Setting. Microsoft hopes that developers will react this time and take advantage of all its features. There is also a chance that it will never be implemented in the next update.
Let’s remember that the Insider program works to test features and provide feedback. Some functions never work and disappear after a short timeso there are no guarantees
The only thing that unfortunately will not disappear are the ads from the start menu. If one of these days you find “recommended applications” in the list, don’t be scared, it is advertising disguised within Windows 11 and you can disable it.
