Windows 11 will soon bring better widgets to your PC’s lock screen

Microsoft is testing improved widgets on the Windows 11 lock screen.

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What you need to know

Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel have some new features to play with and test out. Microsoft just shipped Windows 11 build 26252, which includes a few new features and a bunch of fixes and improvements.

The highlight feature of the update is “Weather and more,” which places widgets on your lock screen with information about the weather, finance, traffic, and sports. The design of the cards has been improved, including its blur effect, the size of cards, and its spacing. Fonts should be better optimized within the cards as well.

The taskbar also has a new feature that lets you pin apps to it by dragging those apps from the Start menu. At the moment, trying to drag an app from the Start menu to the taskbar shows a circle with a line through it.

Microsoft outlines the changes below and a full list of fixes in ablog post:

Windows 11 Build 26252: Changes and improvements

Lock screen

Start menu

Settings

Windows 11 Build 26252: Fixes

Input

Task Manager

Settings

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Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He’s covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean’s journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.