One of the many new features of Windows 11 is the widget menu.

But what exactly are Windows 11 widgets, and how can you use them now that you can try out the OS with the Windows Insider program? I'll explain it all in this guide. If you have used previous versions of Windows, the widgets in Windows 11 may seem rather familiar.

Widgets are essentially a group of small graphical apps that are quickly accessible directly from the Windows 11 taskbar and are designed to provide at-a-glance access to information such as news, weather, sports results, and stock prices. The widget menu can be customized to show only the widgets you need, and includes a Bing search bar that opens results in a new browser window.

The look and general content delivery style of Windows 11 widgets may be immediately familiar to those who have used Windows 10's Live Tiles feature or, more recently, the News and Interests menu. [But widgets also appear to share some similarities with the "gadget" features of Windows Vista and 7. These added small icons, again capable of displaying information such as news headlines and weather, before Microsoft discontinued them due to security concerns posed by third-party gadgets.

In contrast, widgets, at least for now, are purely driven by Microsoft-owned services such as MSN and the Edge browser.

While there are no third-party widgets, there are a few that can be selected to appear in the menu. The following are all widgets currently available in Windows 11 Insider Preview builds:

Calendar displays the current date and lists any upcoming events you have added.

Entertainment lists recently released movies and TV shows from the Microsoft Store.

Esports displays recent Esports matches and results.

Photos displays photos and images stored in your Microsoft account.

Sports displays the current sports scores and recent results. You can adjust which leagues and teams to display.

Tips displays brief advice for using various Microsoft software, such as Windows 11 and Edge.

To Do allows you to create a list of tasks and display it in the widget menu. You can also mark individual tasks as completed.

Traffic displays a small map and describes traffic conditions in your area.

Watchlist displays stock quotes. As with the Sports widget, you can select which stocks to display.

Weather displays the current weather in your area and the forecast for the next three days.

There is also a large "Top Stories" box at the bottom of the widget menu that pulls headlines from a variety of news sources.

Accessing the widget menu in Windows 11 is simple: just click the widget icon on the taskbar. However, an active Internet connection is required to use this entire feature in a meaningful way.

As with Windows 11's new Start menu, the great strength of widgets is personalization. For example, clicking on the "Add Widget" button in the menu (between the main widget and the "Top Stories" section) brings up the widget settings menu. From here, any widget can be added by clicking on it.

At the bottom of the widget settings menu is a link called "Manage News and Interests". Clicking on this will bring up an option to select topics that you would like to see specifically in the Top Stories section.

Returning to the main widget menu, you will notice a small three-dot icon in the upper right corner of each widget. Clicking on it will bring up the customization options for that widget. You can adjust the size, specify which stocks and sports teams to display, or remove the widget altogether.

Please keep in mind that the Windows 11 Insider Preview build is not final and the entire widget functionality may change: there may be more or fewer widgets to choose from in the full release, the UI may change, and Microsoft may open up widgets to third There is also a possibility that Microsoft will open widgets to third-party developers. Most likely, they will only protect the latter to avoid a repeat of the gadget issue.

For now, though, that's all you need to know about Windows 11 widgets: if you want to try out Microsoft's upcoming OS yourself, first make sure you have a compatible CPU and follow our Windows 11 installation Follow the guide.