Microsoft is going back to basics with the Windows 11 Widgets board, giving users the option to remove the news feed from view. In Windows 11 build 26058, which began rolling out to Insiders in the Dev and Canary channels earlier this week, there's now an option for a widgets-only view, which should be available to all users in the coming months.

Windows logo with light shining through and text reading Windows 11 Features in Preview
Windows 11 features in preview: Everything you can try right now

Windows 11 is always getting updated with new and experimental features

New My Widgets view

Refocusing the Widgets board

The highlight of Windows 11 build 26058 is the Widgets panel, which introduces the option to switch between different views via a menu on the left side of the panel. In addition to the traditional dashboard, users can now choose a My Widgets view, which dedicates all three columns of the board to widgets chosen by the user. This should make the board significantly more useful for those who want quick access to information from their apps and services.

Screenshot of the Windows 11 Widgets board in the My Widgets view

Microsoft had previously announced the ability to remove the news feed from the widgets board altogether, albeit it was initially only meant to be coming for users in the European Economic Area due to the Digital Markets Act. However, this change is not limited to a specific market.

Another enhancement for the widgets panel has to do with notification badging on the taskbar. Now, you'll be able to see a notification counter for important notifications you may have missed, such as stock and weather alerts or breaking news. Opening the widgets board in this case will show you a panel with all your missed notifications.

Screenshot of Windows 11 Widgets missed notifications

Pointer indicator accessibility feature

A native version of Mouse Crosshairs from PowerToys

Screenshot of Windows 11 with the pointer indicator accessibility feature enabled

Another addition with Windows 11 build 26058 is a pointer indicator for the mouse. This feature is heavily inspired by a capability built into the Microsoft PowerToys suite, called Mouse Crosshairs, which is a fairly good explanation of what it does. When enabled, the pointer indicator will show a vertical and horizontal line running across your entire screen to pinpoint the exact location of your mouse cursor, so it doesn't get lost against the background colors, particularly on larger screens.

The pointer indicator feature gives you options for customizing the color of the crosshairs, and even if the feature is enabled, you can toggle the indicator on or off with a keyboard shortcut (Windows + Ctrl + X) so you can focus on the content on screen when you want to.

Other changes in Windows 11 build 26058

Aside from the headliners above, the latest Windows 11 preview includes a couple more enhancements. In the File Explorer context menu, the main row of common actions (such as delete and copy) will now show labels underneath the icons to make it easier to identify what each button does.

Screenshot of Windows 11 file explorer context menu with labels

Microsoft is also bringing the richer weather experience announced in January to the Canary channel, showing more information about the current weather directly on the lock screen. Finally, the Windows + Ctrl + S keyboard shortcut is shifting from Windows Speech Recognition to the new voice access feature, which is its direct replacement. Microsoft had announced the deprecation of Windows Speech Recognition back in December.

Otherwise, it's mostly bug fixes for this build, including for some issues that were causing black screens when waking devices from sleep in recent builds.

These changes are expected to make their debut for general users in the second half of the year with the next major Windows 11 update, expected to be named Windows 11 version 24H2. Reports had originally suggested it might be called Windows 12, but recent changes in leadership have seemingly caused plans to change.