Microsoft Edge is getting a Windows 11 news feed widget that no one will use

Surfing the web and finding your favorite websites in Windows 11 could soon be easier than ever thanks to a new feature coming to Microsoft Edge.

Microsoft’s browser is the brains behind a new widget that looks to make it easier to jump straight to your favorite websites straight from your desktop.

Spotted by WindowsLatest, the new Microsoft Edge Bar features a sidebar that can be pinned to your desktop as part of Windows 11, offering a personalized news feed that includes updates on entertainment, stocks, sports and whatever else you’d like.

Microsoft Edge Bar

Much like the “cards”-based start menu in Windows 10, the new Edge Bar provides information on weather, news and headlines that can be customized by the user. Much like before, selecting a particular story means they can choose whether they see more or less of a particular area, as well as hiding all pieces from a particular news outlet if preferred.

There’s also a search section, powered by Microsoft’s Bing search engine, where users can quickly make queries, or simply enter a full URL to open up the browser. Users can also further personalize the widget by pinning selected or most-used apps or programs to the Edge Bar, with the likes of Outlook, LinkedIn and Bing all reportedly available.

The reports seem to suggest that the Edge Bar stays present on your desktop even after Edge itself has been closed, although this could potentially clutter up your view when navigating between different apps.

There’s no concrete information on a release date for Edge Bar just yet, but Microsoft is keen to keeping rolling out updates and upgrades for its browser, so we can’t imagine it will take long to see the light of day.

The news comes shortly after Microsoft unveiled a number of upcoming changes that will make its web browser Edge the obvious choice for users of the Microsoft 365 productivity suite.

For example, although people are often logged into personal and professional Microsoft accounts simultaneously, Edge will soon automatically open files in whichever profile was active when the link was clicked.

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