Windows 10 ‘News and Interests’ taskbar feature now rolling out more widely

The feature is designed to show a feed-like feature worked into the Taskbar, and is probably the most significant change to the Windows Taskbar since the arrival of the Cortana button.

Representational image: Microsoft Windows 10 installed on a laptop computer. 

Microsoft is yet to roll out the 21H1 update, its first major release of the year to Windows 10 computers, but one of the most useful feature additions to the operating system in recent history has already begun rolling out to more users around the world, as part of the company's May update.

The company previously teased the News and Interests taskbar feature on its blog earlier this year, then began rolling it out to a few users last month. It is now available to a wider audience, according to Windows Latest. The report suggests that the recently released KB5003173 update enables the taskbar feed on Windows 10. However, it looks like the feature isn't ready yet as there are visual bugs with the icons and it only works when your taskbar is located on the bottom of the screen.

Microsoft's new “News and Interests” Taskbar in action. (Microsoft)

Microsoft's new “News and Interests” Taskbar in action. (Microsoft)

While there's no word from Microsoft on whether the feature is officially rolling out as part of a recent update, the report states that many users have seen the new News and Interests taskbar feature show up after installing the latest Patch Tuesday update. Used to denote the second or fourth Tuesday of every month, the term ‘Patch Tuesday' refers to the time when major technology companies usually issue updates to their software.

We had previously reported that the company had been working on a way for users to quickly peek at information without having to switch apps or move to another app. The feature is designed to show a feed-like feature worked into the Taskbar – it is probably the most significant change to the Windows Taskbar since the arrival of the Cortana button.