Microsoft experiments with new theme-aware weather icons for Windows 11's taskbar

Microsoft is working on updating the weather widget on Windows 11's taskbar. The latest Windows 11 preview build brings a new set of theme-aware icons to make the widget easier on the eyes and improve its glanceability.

The icons' overall design remains the same, but now they feature slightly different shades and colours with improved contrast on dark and light backgrounds. Microsoft says the higher contrast ratio and new tones make the information clearer, especially for users with low sight. You can see the difference between the two sets of icons in the screenshot below.

Microsoft updates Windows 11's widgets using the so-called Windows Web Experience Pack from the Microsoft Store. It allows adding new features to all Windows 11 releases. Therefore, you can expect the updated weather icon to show up on Windows 11 22H2 and 21H2 once the company is done with testing them in the Dev Channel.

Besides making the taskbar easier to read, Windows 11 build 25309 expands the Auto colour Management feature to more users. Microsoft's latest operating system can display better colours in all apps on 10-16 bit monitors and even improve the image quality on lower-spec displays with 8-bit panels.

You can learn about other changes introduced in Windows 11 build 25309 in our dedicated coverage.

Microsoft experiments with new theme-aware weather icons for Windows 11's taskbar