The Chromebook overview mode is getting a quick-glance weather widget

Since the debut and semi-slow roll-out of ChromeOS 130, I’m sure many of you have noticed and used the new overview mode feature. It works in tandem with the new Welcome Recap feature that allows you to launch every single window – right where they all were – upon returning to your device.

That new, framed-up area not only houses the Welcome Recap, but shows up every time you go into overview mode now as well. It’s a nice, visual touch that has been added that brings the whole experience together, and Google included some recent file suggestions along the bottom as well for added convenience.

Coming in ChromeOS 131, however, overview mode will begin showing a weather widget as the first option in that bottom row? I didn’t notice this on my device that is in ChromeOS 131 Beta until yesterday, and I absolutely love it! Of all the options Google could choose to surface in an area where widget-type things can exist in ChromeOS, weather, time and calendar are the top things I’d ask for.

While it’s not the weather widget I’d love to have on my desktop, it’s a very handy addition and is incredibly useful. For now, clicking it simply opens a Google search for “weather” in a new tab, but perhaps we could get a bespoke weather app for ChromeOS one day.

And this only makes me want to see my next calendar event in the adjacent widget, perhaps followed by posts from news topics I follow. If Google could implement a little carousel in this area, we could get a few helpful, quick-glance widgets here and then swipe over to recent/relevant files after the more helpful stuff has been displayed. I’d seriously never thought of getting some widgets in this view, and now I can’t see it as anything but a fantastic place for all sorts of stuff.

As these things tend to go, we’re probably on the early end of a few bigger changes, here. Google has notoriously added and improved both the overview mode and virtual desks (which are in this view as well) time and time again over the years, so if widget-type additions are on the way for more useful things in overview mode, I say bring it on!