New Tab Widgets v0.1 – Beta Launch
New Tab Widgets enters public beta with v0.1. The initial release brings a fully customisable new tab dashboard with Spotify controls, weather, FuelWatch, OzBargain, and a drag-and-drop widget layout.
New Tab Widgets v0.1 is the initial public beta. After months of private development, the extension is ready for early users to try — and we're excited to share what we've built.
What's in the first beta
The first release ships with a curated set of widgets covering smart home, music, weather, and deals.
🎵 Spotify Widget
Control your Spotify playback without leaving your new tab. The Spotify widget shows the currently playing track and artist, with play/pause, skip forward, and skip back controls. Great for anyone who switches songs constantly while working.
☁️ Weather Forecast Widget
See the current weather and a short-range forecast for any location — right on your new tab page. Configure your city once and the widget updates automatically throughout the day.
💡 Philips Hue Widgets
Hue users can control their smart lights directly from the dashboard:
- Hue Group — turn a room or group of lights on and off
- Hue Scene — activate a saved Hue scene with one click
- Link & Hue Scene — a combined bookmark + scene widget that opens a website and sets a lighting scene in the same click
🛢️ FuelWatch Petrol Prices
Perth, Western Australia drivers can check fuel prices from FuelWatch for their preferred stations and products. The widget shows current prices and lets you track multiple stations side by side.
🛒 OzBargain Feed
Browse the hottest deals from OzBargain.com without switching tabs. The widget shows a live feed of the most popular deals, updated regularly.
Dashboard features
Beyond the widgets themselves, the beta includes:
- Drag-and-drop grid layout — arrange widgets freely on your dashboard; drag to move, drag corners to resize
- Widget lock / pin — lock a widget in place to prevent accidental moves
- Duplicate widget — create a copy of any widget with the same configuration
- Wallpaper backgrounds — set a photo background from a searchable gallery
- Light and dark mode — switch between themes in appearance settings
What's coming next
This is just the beginning. We have a growing roadmap of widgets planned, including:
- Google Calendar integration
- Sticky notes and reminders
- Bookmark link collections
- More smart home controls
We'd love your feedback. Try the beta and let us know what works, what doesn't, and what widgets you want to see next.