According to The Verge, the initial announcement was made in a video posted on the official Twitter account of Panos Panay, chief product officer for Microsoft. Focus Sessions creates a focus timer that users can implement to help them work through their tasks while listening to a playlist of music from Spotify. According to the video preview, users can create their own lists of tasks for the day, then set up a session and choose how long they want to work. Plus, breaks can be added to a work session by selecting the option below the focus timer. The maximum amount of time allowed is currently unknown. Users then select a playlist to listen to while working. The playlist in the preview video is pre-built with relaxing music, but it’s unclear if users will be able to make their own playlists or if they’ll have to choose from a predetermined selection. An additional feature shown but not detailed is Daily Progress, which appears to track how much time a user worked that day and the day before. There’s also a streak counter to the side that counts how many days of work have been completed. It’s not known if Spotify is the only music app integrated or if other music services like Apple Play Music also will be available options. Microsoft has yet to release a beta version of Focus Sessions in current builds of Windows 11, however seeing this preview at its current state could suggest it will be coming soon for users to test.
