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Windows 11 is getting a brand-new Media Player app

Microsoft continues overhauling stock apps in Windows 11. After launching a redesigned Clock, Photos, and Snipping Tool, Microsoft is bringing a brand-new Media Player for Windows Insiders. It is now available for testing in the Dev channel.

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Windows 11 Media Player Icon
New Windows 11 Media Player Icon

Media Player for Windows 11 will replace the old and long overdue for a major update Groove Music app. Microsoft also wants the new app to replace the classic Windows Media Player, although the latter will remain available in the Windows Tools folder for quite a while.

Microsoft understands that many people like legacy Windows apps, and for that reason, the company decided to keep the old Paint and Windows Media Player around.

Media Player for Windows 11 also marks the return of a universal app for playing and managing music and videos. The current stable versions of Windows 10 and 11 have separate apps for music (Groove Music) and videos (Movies and TV).

Windows 11 Media Player Playing Video

Besides unifying two media apps into one, the new Media Player brings a beautiful modern UI. The music playback view features album art and pulls additional artist pictures for a richer experience.

Windows 11 Media Player Playing Music

The app also supports CompactView that lets you keep a small player window on top of other apps.

Windows 11 Media Player Miniplayer For Music

Microsoft says it has optimized the app for accessibility with improved keyboard shortcuts and access key support for keyboard users and people with other assistive technologies.

Windows 11 Media Player Running

It is worth mentioning that the new Media Player app for Windows 11 is a public preview, which means you may encounter some bugs and glitches.

Microsoft is aware of an issue that prevents playback from network locations, plus bugs may impact editing album metadata, sorting library content with accented characters.

Finally, some UI elements will not "respect" your app theme preference. In other words, there are several things to iron out before shipping the app to the public. Still, it is exciting to see a big update for such a legendary app in Windows.

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Author: Taras Buria

Taras is here to cover stories about Microsoft and everything around, although sometimes he prefers Apple.

One thought on “Windows 11 is getting a brand-new Media Player app”

  1. And in a few years it will be abandoned and re-imagined again. All features thrown away and rewritten from scratch. No thanks.

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