14 DAY TRIAL // The new Windows Media Player for Windows 11 keeps evolving, and just as expected, Microsoft uses the Windows Insider program to try out new ideas before they go live for everybody.
The most recent preview build of Windows 11 comes alongside a new version of the Media Player. The new version is 11.2203.30.0, and can be installed today by users in the Dev channel.
As for what’s new in this Media Player update, Microsoft says it has specifically refined the artist page to make it easier for users to browse their collections.
“You can now switch between two different views on the artist page when browsing your collection. One view shows you all the albums in a grid; the other shows all the songs, grouped by album. We’ve also added quick actions to albums, artists, videos, and playlists when you hover over them for quick selection and playback,” the company explains.
Notable performance improvements
At the same time, the updated app is getting a context menu in the now playing screen.
“There’s also now a handy context menu available if you right-click on the now playing screen. From here you can open new files without navigating to another page. You can also quickly access the album page and the artist page for your current song. We’ve added a new “video enhancements” feature as well, which allows you to adjust the brightness and contrast of your video,” Microsoft says.
But in addition to all these new capabilities, the software giant is also focusing on the actual performance of the app. This latest update therefore introduces additional refinements supposed to make the app snappier and more responsive on devices with large collection of music.
In other words, Media Player should now be faster when loading large music libraries, Microsoft says.