Microsoft has announced that the new Media Player app for Windows 11 is now available in the Beta channel for Windows Insiders. The app, which is a unified media player experience that replaces the Groove Music and Movies & TV apps, was first distributed to Insiders on the Dev channel in November.
The new Media Player software appears to be based on the popular Windows Media Player app, which has been a part of Windows for a long time. Microsoft attempted to segregate music and video in Windows 8 (Xbox Music and Xbox Video at first), and this was carried over to Windows 10 and later Windows 11. They’re using the same app again now.
The new Media Player for Windows 11 has a completely new design that is more in sync with the rest of Windows 11. It also combines music and video playback capabilities into a single tool. All of the icons have been redesigned, and the media player has a large play button in the center that stands out a little more than in Windows 10 apps.
It has all the capabilities you’d expect from a media player program, including the ability to add directories to scan for music and video files, build playlists, and more. It also has a picture-in-picture mode for video and music files, allowing you to keep items visible while doing other things. When you play music files, the app will show you the album art for the song you’re currently listening to.
If you’re afraid about losing Windows Media Player Classic, don’t be; it’s still available under the Start menu’s Windows Tools folder. Despite all of the alternatives that Microsoft has tried to develop over the years, the old Media Player has not been totally replaced.
Media Player was just announced as one of the many new features coming to Windows 11 in February, so it’s a little surprising that it’s now only available in the Beta channel. Android app support was just released in the Release Preview channel last week, which is normally the final stage before universal availability. To be fair, the new Media Player app shouldn’t necessitate extensive testing. You may also discover more about what Microsoft is planning for the future by looking at our list of Windows 11 preview features.
