Microsoft announced some new features coming to Windows 11: Notepad and Groove Music, which is now known as the media player. Now, Microsoft has finally rolled out the new Notepad and Media Player to all users.
Windows 11 users can get the new Notepad and Media Player through the Microsoft Store. Similar to the previous native apps, the Notepad and Media Player apps have a Fluent Design and rounded corners.
Microsoft has kept the classic version of Notepad or Groove Music as the default app. Microsoft plans to pre-install the new Notepad and Windows Media Player on millions of PCs this year or next.
Windows 11 New Notepad
The new design of Notepad introduces Fluent Design and a WinUI makeover to bring it in line with the rest of the Windows 11 interface. The new Notepad now uses WinUI controls, giving users easier access to fonts, new animations for drop-down menus, and more.
In addition to this, Microsoft has added rounded corners to Notepad’s windows, buttons, and other areas. More importantly, in the settings page that comes with Notepad, users can customize the font from the drop-down list and switch between dark, light and system themes. Of course, the new Notepad still retains functions such as access and search.
Windows 11 New Media Player
After nearly three months of testing, the new Windows Media Player feature is finally available to all Windows 11 users. Media Player is replacing Groove Music, starting with Windows 10 adding Media Player as the default audio player. The media player is considered an alternative to Groove Music. As such, the Movies and TV app, which can only play media content, is here to stay.
Update to Build 22000.346 or later to download the new Notepad and Media Player. If your system is already up to date, you can download these two new apps directly from the Microsoft Store.
The Notepad interface is simply updated, but the media player requires data migration. If you used Groove Music before, the data of Groove Music will be automatically migrated for you after you download and install the new media player. Once done, Groove Music in the start menu will be replaced with a media player. The updated Notepad and Media Player will be part of Windows 11 Sun Valley.
