Windows 10 could finally get the improved multimedia controls that many users craved

Windows 10 could finally get the improved multimedia controls that many users craved
The latest Windows 10 preview brought some exciting new additions, including full integration of Linux files into File Explorer, but there are some nifty features hidden in the new version (19603), including an update for them. Media controls As Albacore, a regular Twitter broadcaster, pointed out, new media playback controls in the pull-down menu appear on the taskbar whenever you adjust the volume.

After a long wait, Microsoft had finally finished sneaking in a highly requested feature. His fingers crossed it. Here, the updated media controls in the volume dropdown, take 2! (Build 19603) pic.twitter.com/SxujrIRfxo April 8, 2020 The updated dropdown menu no longer looks terribly outdated and fits much better into the overall look of Windows 10, providing commands to skip tracks or pause/play. It also shows the currently playing song, the more it integrates with the likes of Spotify. Many users have requested an overhaul of this particular part of the Windows 10 interface, so this will certainly be a welcome development, although at the moment, as mentioned, the functionality is hidden even from Windows 10 testers, and should activated by playing around with the functional identifiers as described by Albacore. For most people, it's probably best left alone, until Microsoft works further on the feature and makes it officially available in preview builds. In fact, as Thurrott.com saw, Brandon LeBlanc, supposedly "nerd leader" on the Windows Insider team, called to say that the dropdown menu is "hidden in the code because it's currently a design survey that we do." So we shouldn't get our hopes up too high, because the idea could be abandoned (or alternatively, maybe implemented even better).

New strategy with Windows 10X?

Also, it could actually be part of Microsoft's new approach to Windows 10X, with rumors indicating that some 10X functionality may be added to Windows 10 in the near future (following speculation about the delay of dual-screen devices with Windows 10X next year). This new volume popup menu is the same as the one recently spotted in Windows 10X, so it's quite possible that it's one of these features that Microsoft ported over to experiment with, and other such moves could be expected for Windows 10 ( some other minor UI bits have also apparently made the transition already).

Windows 10

(Image credit: Microsoft/Albacore (Twitter)) Finally, there's another hidden feature with build 19603, and it's a ``What's New'' panel in Settings that highlights the latest features to be added to the operating system, allowing users to users to view them easily and give them links to learn more quickly about new features. Again, if that, and the revised media playback overview, scales down for the next big Windows 10 update later in 2020, we'll just have to see.