Windows 11 may get modern volume controls

September 30, 2021
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Going all the way, as they say! Windows 11 comes with a new Start Menu, a modern Taskbar, fresh icons, and a stylish UI, but the OS still uses certain elements that are from the Windows 8 era.

Elements like the flyouts for volume and brightness, among other things.

However, it appears that Microsoft is ready for these refinements, and wants to modernize these little elements that are fit for a modern operating system like Windows 11.

To be honest, the current implementation is modern enough, it’s just that it feels out of place with the rest of the OS. And besides, a few good enhancements here and there never hurt anybody — improvement being an art and all that.

Fortunately, Microsoft is feeling pretty artistic these days.

Brandon Volume Controls

Brandon LeBlanc revealed during the Windows Insider webcast that the company is considering a new design for the volume and brightness flyouts in the operating system, though things appear to be in the early stages.

As in, the new design will not ship with the Windows 11 21H2 update and will only be made available at a later date.

Oh well.

Modern Volume Flyout

Some of you may recall that back in 2019, Microsoft employees teased that they were testing a new design and experience for the operating system’s media controls. But that experiment was unceremoniously abandoned shortly thereafter.

Above was a prototype of the new design that surfaced.

Anyway, sources familiar with the development of the OS hint that modern volume controls and other flyouts could appear in the upcoming builds from the Nickel branch, meaning they are sure to arrive in Windows 11 version 22H2, which should see daylight sometimes in September or October of 2022.

Apparently, the code required to enable modern flyouts is already in the operating system, but only in design component form, and users cannot enable them.

Fingers crossed, that changes soon.

Article Categories:
Featured · Features · User Interface · Windows 11

Fahad Ali is a professional freelancer, specializing in technology, web design and development and enterprise applications. He is the primary contributor to this website. When he is not typing away on his keyboard, he is relaxing to some soft jazz.

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