Microsoft Designs a New Volume Indicator for Windows 11

Since the release of Windows 8 in 2012, whether you were adjusting the system volume with the keyboard or another device, all that popped up was out a simple black bar. Now 10 years later, Microsoft finally decides to replace the old black bar with a volume indicator that matches the overall design of Windows 11.

The volume, brightness, camera privacy, camera on/off, and airplane mode indicators will all be updated soon to get a more modern, and matching design to the current Windows 11 UI. Microsoft's Windows Insider lead explained, "These new flyouts will appear when you press the volume or brightness keys on your laptop and will honor light/dark mode to give you a more coherent Windows experience. Brightness and volume indicators continue to be interactive with the update."

In addition to this design tweak, Microsoft is also allowing the new calling experience to be tested in the Your Phone app for Windows 11. According to Langowski, this update includes a new in-progress call window with updated icons, fonts and other UI changes that are consistent with the improved design of Windows 11.

This Windows 11 preview also includes the extension of the touch keyboard theme to the emoji panel and elsewhere for all Dev Channel testers. If you've ever thought about uninstalling the Windows 11 clock app, there's also an option to do that.