By Delia / Last update January 6, 2022

Users can install new Media Player from Microsoft Store

Microsoft has recently announced a new Media Player for Windows 11, replacing the previous Groove Music, which is supposed to be the successor to the classic Windows Media Player. The new Windows 11 Media Player is currently available for the beta channel, but user reports indicate that non-Insider testers can also download and use it.

The new Media Player for Windows 11 requires a system version of Windows 11 Build 22000 or higher, which means Windows 11 users can install the program through the Microsoft Store. If you don't find it in the Windows 11 Store, you'll also be able to manually install the application as long as the device is running Build 22000.346 or later.

Features of Windows 11 new Media Player

The new Media Player was first revealed previously in a live stream, and Microsoft officially announced the design in November 2021. Microsoft has now been testing the new Media Player for two months and it is currently ready for normal use by users. One of the main focuses of the new Media Player is to support the characteristic system accent colors of Windows 11.

new media player preview

Currently, the media player can follow the system theme colors in Windows 11, replacing the application's internal color system "Zest", but users can also cut back to the previous default style from the media player's settings. The new Media Player is built specifically for Windows 11, using WinUI elements, rounded corners and more. Currently, the media player only runs on Windows 11, but it will soon be pushed out for Win10 as well, but the Win10 version does not have rounded corners as well as the Mica theme.

new media player home

New Media Player replaces the existing Groove Music player

It should be noted that the new Media Player replaces the existing Groove Music player. After updating to the new media player, it will automatically import Groove's database, including the previous playlists and saved media library locations can be inherited.

However, the most classic Windows Media Player does not disappear with the new Media Player installed, and users can still enable it from the optional features in the settings. However, in the future the old Windows Media Player may be removed from the operating system.

As mentioned earlier, the new Media Player is available for Windows 11 Build 22000 and above, but there is no clear timeline as to when the application will be rolled out to all users. In addition, in addition to the release of the new Media Player, Microsoft has also recently developed a new Notepad, and in the future the system components of Windows 11 will see successive updates.W