Windows 11 update takes on Apple Music and Spotify…by bringing back CD playback
Alongside Notepad improvements
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You read that right -Windows 11is indeed bringing CD playback toWindows Media Player, while Notepad is able to run better onARMPCs such as theSurface Pro4.
In anupdatethat’s rolling out to Windows Insider Build users, which allows some to look at features that may or may not come toWindows 11, Notepad and Media Player are seeing some features due to user feedback.
Notepadis able to run faster and more reliably on devices running ARM chips, such as scrolling through large amounts of text, alongside offering better accessibility for scaling text, screen readers and more.
Media Player meanwhile now has an improved display view for big album artwork and the ability to sort tracks by date added, and music CDs can be played in devices running Windows 11 that have a CD drive installed.
Analysis: start digging out your CD collection
Most of us remember when we’d slot a CD album into our desktop PCs and laptops and expect Windows Media Player 7 to appear with its funky visualizations.
While we’ve seen the return of Media Player in Windows 11,Microsoftlooks to be doubling down on the nostalgia of how we used to use Windows in the early 2000s.
The only thing missing now is thebizarre skinsthat you could use in the app, from a green head to a cartoony user interface. But with CD playback now possible, there’s always a chance that we may see these also return in Windows 11 soon, especially withSun Valley 2ramping up for release.
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Daryl had been freelancing for 3 years before joining TechRadar, now reporting on everything software-related. In his spare time, he’s written a book, ‘The Making of Tomb Raider’. His second book, ‘50 Years of Boss Fights’, came out in 2024, with a third book coming in 2025. He also has a newsletter called ‘Springboard’. He’s usually found playing games old and new on his Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, and MacBook Pro. If you have a story about an updated app, one that’s about to launch, or just anything Software-related, drop him a line.
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