Have you ever wanted to connect multiple audio devices to your Windows 11 machine for playback? If so, we have some potentially good news. Similar to how you can share audio between two devices from your phone, Microsoft is finally working on a similar feature for Windows 11.
For years, users have requested this type of feature, which lets us take complete control of media and music playback on Windows. Keep in mind that macOS doesn't have this type of feature either, but it's a common option for Android and iPhone. For example, Samsung Galaxy phones make sharing and streaming audio easy across multiple devices.
Imagine playing music on two different sets of headphones or sending music to a speaker in several rooms in your home. Sure, there are third-party options for such controls, but now it looks like Microsoft wants to bake them into Windows 11.
Microsoft has a relatively easy solution based on the images we're seeing. All you'll have to do is fire up Quick Settings in the taskbar, tap on "shared audio," and the pop-up prompt then has a box where you can select two output devices to connect to and stream audio. It'll automatically populate any speakers or headphones connected to the device, and it's as easy as selecting the box for each device you'd like to use. And if you want to stop playback on one of the two, just uncheck the box.
I don't know about you guys, but this sounds like a great addition that's long overdue. However, just because we're seeing it emerge in test builds of Windows 11 doesn't mean it'll become a feature for the public.
It's not uncommon for Microsoft to test certain elements, changes, or new features in early version updates. While many of those eventually trickle down to developer channels and the Insider program, it's hard to know which features will make the cut.
For example, the Canary channel recently added a new quick machine recovery tool, and the upcoming Windows 11 25H2 insider update has a way to remove bloatware and pre-installed apps. Microsoft is constantly making changes, testing new features, and trying to see what works best with its user base. That said, we're hopeful that Microsoft will continue developing and testing out this new shared audio feature, then deliver it to everyone in a future release.
In other news, here's everything you might have missed last week in the world of Windows, from Recall's wider rollout, Microsoft begging users not to switch web browsers, taskbar icon scaling, and more.
Source: Windows Central
