Microsoft continues to modernize Windows 11 by gradually porting functionality from the old Control Panel to the newer, better Settings app. The latest development in this area appears to involve audio.
A reliable leaker of Windows developments on X, PhantomOfEarth, discovered a hidden ‘Soundscape’ panel in the Settings app (as highlighted by XDA Developers). This was present in an old (seemingly internal) preview build of Windows 11 and is not found in current test builds, the leaker explains.
25267.1001 contains the Soundscape settings page, intended as a replacement for the old Sound control panel (the link to it is removed from Settings > System > Sound when the ID is enabled). However, the page has no content. It cannot be enabled in Insider builds. pic.twitter.com/Xouacpag7PSeptember 25, 2024
PhantomOfEarth has determined that enabling the new Soundscape page removes the link to the old Sound pane in Control Panel (the “More sound settings” link in System > Sound) from the Windows 11 Settings app, suggesting that this is a replacement for that old functionality.
The stumbling block now is that this new Soundscape panel has no content at all, it’s completely empty. So we can’t really know what it’s going to do (which isn’t surprising, since it’s not even present in Windows 11 preview builds yet, it was discovered in an internal Microsoft-only build as noted).
However, the one-line description text for the new Soundscape option in the Settings app explains that it relates to “Startup sound, scheme, audio events,” which is present in the old Sounds Control Panel window under the “Sounds” tab. It appears that Soundscape will replace this, providing a way to change the Windows sound scheme, the startup sound, and audio related to individual system events (such as an error being thrown).
Making the Windows 11 interface more consistent is a necessary step
If the Soundscape panel does end up replacing the old audio functionality here, it’ll be another step closer to the Settings app replacing the Control Panel entirely. It’s clear that this is still very early days, though, as the new page is not only hidden away, but tucked away in an internal build and isn’t even present in the software sent out to Windows Insiders for testing.
While it’s been a long time coming and work has already begun on Windows 10, it’s clear that Microsoft is determined to replace the Control Panel with a streamlined Settings app.
Considering that the Control Panel is almost 40 years old, it’s sobering. I think Microsoft needs to make sure that Windows 11 has a more modern, clean, and most importantly, consistent design.