Groove Music is getting a new mini-player in Windows 10

Microsoft has started testing a new mini-view for the Groove Music app in Windows 10. The new feature utilizes the new CompactOverlay feature in Windows 10 which allows apps to create a picture-in-picture-like window for apps that show up on top of all other windows. As for the Groove Music app, the new mini-view shows the album art and lets you switch between different settings without actually opening Groove Music which is certainly quite useful.

The feature is, however, a bit redundant since Groove Music already integrates with the volume controls in Windows 10 which offers the same functionalities. The new mini-view does let you skip to a certain part of the currently playing song, which isn’t available in the volume controls, so at least there’s an extra bit of functionality. And if you care about music videos, the min-view will also let you watch them while you are working on something else without disrupting your work much.

Microsoft seems to be testing the new mini-view for Groove Music with Windows Insiders but you likely won’t get anytime soon. That’s because Microsoft has temporarily paused updates for stock apps in the Windows Insider program, meaning that there isn’t any way of you getting the latest version of Groove Music at the moment. From the looks of things, some Windows Insiders were a bit lucky and they were able to get it a bit early than everyone else.

[appbox windowsstore 9wzdncrfj3pt]

Thanks for the screenshots, M Rankin and Srikanth Marepalli!