Windows news recap: Groove Music replaced with Windows 11 Media Player for more Insiders, Google planning new ‘Fast Pair’ for Android phones and Windows PCs, and more

Jack Wilkinson

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Welcome back to our Windows news recap, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s flagship operating system.

New image editor starts rolling out in Windows 11 Photos app

The Photos app in Windows 11 has received a new update that makes four changes to image editing. The update includes the relocation of the cropping tool, new aspect ratio options for images, an easy-to-spot/understand adjustment tab, and new image mark-up options.

New image editor starts rolling out in windows 11 photos app - onmsft. Com - january 6, 2022

Groove Music player updated and replaced with new Windows 11 Media Player for some

An increasing number of Windows Insiders are beginning to see the Groove Music player switch over to the Windows 11 Media Player, as Microsoft continues its gradual transition away from Groove Music.

Groove music player updated and replaced with new windows 11 media player for some - onmsft. Com - january 5, 2022

Google plans to make Android phones and Windows PCs work better together with Fast Pair

During CES, Google announced its ambitions to make devices work better together, particularly in a more platform-agnostic manner. As part of this, Google is working on a new feature called Fast Pair, which aims to make it easier to connect Android phones and Windows PCs together. Google says “For the first time with Android, we’re also focused on building for other platforms, like Windows, whether it’s in gaming, productivity or other areas. For example, by connecting your Android phone to your Windows PC with Fast Pair, you’ll be able to quickly set up Bluetooth accessories, sync text messages and share files with Nearby Share.”

An hp windows pc laptop next to a phone showing nearby share as a feature for sending files

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week with more Windows news.