5 ways the Sound Recorder has gotten better on Windows 11

Windows 11 brought with it updates to a lot of the built-in Windows apps, and as much as Microsoft can get things wrong at times, many of these apps have actually improved. I’ve already highlighted some major ones like Snipping Tool and Paint, and this time, I want to talk about Sound Recorder.

Actually, this app had a different name back on Windows 10, where it was called Voice Recorder, and truth be told, it was a far worse app. Everything has been refined and improved in tis Windows 11 version, even if the core purpose is still the same. Let me explain how.

5 A much better UI

We get waveforms, too

This one may be fairly subjective, but the Sound Recorder app on Windows 11 has a far, far better interface. All the options are laid out more nicely and it makes much better use of space, so it feels like a properly finished app. The super-plain look of the old app was very characteristic of Windows 10 (and even 8), but this new version feels like a proper app designed for a PC.

Among the many improvements to the UI, one that’s pretty notable is the inclusion of waveform graphs for recordings, meaning you can see how loud each part of a recording is, which can make it much easier to jump to a specific part if you forgot to add a marker. The previous app kind of showed how loud you were while recording, but it was a very ineffective way to do it, and it wasn’t visible after the recording. Overall, it’s a much better implementation.

There’s also a button to quickly jump back to the beginning of a recording, which is another neat addition.

4 Changing playback speed

For when someone talks too slow

Another nice little addition to the Sound Recorder app is the ability to change the playback speed of a recording. Whether you have a hard time keeping up with what’s being said or you’re getting bored because someone talks too slowly, the new app lets you play files at anywhere from a quarter of the normal speed to up to four times the speed.

It’s not exactly a game changer for your own recordings, maybe, but as we’re about to get into, it can be a big deal.

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3 Importing files

It’s more than a recorder

In the past, the Voice Recorder app could only record clips and play those clips back. It makes sense, as that is what the name of the app implies. But now, the new Sound Recorder app can also import all kinds of audio files to listen to. So if you have an interview recording stored somewhere or something like an audiobook file, you can import those files and play them in Sound Recorder, making use of all the features.

That includes, of course, changing the playback speed, so you can listen to those files at your preferred pace. Plus, of course, you can add markers to those files to make them more navigable, and see the waveform graphs for them, too. It’s pretty nice.

2 Easy microphone switching

This really should have been there from the start

It’s kind of ridiculous that a recording app didn’t provide users the ability to easily switch the microphone used for recording. Instead, you were directed to switch your input in the Settings app, which worked, but it’s impractical to have to switch the microphone for the entire OS when you just need it for specific voice recordings.

Thankfully, the Sound Recorder app for Windows 11 fixes this, with a menu for switching microphones available directly on the main page, so you can easily switch between them without jumping through hoops. It’s about time.

1 Recording quality settings

You’re not limited anymore

Another setting that makes total sense for an audio recording app is the ability to change the recording quality and format used. It’s not something I would have considered mandatory for a built-in app, but that makes the fact that it’s here all the sweeter.

If you go into the Sound Recorder’s settings, you can change the format used for the recording — the default is AAC, but you can use MP3, WMA, FLAC, and WAV. Those last two are especially welcome if you’re recording high-quality audio and you don’t want to deal with compression.

Similarly, you can change the audio quality you want overall. There’s an auto setting that’s enabled by default, but you can choose between Best, High, and Medium settings, with a higher quality resulting in a larger file. It would be nice if we could see the actual bitrate that each option equates to, but having the setting at all is still very welcome.

It’s great seeing Windows apps evolve

At this point, I’ve written about the four major built-in apps that got major updates exclusive to Windows 11. There are other apps that have changed a lot in the Windows 11 era, but many of those features were brought over to Windows 10 as well.

In either case, seeing these apps evolve is very exciting because I’m a fan of Windows, and I want to see it be the best it can be. All of these apps have become far more useful to me with Windows 11, and some of them are outright essential now. I can only hope we’ll continue to see more and more improvements in the future, not just for these apps, but for others that deserve the same treatment.