Microsoft takes another step to replace the Control Panel

Key findings

  • Microsoft is developing a “Soundscape” panel to replace the old sound control panel.
  • The new feature replaces the current dependency on the Control Panel to change sound settings.
  • Soundscape contains options for startup sounds, schemes, and audio events and will likely replace the Sounds tab in Control Panel.



How much do you prefer Control Panel over the more modern Settings app? Personally, I have a strange attachment to Control Panel, although many people prefer the more streamlined Settings page and Microsoft seems to be preparing to do away with it at some point. While Microsoft hasn't pulled the trigger yet, there are signs that the company is slowly phasing out the archaic tool to manage everything in Settings.

Microsoft is working on a new “Soundscape” panel for settings

This discovery was made by PhantomOfEarth on X, who has dug up many preview features in the past and shows no signs of slowing down. PhantomOfEarth scours every Windows preview release looking for features that are still in the works, even those hidden behind variables that must be manually found and enabled. This time, PhantomOfEarth has discovered an interesting new page titled “Soundscape”:


This new feature replaces a link to Control Panel on the Settings page. Now, when you start Windows 11 and then go to Settings > System > Soundyou should see an entry titled “Additional sound settings” under the Progressive When you click on this entry, the Control Panel should boot up and show you the sound settings.


In the latest preview build, this option appears to be replaced by an entry titled “Soundscape” that leads to another settings page. This will presumably replace the dependency on the Control Panel and allow users to tweak the same options within the sleeker settings interface.

So what's hiding in that mysterious Soundscape section? It turns out there's not much in there at the moment. It's very likely that Microsoft is styling the landing page here before filling it with settings later. However, the option to open Soundscape describes it as “Startup sound, scheme, audio events,” so it's likely replacing the Sounds tab in the Sounds control panel where you can customize system sounds.

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