On June 12, 2026, Microsoft rolled out a preview version via the Windows Insider program, bringing the modern Media Player that comes pre-installed with Windows 11 up to version 11.2605.14.0. The company stressed that this app is still very much a work in progress. This particular update is geared towards bolstering stability and refining the user experience. It now allows for the automatic adjustment of subtitle styles in line with system settings and introduces seven fresh enhancements. These include playback queue index hints and codec error guidance, among others.

However, real-world usage reveals that when it comes to startup speed, resource consumption, and decoding prowess, the modern Media Player falls notably short compared to the classic Windows Media Player. Testing has shown that the modern iteration takes several seconds to launch a video with a double-click, whereas the classic version springs into action almost instantaneously. Regarding memory usage, in an idle state, the modern version gobbles up around 377MB, which is a staggering 3.64 times more than what the classic version consumes.