Microsoft is testing voice control in Windows 11, which could make using the computer more hands-free. The feature is currently available to testers and will be released to the public in the next few months. Windows 10 introduced a number of new features that are designed to make using your computer more hands-free, such as Cortana, which can be used to search for information, open applications, and control settings. Cortana can also be used to control media playback and other tasks. Voice control is another way that Microsoft is trying to make using your computer easier. By allowing users to control their computers with their voice, Microsoft is hoping that people will be more likely to use their computers instead of relying on touch screens or keyboards. The downside of voice control is that it can be difficult for people who are not familiar with it to use it effectively. For example, if you want to change the volume of a song playing on your computer, you would have to say “volume up” rather than just pressing the up arrow on your keyboard. ..
“Voice access is a new experience that enables everyone, including people with mobility disabilities, to control their PC and author text using their voice,” said Microsoft in a blog post.
With the new feature, you can control almost every aspect of your PC without ever touching a mouse or keyboard as long as you speak English-U.S. language, as that’s the only one supported right now.
You can turn on voice access by going to Settings, clicking Accessibility, and finally, Speech. Once there, turn on Voice Access, and you’ll be able to navigate around your computer with your voice. You can also set it to turn in each time your PC turns on, which is essential if you need the feature due to a disability that prevents you from enabling the option on your own.
Microsoft’s blog post has a full breakdown of everything you can do with the new voice access feature, and it’s quite impressive. Everything from waking up the feature to opening an application to left and right-clicking can be done with just your voice.
The update also brings live weather to the taskbar as a quick way to open widgets. This makes it easy to see the weather at any given time, but it also opens up the features offered by widgets more quickly.
“We are trying out showing the Widgets entry point on the left side of your taskbar with live weather content. You can also open the Widgets board by simply hovering over the entry point,” explained Microsoft.
Finally, Microsoft is introducing a Spotlight collection of wallpapers for your computer. This will provide you with “beautiful new desktop pictures from around the world every day and fun facts about each picture.”
As these features are in the Dev channel for Windows 11, it’ll take some time before they make their way to the release builds of Microsoft’s OS. Of course, if you want to try them out now, you can sign up to be a Windows Insider in the Dev channel. Just keep in mind that doing so will introduce some instability to your computer.
RELATED: How to Switch Between Dev and Beta Channels on Windows 11
