Microsoft offers quiet system sounds in Windows 11

Windows personal computers have produced sounds to indicate errors since the 1980s. With Windows 11, Microsoft has revamped these sounds to make them less stressful.

Windows remains the world’s most popular operating system, with approximately 14% of Microsoft’s $ 168 billion annual revenue. But it’s not always easy for Microsoft to keep its hundreds of millions of customers happy, as they have very diverse opinions about what Windows should look like, including what it should look like.

The designers of Windows 11 were inspired by an approach called Calm Technology, which was described by two employees of the Xerox PARC research lab more than two decades ago. “Calm is much needed in today’s world and tends to depend on our ability to feel controlled, at ease, and confident,” Christian Koehn and Diego Baca of Microsoft wrote in a blog post. “Windows 11 facilitates this through fundamental experiences that feel familiar, soften the UI that once intimidated, and increase the emotional connection.”

Quiet technology also reported the development of Windows 11 sounds, said Matthew Bennett, who crafted the sounds, following contributions to Windows 8 and Windows 10.

Windows 11 differs from its predecessors and competitors in that it allows people to use a group of sounds that match clear visual themes and a different group that goes along with dark themes. The sounds are similar, meaning people can recognize them as they change modes, but slightly different. Applying a dark theme usually makes the sounds softer. They seem to echo, as if they were in a large room.

“The new sounds have a much rounder wavelength, which makes them softer so they can warn you, but without being overwhelming,” a Microsoft spokesman told CNBC via email. Just like we rounded out the UI [user interface] visually, we’ve also rounded out our soundscape to soften the overall feel of the experience. ”

People can change the default sounds by opening the Settings app and going to “Sound> More Sound Options.” But many people will continue to use the default sounds, just as many people who open Microsoft Word will end up using the default font.

Bennett, who left Microsoft in February after twelve years at the company, explained several changes the company made to the sounds of its Windows 11 system during several interviews. (Each of the following audio files contains the new sound, followed by its Windows 10 predecessor).

When something goes wrong (for example, search for text on a website and it’s not there) and your PC has to take a look, Windows 11 won’t make as much of a fuss as Windows 10. The new The sound , which consists of three ascending notes, begins with a lower pitch than the trill it replaces, and does not last as long after, Bennett said.

The notes are not simply played by a piano or a marimba. Bennett said the sounds are “digitally sculpted” and are designed not to evoke any musical instrument. That way, they are less likely to have negative associations in various cultures around the world, he said.

Four quick ascending notes let you know that an event is occurring. The arrangement is much simpler than its seven-note predecessor, which Bennett has described as having a clear beginning, middle, and end.

After the arrival of Windows 10 in 2015, people were directing it to schools and offices, where background noise could deafen some of the sound of the Calendar Reminder. Then the coronavirus pandemic forced workers, teachers and students to stay home, where there would be fewer distractions. The new sound demands less attention in these environments.

When you receive an email in Windows 11, you hear three quick notes down. The new version is a bit faster (Windows 10 includes four notes and stays on for a while at the end) and records a lower pitch.

It’s more than a gesture, reminiscent of a piece of mail that arrives in your inbox and less a snippet of voice. “I read it as‘ Message for you, ’” Bennett said.

These next-generation areas of Windows refer to the stripped-down effects that appeared in Windows Vista and were available in Windows 7, Bennett said. Whenever you plugged a mouse, joystick, or other peripheral into a USB port, or removed it, or the computer didn’t recognize the device, those 2000s operating systems made two abbreviated guttural noises.

Windows 10 deviated from this concept a bit with additional notes and several melodies. Each of the sounds of Windows 11 goes back to the idea of ​​two simple notes, albeit in a friendlier way than its 2000s predecessors.

An ascending tone conveys that the connection has worked.

Download means you have successfully disconnected.

And two sounds imply a mistake, similar to how multilingual parents will quickly say “uh-uh” to warn their children not to do anything, Bennett said.

Sounds for calendar events and emails can be played frequently on Windows computers, but sounds that indicate new instant messages are much less common, Bennett said.

But they’re still there, and in Windows 11, they’re simpler. Three descending notes are marked to mark a new message, instead of a rising and falling cry. Bennett said the sound of the Windows 10 message had to stand out from the sound of the mail to reflect the different pace of the messaging. Now, this distinction is more subtle.

The goal of Message Nudge is to signal the arrival of a new message through a program you are currently using, but perhaps in a different conversation, Bennett said. In Windows 11 you hear a note and then a slightly lower note. It is shorter than the sound of Windows 10, which is equivalent to a miniaturized version of the instant message notification sound in this operating system.

This sound, which comes in concert with some boxes of “system toast” next to the screen, has also received a makeover. There are two slightly ascending notes that are together, instead of four notes that go up and then fall. The sound is shorter and the final note is not maintained for that long.

When a program asks for permission to make changes to your PC, Windows 11 displays a highlighted dialog box on the screen and plays a sound. The result may have security implications, hence the notification.