Too busy chasing AI hype, Microsoft left Windows 11’s design flaws untouched. Developers are the ones delivering the polish users expect

Windows 11 may have just gained another must-have app. FluentFlyout adds fresh and functional flyouts for media on your PC. After a brief bit of testing, I'm both impressed by the app's developers and frustrated with Microsoft not making these features.

FluentFlyout adds media controls to Windows 11 that appear when you press media keys, such as play, pause, volume up, or volume down. The flyouts are customizable, but all of the options feel natural on Windows 11.

Of course, Windows 11 has built-in media controls, but they appear above the Quick Settings menu. I prefer the approach of FluentFlyout.

You can download FluentFlyout for free through the Microsoft Store. If you pay $2.96 for premium, you'll get access to a taskbar widget. You can also download FluentFlyout through GitHub and gain access to all of its features at no cost.

Pretty and Functional

FluentFlyout: at apps.microsoft.com

This app adds a flyout to Windows 11 that appears when you press media keys. The flyout is customizable and includes some handy features, such as a seek bar that lets you jump to a specific spot in a song.

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FluentFlyout has some nice little touches, such as an experimental feature that shows what media is about to play when a song ends. You can also customize what appears within the flyout, pick the flyout's position, and set the theme of the app.

To Microsoft's credit, the company has shown a bit more effort related to design lately. The Run dialog box was refreshed for the first time in 30 years recently. Dark mode improvements are also working their way through Windows 11 slowly but surely.

But when UI improvement cycles are measured in decades, it's fair to criticize Microsoft. Our Senior Editor Zac Bowden illustrated the unfinished state of Windows 11 last year.

Inconsistent and incomplete design elements are one of the many frustrations with Windows 11 and Microsoft as a whole. The tech company seems more interested in putting AI into Notepad and converting Windows into an agentic OS than improving the look of everyday computing.

Luckily, there are third-party developers that are passionate about personal computing. Apps like FluentFlyout add pieces to Windows 11 that probably should already exist courtesy of Microsoft.

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