Microsoft Releases Windows MIDI Services With MIDI 2.0 Support in Public Preview

Microsoft has just released the Windows 11 preview build 27788 on the Canary Channel, which includes the first public preview of Windows MIDI Services. MIDI is a popular standard designed for musicians working with instruments connected to computers, and Windows MIDI Services adds full support for the MIDI 2.0 standard and more.

“MIDI 2.0 is the first major update to the core MIDI protocol since 1983, offering everything that modern musicians need today, like increased speed and fidelity, better control of instruments, modern bi-directional conversations and negotiation between instruments, discovery, better USB timing, and more,” the Windows Insider team said today.”

Windows MIDI Services offers a faster USB MIDI driver with full support for both MIDI 1.0 and MIDI 2.0, automatic translation between MIDI 1.0 and MIDI 2.0, and more. This is going to be quite obscure if you’re not a musician, but if you are, this complete rewrite of MIDI on Windows should be quite a big deal for you.

Today’s Windows 11 Canary build also brings the ability to resume working on OneDrive files opened on your phone on Windows 11 with a single click. This new cross-device task continuity feature was first introduced on the Beta Channel in November.

Lastly, Microsoft is rolling out a new Microsoft Store update to Insiders on the Canary and Dev Channels. It adds the ability to install individual components for some titles, and that should be welcome for big games like Call of Duty that make the campaign, multiplayer, and other things available as optional downloads.