- Windows 11 is testing a new shared audio feature
- This allows two pairs of Bluetooth LE Audio headphones to listen to audio from one Windows 11 PC.
- However, this only applies to Copilot+ computers and only Microsoft Surface devices in preview.
If you've ever watched a movie with your partner or friend together on the same laptop while traveling and wanted to be able to stream audio wirelessly through two sets of headphones in Windows 11you're lucky.
Microsoftjust deployed a new preview version (assembly 26220.7051) which introduces a “shared audio” feature that does just that via Bluetooth. There are some caveats that rule most people out for now, although we can expect wider adoption beyond testing over time.
However, for those who can benefit, it will be a really useful new feature that means you can share audio while watching a movie or listen to the same music from your favorite streaming service through your Copilot+ laptop.
And yes, this is the main catch – you need a Copilot+ PC (with NPU), and on Laptops with Windows 11 without this powerful NPU. Your laptop must also support Bluetooth LE Audioas are both sets of headphones.
For those who can use audio sharing, this will be a much better solution than using wired headphones with a splitter – or even physically sharing each earbud (which, of course, is far from the most hygienic solution).
So how exactly does this feature work? Let's explore this further.
How does general sound work in Windows 11?
As Microsoft describes in more detail blog post To fully explain the Shared Sound feature, you can use Shared Sound through the Quick Settings panel (outside the taskbar, in the Windows 11 taskbar). In this panel, it has its own tile called “General Audio”, which is currently marked as still in preview – and remember, since this feature is still in testing, it may not work correctly.
To use it, all you have to do is click on the “general audio” tile, after which you will be presented with a list of detected audio devices that your Windows 11 PC can send audio to. Just select the two you want and click the “Share” button. To end a sharing session, there is a Stop Sharing button, so it is very easy to use.
Remember that your laptop and headphones must support Bluetooth LE Audio, and you must have a Copilot+ computer for this feature to be available in Windows 11.
Additionally, support in preview is currently very limited Microsoft Surface devices (with Snapdragon X chips). You'll only get this feature during testing if you have a Surface Laptop 7 (13.8-inch or 15-inch) or Surface Pro 11 (13-inch or “business” equivalents).
Heap Samsung Laptops and other Surface devices will also be supported soon, including:
- Samsung Galaxy Book5 360 | Intel Core Ultra 200 Series
- Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro | Intel Core Ultra 200 Series
- Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 | Intel Core Ultra 200 Series
- Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge | Qualcomm Snapdragon X
- 13-inch Surface Laptop | Qualcomm Snapdragon X
- Surface Pro 12 inches | Qualcomm Snapdragon X
By the time this feature arrives in the full version of Windows 11, many more Copilot+ computers will be supported, but this only applies to these devices. Unfortunately, traditional Windows 11 PCs won't get this (though that may change over time as well).
Mac owners can share audio in this way, but in macOS it is a bit difficult and is achieved using the Audio MIDI Setup application, where you can use this feature to Create a device with multiple outputs. You might think Apple it might be worth doing this more smoothly, especially since Microsoft introduced Windows 11.
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