14 DAY TRIAL // The latest major update for Groove Music dates back to December, when Microsoft added quite a few new features and improvements to the application.
Today, developers have announced that a new version of Groove Music will be available for download via Windows Store. Those who are already using the application must update to version 3.6.1719.0 to benefit from the latest improvements.
Speaking of which, Microsoft has confirmed they have made significant improvements to the way users can find their local music and sync their cloud music collection, which now make this process faster.
According to developers, the improvements will cause a one-time rebuild of all users' collections when they first launch the app after this update is applied.
Furthermore, Microsoft has announced they have made it easier for the application to hide duplicates, so managing the collection should now be much simpler. It appears that the application will no longer match local MP3s to similar ones in OneDrive or Music Pass collection.
Also, the update makes it clearer for the user where their music is coming from, as songs will now be labeled as OneDrive, Purchased, Music Pass, or Local Only.
The latest version of Groove Music features a new ability that allows users to see the full set of details on any track with long press, then Properties.
The autosuggest when searching in the app feature has been brought back, along with the ability to see everything you have searched for since the application was opened.
Microsoft claims that it has heard users' feedback and decided to add the possibility of seeing album art in Now Playing, so now there's a toggle in Now Playing that allows users to choose either album art or artist art.
Some Continuum-related improvements have been implemented
The ability to sort albums by release year has been added as well, along with better scaling so that images look better on larger devices.
Editing a playlist is now much easier, as users can select multiple items in a playlist and drag them to another spot.
The update also adds the explicit tag to the list of songs in Now Playing, so it's much easier to see when a song in the queue isn't playable because it's explicit.
A few more features have been updated to make the application run more smoothly on Continuum. For example, playback will now continue even if the screen locks when using Continuum. Layouts of Groove at high resolution have been improved too.
Last but not least, developers have confirmed they have fixed some reliability issues, including one that temporarily required Microsoft to disable “sticky pivots.”