One welcome new feature that Microsoft recently announced for Windows 11 is dubbed Voice Clarity. It is basically a new way to improve voice clarity in apps like Microsoft Teams and Skype.
The software titan made official this feature during its Hybrid Work event earlier this month.
Currently only available for select PCs, this new option is expected to be launched on more hardware in the coming months. That is, after it undergoes an extensive testing phase, which apparently has now begun.
This new addition is part of a number of key AI-powered features that Redmond is developing in an effort to make online meetings easier and more human.
The list includes Voice Clarity, along with Automatic Framing, Portrait Background Blur, and Eye Contact.
Better yet, unlike these above meeting-centric features that require a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), Voice Clarity does not require this special hardware. It is safe to assume that the feature could arrive for more devices that do not have an NPU.
Of course, a platform like Microsoft Teams already comes with noise cancellation ability. This feature uses technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to block the sound of the world around you, helping you better focus on your meetings.
Now, the company is ready to add a similar feature to Windows 11.
And unlike noise cancellation on Teams, this new Voice Clarity feature works at the OS level. It also aims to capture the entire spectrum of your audio at higher bandwidth while using advance echo control to reduce background noise.
Voice Clarity will still depend on your machine’s hardware to integrate signals from multiple microphones.
During the event, the company confirmed that Voice Clarity will only work on Surface Laptop Studio and is currently rolling out the latest firmware update for this shiny little device.
