Windows 11 will try to fix the fragmented mess of RGB lighting

Microsoft is adding a much-needed feature to Windows 11: the ability to customize your RGB lighting through the Settings menu. The goal is to create a hub where you can adjust the lighting of all your accessories and components, no matter the brand.

Microsoft calls the hub Dynamic Lighting, but details on how the feature will actually work remain unclear. We got a potential glimpse at what it might look like in a set of images leaked earlier this year, which show a new “Lighting” option within the Settings menu that lets you set the lighting effects for all linked devices.

A central RGB controller could help solve the hugely fractured RGB lighting landscape that currently has users downloading the proprietary software associated with each of their devices and components. I currently control my RGB lighting setup through three different apps: Razer Synapse, Corsair iCue, and MSI’s Dragon Center.

All of these apps suck up a lot of resources on my PC — not to mention that it’s really annoying to keep switching between the three, especially when I’m trying to create matching lighting effects. While there are some third-party RGB controller software like OpenRGB that aim to consolidate the RGB settings across all of your devices, it would still be nice to have this all condensed into the Settings menu on Windows.

“With Dynamic Lighting, Windows users will be able to effortlessly set up and customize their devices with RGB lights directly from Windows Settings,” Microsoft chief product officer Panos Panay writes in a blog post. “It has never been easier to help all your RGB accessories seamlessly work together for Windows apps.”

Microsoft says it’s rolling out the lighting hub to Windows Insiders this month, and there’s no word on when it will become available to everyone.