Windows 10 Creators Update: An overview of the new features and
improvements on the way
Andy Weir
Next month, Microsoft will release its Windows 10 Creators Update, the
first major upgrade to the operating system since its Anniversary Update
arrived last August. When Microsoft first announced details of the
Creators Update in October, it focused – unsurprisingly – on the new
features that it said would nurture and inspire creativity in the
hundreds of millions of people who now use the OS around the world.
But while some of those features obviously and directly target that aim
to boost creativity, such as the new Paint 3D app, the Creators Update
is packed full of all sorts of other handy and impressive new features.
Most of these have no direct connection with ‘creativity’, or even
content creation, but many of them should still prove to be very useful.
Indeed, a great deal of those new features will simply make Windows 10 a
'better' OS, with a more complete, more secure, and more cohesive user
experience. That may well help to boost creativity – as well as
productivity – in unexpected ways.
Millions of people on the Windows Insider Program have had access to
these improvements and new features over the last seven months or so,
and have seen the Creators Update gradually coming together through the
regular release of new Windows 10 preview builds. This coming week,
Microsoft is likely to publish its ‘release candidate’ build – the
near-final version of the Creators Update – for a last wave of
improvements, adding a bit more polish before the update is made
generally available next month.
For those who haven’t been testing Insider Previews since the first
‘Redstone 2’ release, build 14901, which was made available last August,
here’s an overview of some of the major new features and improvements to
look forward to in the Windows 10 Creators Update.
Paint 3D
One of the first announcements that Microsoft made regarding the
Creators Update was a major overhaul for one of the most familiar
built-in Windows applications. Paint 3D is a radical revamp of the
classic Paint app, integrated with one of Microsoft's key mantras for
the Creators Update: "3D for everyone".
The company aims to make it much easier for anyone to create 3D content
that can be shared on social media, or added to documents, websites or
apps. It even showed off a remarkable new Windows Capture 3D app, which
can use the camera on an ordinary smartphone to 'scan' real world
objects which are then turned into 3D models that can be manipulated on
screen - but it hasn't yet released that app, even in preview form.
Microsoft also said in October that Paint 3D would be coming to Windows
10 Mobile, but the app remains exclusive to PCs for now. It will ship to
PCs with the Creators Update, replacing the 'legacy' Paint app.
Mixed reality
Last August, Microsoft revealed that it would be bringing its Windows
Holographic shell to Windows 10 PCs as an integrated component of the
OS. It followed the company's announcement in June that it was opening
up Windows Holographic to all manufacturers, promising that new devices
running its mixed reality shell were "months away".
Windows Holographic has since been rebranded to Windows Mixed Reality,
but Microsoft's vision for embracing AR and VR on Windows 10 remains
unchanged. The new shell will enable users to purchase low-cost virtual
reality headsets, bringing them VR experiences powered by their existing
PCs - subject to certain minimum spec requirements, of course.
Some of these new headsets will be priced as low as $299, and Microsoft
believes that by reducing the cost of VR hardware, and making mixed
reality a core component of the OS, it will greatly expand the use of
this technology among consumers and businesses alike.
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Windows Ink
Microsoft made a huge range of improvements for stylus-toting users with
the Anniversary Update, and it's delivering more new features to the
Windows Ink experience in the Creators Update.
For example, the Sticky Notes app supports detection of addresses, phone
numbers, time, stock symbols, and flights in more markets, allowing
users to jot down these details, and then get quick access to insights
and additional functionality straight from the scribbled note. The
Photos app also supports Windows Ink, enabling users to annotate and
share their images.
Microsoft has also made small but helpful refinements to the overall Ink
experience, such as hiding the cursor when you're inking, and making it
easier to resume previous Screen Sketches, along with more intuitive
controls and indicators for color and stroke width.
Microsoft Edge
Perhaps the most significant change to the Edge web browser is
Microsoft's decision to begin blocking Flash content by default,
improving security and performance, as well as offering some battery
life improvements on mobile PCs.
Other new features include Web Payments support in the browser,
web-to-app linking, and new Jump List support, which lets users
right-click on the Edge taskbar icon to be able to launch a new window.
Edge in the Creators Update includes WebRTC 1.0 support for plugin-free
video communications.
More web extensions have gradually been added to Edge in recent months
too, but they're being released at a glacial pace.
E-books in the Windows Store
With the Creators Update, Windows 10 users will be able to buy e-books
from the Windows Store, and read them in the Edge browser. Books
purchased from the Store come in PDF form, but Edge also supports
reading of DRM-free EPUB formats.
Edge also has a new "read aloud" button for its book-reading mode.
Windows 10 themes
Downloadable themes are another new addition to the Windows Store as
part of the Creators Update. The first themes appeared for Windows
Insiders in December, and were officially announced as part of
Microsoft's release of build 15007 a month later.
It will also be allowing users to set custom 'accent colors' for the OS,
which had previously been restricted to a limited selection of
Microsoft-approved options.
Night Light
Originally introduced as 'blue light settings', Night Light is a new
feature for Windows 10 PCs that will enable users to reduce the amount
of blue light emitted by their screens in the later hours of the day.
This includes the ability to gradually transition from the standard
'day' display to Night Light over the course of a couple of minutes.
The idea behind Night Light - which Google and Apple have also
introduced versions of in Android and iOS - is that by showing 'warmer'
colors outside of daylight hours, it should help users who stare at
their screens before bed to sleep more easily.
Improved high-DPI support
The Creators Update brings better support for desktop apps on high-DPI
displays. Some of these improvements are enabled by default on certain
desktop apps, but Microsoft says "you can enable them yourself for other
GDI-based applications too".
802.11ad Wi-Fi
The Creators Update will be the first version of Windows 10 to support
802.11ad, a new Wi-Fi standard that uses the 60GHz spectrum, rather than
the 2.4GHz and 5GHz options used by devices today.
Previously known as 'WiGig', 802.11ad is intended to provided ultra-fast
wireless connectivity at close range - and ideally, within line of sight.
1488402431_lenovo--yoga-720-20…
Precision touchpad
Sometimes, the smallest changes can make a big difference to improving
the usability of a device. Microsoft has made OS-level improvements to
its precision touchpad support, which make using gestures far more pleasant.
For example, it's tweaked the way touchpads react to three-finger swipes
to increase or decrease volume, making it easier to change the volume by
a significant amount with a single gesture, while still being able to
adjust volume by smaller amounts without difficulty.
App folders on the Start menu
This new feature will already be familiar to Windows phone users, but
Microsoft is finally adding the ability to group apps together in Start
menu folders on Windows 10 PCs.
Just like on phones, creating a new app folder is as simple as dragging
a tile on top of another one. Tapping on the folder tile opens it up to
reveal all the apps contained within it.
The 'old' Windows 10 sharing UI, which hasn't changed since Windows 8
It's nice to share
The existing Windows 10 user experience for sharing content - for
example, a photo that you want to tweet, or a web link that you want to
email to someone - hasn't changed since Windows 8 (!!). In the Creators
Update, Microsoft is finally giving it a new "app-focused and
integrated" design, which first appeared in Insider Preview build 15002.
Picture-in-picture mode
Apps built on the Universal Windows Platform will now be able to support
the new 'Compact Overlay' feature - essentially a picture-in-picture
mode for Windows 10. This feature will allow users to continue watching
a TV show, for example, while they get on with work in another window.
Cortana
There's a wide range of improvements and new capabilities in Microsoft's
digital assistant as part of the Creators Update, including:
• Ability to turn off, restart, lock, and 'sleep' your computer using
Cortana voice commands
• Better support for recurring (e.g. monthly or annual) reminders
• Cortana can help you pick up where you left off when working between
different Windows 10 PCs, displaying your recent apps, documents and
sites from Microsoft Edge
• Cortana sign-in using Azure Active Directory identity
• Full-screen display when using 'Hey Cortana' when your PC is unlocked
and idle
• New support for controlling music playback and volume in iHeartRadio
and TuneIn Radio
Unfortunately, as with all Cortana features, availability of these
additions will vary around the world.
Gaming
Microsoft has made it clear that it wants to embrace gaming on Windows
10 in a way that it's never previously done with its operating systems.
There are strong indications that it's succeeding - in November,
Alienware's CEO noted that Microsoft had all but abandoned PC gamers
with Windows 8, but that Windows 10 had changed everything.
The Creators Update will build further on Microsoft's PC gaming efforts
with even more additions. The most substantial of these is a new PC
'Game Mode', which "optimizes your PC for an improvement in game
performance." The OS will also support integrated game streaming through
Beam, which Microsoft acquired last year.
Further additions include a new 'Gaming' section in the Windows 10
Settings app, and improved full-screen support for the Windows Game Bar
in dozens of games.
Improved accessibility
In December 2015, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke of the importance of
"universal design", and said that the company must do more to make its
products accessible to "people globally of all abilities". The Creators
Update includes some important new features to improve accessibility and
ease of use for more of its users.
One major new addition is that of support for braille input and output
through specialized braille displays. It's also making big improvements
to Narrator support, and adding new audio experiences, as well as
boosting integration of Windows 10's assistive technologies with
products such as Office 365. This also includes improved legibility in
UWP apps when used in high-contrast mode.
Microsoft has promised that "inclusive design and accessibility" will
now be at heart of the development process for all of its products and
services.
Security enhancements
Microsoft has often stated that Windows 10 is the "most secure" version
of its operating system to date, but the company isn't resting on its
laurels. With the Creators Update, it's introducing new measures to help
users stay secure while using their devices - whether they're consumers,
or in enterprise. These include:
• A new Windows Defender Security Center
• Enhancements to Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection
• Improved MDM solutions for enterprise, and Surface Enterprise
Management Mode
• New 'Update Compliance' with Windows Analytics to monitor issues with
Windows 10 deployments
• Enabling organizations to prevent users installing apps from sources
other than the Windows Store
•
Windows Information Protection improvements for business customers
• Easier setup of Windows Hello biometric authentication
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'Windows Goodbye'
While Windows Hello provides biometric authentication for Windows -
based on a scan of your face, iris recognition, or fingerprint input - a
new feature nicknamed 'Windows Goodbye' will also bring an extra bit of
security to the Creators Update.
The feature is actually named Dynamic Lock, and uses proximity detection
of your Bluetooth-paired phone to identify when you've left your
computer unattended, and automatically locks your PC after 30 seconds.
Of course, that's great if you keep your phone in your pocket while you
leave your PC to go and get a coffee. But if you generally leave your
phone in your bag at your desk when you go to grab a drink or head to
the restroom, Dynamic Lock does appear a bit less useful. Still, it's
nice to have these options available.
"More control over your data"
Along with new security features, Microsoft is also improving privacy
controls in Windows 10, including a new out-of-box setup experience for
the Creators Update, which offers clearer explanations of why the
company is collecting certain user data, and more granular controls to
enable or disable that collection.
A better update experience
Microsoft has introduced the new Unified Update Platform, designed to
provide a more 'seamless' update process for Windows 10. But another key
function of the UUP will be to make major updates much smaller. This
will involve only installing "a differential download package [that]
contains only the changes that have been made since the last time you
updated your device, rather than a full build."
The company will also be offering users more control over when the
latest updates are installed, including longer Active Hours, the ability
to 'snooze' updates for up to three days, and the option to schedule a
required restart at a specific time.
Windows 10 Mobile
The list of new additions and major improvements to Windows phones is
much shorter than of those heading to PCs, although some of the features
listed above will also be supported on Windows 10 Mobile devices.
This isn't an exhaustive list by any means, but changes in the Windows
10 Mobile Creators Update include:
• Ability to use Cortana to control music playback in more apps
• Cortana can now recognize and identify songs in China
• Buy and read e-books from the Windows Store, along with support for
reading EPUB books in Microsoft Edge on phones, and 'read aloud'
functionality
• Improved text scaling and zoom on websites in Edge
• Improved legibility for UWP apps in high-contrast mode
• Overhauled Wi-Fi and device settings to match Windows 10 PCs
• Sign-in and settings sync through Azure Active Directory Identity
• Options to defer updates as on Windows 10 PCs
While some have written off Windows 10 Mobile as the phone industry
consolidates around iOS and Android, Microsoft has made it clear that it
is "still flighting Mobile builds... and we fully expect to keep doing
that beyond the release of the Creators Update."
Features that didn't make the final cut
In January, Microsoft said that the Creators Update won't include
Windows 10's new 'My People' experience. The company had announced that
feature a few months earlier as part of plans to make it easier for PC
users to stay in touch with, and receive updates from, the most
important people in their lives, but later said that it had been delayed
until "the next major update to Windows".
It's also starting to look like two major additions to Windows 10 Mobile
won't be in the Creators Update either. The first is Night Light, which
is already confirmed for PCs; the second is a set of improvements to the
PC-style Continuum experience for high-end Windows phones. Enhancements
for Continuum were originally announced in September, but haven't yet
been featured in any Insider Preview builds for phones.
Windows Insider Program chief Dona Sarkar told Neowin in February that
these features would be introduced to Windows 10 Mobile "at the right
time", but there seems to be little time left for these features to be
added to the Creators Update before its release.
Microsoft also said in January that it will remove Apps Corner from
Windows 10 Mobile with the Creators Update. A further list of features
being removed or deprecated in the Creators Update, for both phones and
PCs, can be found here.
Other devices
Earlier this year, Microsoft offered its first look at some of the
improvements on the way in its next update for the Xbox One. Among the
changes confirmed was the removal of the console's 'Snap Mode', as part
of broader changes to the user experience.
Since then, Microsoft has been rolling out preview builds of that update
to those on the Xbox Insider Program, and you can track the various
builds that have been made available here. There are four rings in the
Xbox Insider Program, and this post explains how Microsoft determines
how users are separated into each ring.
While development continues on the next update for the Xbox One,
Microsoft hasn't said much about the Creators Update for other Windows
10 devices, such as HoloLens, or the Surface Hub. Last year, Microsoft
rolled out the Anniversary Update for Windows 10 Team - the specialized
version of the OS that runs on the Surface Hub - over two months after
its PC release.
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David Goldfield,
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
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