Top 10 Best Features Coming to the Next Major Windows 10 Update
The Redstone update for Windows 10 has been rebranded as the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. It's the next major Windows 10 update and Microsoft will roll it out this summer, to celebrate Windows 10's first anniversary. It will be free to all existing Windows 10 customers.
Since it is a major update, Windows 10 Anniversary Update will come with plenty of exciting new features. I won't go over all of them, but I will present the 10 most exciting and most useful features.
1. Bash Shell on Windows 10
The old Microsoft that championed proprietary software is gone, replaced with the new Microsoft that loves open source. As such, Microsoft has partnered with Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, and this summer’s Anniversary Update will feature Bash Shell, the Unix command line tool often used on Linux.
"This isn't Bash or Ubuntu running in a VM," said Scott Hanselman. "This is a real native Bash Linux binary running on Windows itself. It's fast and lightweight and it's the real binaries. This is a genuine Ubuntu image on top of Windows with all the Linux tools I use like awk, sed, grep, vi, etc. It's fast and it's lightweight. The binaries are downloaded by you - using apt-get - just as on Linux, because it is Linux. You can apt-get and download other tools like Ruby, Redis, emacs, and on and on. This is brilliant for developers that use a diverse set of tools like me."
2. Extended Windows Hello support
Windows Hello, Microsoft’s biometric authentication solution, is currently used to let you sign into your Windows device with your fingerprint. With the Anniversary Update, Microsoft is extending Windows Hello support to include the Edge browser and Windows apps.
3. Write on your device with Windows Ink
With the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Microsoft renews its commitment to inking and introduces Windows Ink, an all-new experience that lets you write on your device just like you do on paper. Use a pen to draw on a whiteboard, to jot down thoughts, to annotate screenshots, to create sticky notes, and so on.
"In a world where billions of post-it notes are sold each year and more than 70% of people spend more than one hour a day using a pen, productivity can increase by incorporating writing into the computing experience. We’re using Windows Ink to help people turn their thoughts into actions on their Windows 10 devices," said Aaron Woodman, Senior Director, Windows Marketing.
Sketchable is a great example of how apps can utilize Windows Ink.
4. Windows Store and Xbox Store become one
With the release of Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Microsoft wants to blend together the best parts of the Windows Store with the best parts of the Xbox Store. What this means is that you will get a single, unified store across devices. Consumers will have a consistent experience and developers will have new ways to distribute their games.
5. Cortana arrives on Xbox One
“When Cortana arrives on Xbox One with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, gamers can expect the familiar Cortana experience found on other Windows 10 devices,” said Will Tuttle, Xbox Wire Editor in Chief. “Cortana will get smarter over time to become your personal gaming assistant and help you find great new games, new challenges or help you with tips and tricks”.
6. Background music for Xbox One
Windows 10 Anniversary Update will bring one of the most-requested features for the Xbox: the option to play music in the background.
7. Edge browser puts you in control of Flash
As I am writing this, the web is abuzz with news about yet another Adobe Flash vulnerability that is actively exploited in the wild, with all the headlines saying “update immediately or else”. Not only is Flash a nuisance from a security point of view, it needlessly consumes resources as well. That’s why Microsoft Edge wants to put you in control of Flash.
With the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Microsoft Edge will "intelligently auto-pause content that is not central to the web page." This means it will pause animations or ads built with Flash and it will play them only if you explicitly click to play.
“This significantly reduces power consumption and improves performance while preserving the full fidelity of the page. Flash content that is central to the page, like video and games, will not be paused,” explained John Hazen, Principal Program Manager Lead, Microsoft Edge.
8. Active Hours prevents unwanted restarts
Windows 10 will automatically download updates and there’s little you can do about that. Annoying as that may be, it’s even more annoying when the operating system restarts so it can install the updates it just downloaded.
With the Active Hours feature, you can tell Windows 10 not to do that. If Active Hours is set between 8AM and 5PM, the operating system won’t restart during that time.
9. New dark mode for night owls
As expected, the new dark mode makes everything nice and dark, which is perfect for nighttime PC use.
10. Notification mirroring for Android
When you get a notification on your Android, it will be mirrored to your Windows 10 PC. You can view the notification, dismiss it, and even interact with it. So if you received a message or tweet on your Android, you can reply to it from your Windows 10 PC.
This feature is made possible thanks to Action Center in the Cloud and Cortana for Android.
In related news...
The last time we checked, some 200 million people upgraded to Windows 10. That number is old news, I'm afraid.
According to the latest figures, more than 270 million users have switched to Windows 10, either by upgrading to Windows 10 or by purchasing a new device that runs Windows 10 (like the sleek Samsung Galaxy TabPro S or the ultra-thin HP Spectre for example).
This makes Windows 10 the fastest growing version of Windows ever.
Keep in mind that Microsoft’s goal is for Windows 10 to be on 1 billion devices by 2018.
Since it is a major update, Windows 10 Anniversary Update will come with plenty of exciting new features. I won't go over all of them, but I will present the 10 most exciting and most useful features.
1. Bash Shell on Windows 10
The old Microsoft that championed proprietary software is gone, replaced with the new Microsoft that loves open source. As such, Microsoft has partnered with Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, and this summer’s Anniversary Update will feature Bash Shell, the Unix command line tool often used on Linux.
"This isn't Bash or Ubuntu running in a VM," said Scott Hanselman. "This is a real native Bash Linux binary running on Windows itself. It's fast and lightweight and it's the real binaries. This is a genuine Ubuntu image on top of Windows with all the Linux tools I use like awk, sed, grep, vi, etc. It's fast and it's lightweight. The binaries are downloaded by you - using apt-get - just as on Linux, because it is Linux. You can apt-get and download other tools like Ruby, Redis, emacs, and on and on. This is brilliant for developers that use a diverse set of tools like me."
2. Extended Windows Hello support
Windows Hello, Microsoft’s biometric authentication solution, is currently used to let you sign into your Windows device with your fingerprint. With the Anniversary Update, Microsoft is extending Windows Hello support to include the Edge browser and Windows apps.
3. Write on your device with Windows Ink
With the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Microsoft renews its commitment to inking and introduces Windows Ink, an all-new experience that lets you write on your device just like you do on paper. Use a pen to draw on a whiteboard, to jot down thoughts, to annotate screenshots, to create sticky notes, and so on.
"In a world where billions of post-it notes are sold each year and more than 70% of people spend more than one hour a day using a pen, productivity can increase by incorporating writing into the computing experience. We’re using Windows Ink to help people turn their thoughts into actions on their Windows 10 devices," said Aaron Woodman, Senior Director, Windows Marketing.
Sketchable is a great example of how apps can utilize Windows Ink.
4. Windows Store and Xbox Store become one
With the release of Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Microsoft wants to blend together the best parts of the Windows Store with the best parts of the Xbox Store. What this means is that you will get a single, unified store across devices. Consumers will have a consistent experience and developers will have new ways to distribute their games.
5. Cortana arrives on Xbox One
“When Cortana arrives on Xbox One with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, gamers can expect the familiar Cortana experience found on other Windows 10 devices,” said Will Tuttle, Xbox Wire Editor in Chief. “Cortana will get smarter over time to become your personal gaming assistant and help you find great new games, new challenges or help you with tips and tricks”.
6. Background music for Xbox One
Windows 10 Anniversary Update will bring one of the most-requested features for the Xbox: the option to play music in the background.
7. Edge browser puts you in control of Flash
As I am writing this, the web is abuzz with news about yet another Adobe Flash vulnerability that is actively exploited in the wild, with all the headlines saying “update immediately or else”. Not only is Flash a nuisance from a security point of view, it needlessly consumes resources as well. That’s why Microsoft Edge wants to put you in control of Flash.
With the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Microsoft Edge will "intelligently auto-pause content that is not central to the web page." This means it will pause animations or ads built with Flash and it will play them only if you explicitly click to play.
“This significantly reduces power consumption and improves performance while preserving the full fidelity of the page. Flash content that is central to the page, like video and games, will not be paused,” explained John Hazen, Principal Program Manager Lead, Microsoft Edge.
8. Active Hours prevents unwanted restarts
Windows 10 will automatically download updates and there’s little you can do about that. Annoying as that may be, it’s even more annoying when the operating system restarts so it can install the updates it just downloaded.
With the Active Hours feature, you can tell Windows 10 not to do that. If Active Hours is set between 8AM and 5PM, the operating system won’t restart during that time.
9. New dark mode for night owls
As expected, the new dark mode makes everything nice and dark, which is perfect for nighttime PC use.
10. Notification mirroring for Android
When you get a notification on your Android, it will be mirrored to your Windows 10 PC. You can view the notification, dismiss it, and even interact with it. So if you received a message or tweet on your Android, you can reply to it from your Windows 10 PC.
This feature is made possible thanks to Action Center in the Cloud and Cortana for Android.
In related news...
The last time we checked, some 200 million people upgraded to Windows 10. That number is old news, I'm afraid.
According to the latest figures, more than 270 million users have switched to Windows 10, either by upgrading to Windows 10 or by purchasing a new device that runs Windows 10 (like the sleek Samsung Galaxy TabPro S or the ultra-thin HP Spectre for example).
This makes Windows 10 the fastest growing version of Windows ever.
Keep in mind that Microsoft’s goal is for Windows 10 to be on 1 billion devices by 2018.
