Microsoft's first big update for Windows 10 this year brings with it
lots of improvements, but with the company focusing on Windows 10X and the
necessary modularization work to make that OS a reality, it hasn't managed to
smooth out all the rough edges just yet.
Windows
10 is set to receive a new major update in April, one year after they
officially started working on it. Dubbed 20H1 or version 2004, this is supposed
to be a more significant upgrade than last year's November update (19H2).
You
can already download the
ISO file to perform an in-place upgrade or a clean install as an Insider, but
it's best that you wait for it to be released via Windows Update, as Microsoft
is still working on squashing bugs and polishing the release for final
delivery. Understandably, the company is also busy getting Windows 10X-powered devices to market, so it'll be
taking its time to get it right before
pushing it to all users.
One
the most interesting features included in Windows 10 version 2004 is something
that Mac users have enjoyed for years -- if you're in a pickle and need to use
"Reset this PC," you now have the option for a cloud download to perform a reinstall of Windows.
This is especially useful if you live in an area with a fast and solid Internet
connection, but if you have a metered connection it's worth keeping in mind
that it can eat through your data quite quickly.
Do
keep in mind that Reset this PC using the cloud doesn't do a factory reset, but
the download option will reinstall the current version of Windows instead of
the one that came with your device.
Besides saving you the
trouble of having a USB drive at the ready for recovering your PC, the new
version of Windows will make it possible to use your Windows Hello PIN in Safe
Mode for faster login. This can be a great time saver if you have to do some
back and forth to figure out what's causing trouble on your device.
You
may be familiar with the Windows Sandbox, which is based on virtualization and
has been present in Windows 10 since version 1903. This is very useful for
working with certain apps inside an isolated environment, but until now it
didn't have things like microphone support, or the functionality to configure
different aspects of the sandbox like networking, shared folders, startup
scripts, or vGPU.
Microsoft
has also added some quality of life improvements in the form of keyboard
shortcuts for the Ease of Access dialog (Shift + Alt + PrintScreen) and
entering/exiting fullscreen mode (Ctrl + Alt + Break).
There
are other functional updates, such as the ability to rename Virtual Desktops.
Usually, both macOS and Windows 10 give dull names to virtual desktops such as
Desktop 1, Desktop 2, etc., or, in the case of Mission Control, the most it can
do is choose a name based on what app is in the foreground in that space.
With
version 2004, your Virtual Desktops and their custom names are retained after
reboot. What's even better is that if you use UWP apps like Mail, Calendar, and
OneNote they'll also be restarted minimized, in a suspended state, on reboot.
People
using Windows 10 on a tablet or 2-in-1 PC will be able to enjoy a new
experience with increased spacing between Taskbar icons, and an optimized
layout in File Explorer that makes touch targets easier to tap on. The touch
keyboard will automatically be invoked whenever you tap on a text field, and
Microsoft says it has made it so that your device will be able to recognize the
scenario in which it's being used and switch to an appropriate UI experience.
There
are also updates to the Xbox Game Bar (fps counter and an achievements overlay
pane) and added support for Kaomoji, for those of you who like using emojis.
All
that being said, there are some less obvious changes coming in Windows 10
version 2004, such as improved disk and CPU usage for Windows Search. This has
been a pain point for users who still run Windows on a mechanical hard drive, with the indexer deciding to get
busy at the worst possible moments, such as when gaming or running on battery
power.
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