Since our last mail out and blog post many things have changed. The day after our last blog post Microsoft announced they had found a major flaw in “Spring Creators Update” and consequently they had decided to delay the release. The actual release date ended up being April 30th, and along with the release they changed the name from “Spring Creators Update to “April 2018 Update”. However the global rollout through the Windows Update channel begins today, which is why I decided to touch on this subject again for clarity. Per Microsoft “We will begin the global rollout out via Windows Update on May 8. As with previous rollouts, we will use real-time quality feedback to smartly update your device when we have data that shows your device is ready and will have a great experience. You don’t have to do anything to get the update; it will roll out automatically to you through Windows Update if you’ve chosen to have updates installed automatically on your device.”
All of that being said, there are some pretty neat features to touch on with the new Windows 10 Update.
The first new feature is “Timeline”. Timeline enhances the “Task View” with a history of activities you’ve previously performed on your computer. When you click the “Task View” button on your taskbar or press Windows+Tab, you’ll see activities from “Earlier Today” as well as previous days below your currently open application. This might include web pages you had open in Microsoft Edge, articles you were reading in the News app, documents you were working on in Microsoft Word, and places you were viewing in the Maps app.
The Second Notable feature is “Nearby Sharing” file sharing feature that works a lot like Apple’s AirDrop. This feature has also been called “Near Share.” Assuming your PC has Bluetooth and it is enabled, you can click the “Share” button in any app and nearby devices with Nearby Sharing enabled will appear in the list. Click one of the devices, and you’ll share the content with it wirelessly.
Third is A “quick pair” feature that will make it easier to pair Bluetooth devices with your PC is arriving in this update. Just place a Bluetooth device in pairing mode near your PC and you’ll see a notification asking you to pair it, so you won’t even have to open the Settings app and navigate to Bluetooth settings.
Lastly today I will mention my favorite new feature, even if you don’t care about Windows 10’s updates—or especially if you don’t care about Windows 10’s updates—you’ll like this one. This update will speed up the installation of these twice-a-year updates in the future. More of the update process is done in the background while you’re using your PC, which means the time you have to sit and wait for the update to install is decreased. This online update process is run at a low priority, so it shouldn’t slow your PC down while using it. According to Microsoft’s tests, the “offline” update time—that is, the time you have to wait while staring at an “Updating” screen after rebooting your computer—has gone from an average of 82 minutes to 30 minutes.
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